The Cassville football team is working this summer on the skills needed to beat opposing teams, all the while having to beat another opponent — the heat.
Clay Weldy, Cassville football coach, said staying hydrated and healthy is the name of that game during July’s triple-digit heat wave.
“We practice from 7-9:30 a.m., then lift from 9:30-10 a.m.,” he said. “It hasn’t been terrible on us. It’s warm, but it’s the best part of the day to practice to avoid the heat.”
Weldy said hydration is paramount, and the Wildcats have a lot of hands making sure the players stay healthy.
“Our managers walk around with water, and we give the guys water breaks as needed,” Weldy said. “They bring their own bottles, we have bottles and we have the trough, so there’s plenty of water around. We harp on it, too. We do that not only at practice, but we tell the guys they have to hydrate at home as much as possible because of how much energy they expend at practice.”
Weldy said another trick coaches tell players is to make sure and eat before coming to a workout.
“You have to have something in your belly,” he said. “You can’t do much on an empty stomach. We talk a lot about good foods to eat and proper snacks. We expend so much energy and sweat so much that a lot of work goes into hydrating. If we don’t, we’ll lose weight, get sick, get hurt or break down.”
Weldy said Cassville has had some player get a bit overheated, but nothing going as far as illness.
“Don Lentz, our trainer, also is a big help because he’s there, so if a kid gets overheated, we send them to Don,” Weldy said. “The kids have also been great about stopping for breaks when they need to.”
As the season gets closer, Weldy said he is also advising his players to spend some time outside in the heat away from practice, so after school sessions in coming weeks are not as difficult.
“Acclimate,” he said. “If you’re outside in the heat, you can acclimate yourself to it some, and that will help when school starts and we practice at 3:30 p.m. We are also on the turf at camp this week at William Jewel, which is always hotter.”
