Upper Cumberland high schools are adjusting practices, monitoring conditions in real time and preparing to move game times as extreme heat creates challenges for student athletes across multiple sports.
Livingston Academy Athletic Director Todd Wright said the school system utilizes a specialized weather application and on-site equipment to monitor real-time conditions and protect student athletes from extreme heat.
“It’s pretty neat that they have it there,” Wright said, “But it comes right to my phone and it’s in real time. I get the heat index updates whenever something’s going on, I get every different level of it, I get the lightning strike when it happens and then our coaches get that as well.”
Wright said the technology removes the “gray area” from decision-making by providing objective data that aligns with TSSAA safety policies. He said while heat delays can cause inconveniences for fans and schedules, the primary focus remains the health of the students.
Cookeville High School Administrator and Athletic Director Lance Kennedy said the Putnam County school district also committed to using a similar application called Perry Weather two years ago. Kennedy said the app monitors wet bulb globe temperature and connects to the nearest available weather beacon when teams are traveling for away competitions.
“I used it this past weekend in Knoxville for a soccer tournament while I was up there and we had a few lightning delays but I was able to tell how long it would be before it would be clear in the zones that I’m in,” Kennedy said. “I’ve used it um, Lebanon High School a couple times last year, I was at some outside events twice that had lightning delays in the spring and both times I knew exactly when those games were going to resume because of that.”
Cookeville High School Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Adam Kefauver said coaches use the data to structure practices in compliance with TSSAA regulations, which can require specific numbers of water breaks or limits on protective equipment. Kefauver said football is often the most susceptible sport to heat issues due to the weight of pads and uniforms.
“Um, I think yesterday for example the threshold was at a point where by TSSAA standards they they had to take four water breaks every hour and the maximum practice time was two hours,” Kefauver said. “And you know our trainers and coaches uh you know know that they’ve got to follow and abide by that specifically.”
Kennedy said that in addition to technological monitoring, schools are encouraging parents to help students prepare through proper nutrition and pre-hydration. He said students should avoid caffeine and spend time acclimating to the outdoors before the most strenuous parts of the season begin.
“I think students could uh obviously and parents together make sure that their students are getting outside some prior to those camps and and starting to get acclimated to it um and and doing some activity doesn’t have to be super strenuous but some activity so that you’re not going straight from you know video games and couch to you know three-a-days for instance,” Kennedy said.
Kefauver said schools may continue to reschedule games to later start times through September if heat forecasts remain high.
