MHSAA adopts new methods for practices in the heat

The Mississippi High School Activities Association now mandates the use of wetbulb globe temperature readings to determine the safety of outdoor practices.

News 25’s Ansley Brent breaks down the new equipment while asking coaches along the Gulf Coast how this impacts their summer plans.

Pascagoula Head Coach Lewis Sims said, “The thing we compete against now is the heat, competing against the heat and competing against the mentality of when you have to pull your helmets off, or your shoulder pads off, how can you keep mentally in the game, how can you keep mentally in the practice and those are things we’re really working on right now.”

With it being one of the hottest summers in recent memory, MHSAA has implemented a new system called the wet bulb globe temperature. Gautier Head Coach Marc High said, “Everything the state’s, done, you know the first game out was a true heat index now it’s more of a wet bulb temperature, global temperature is what they call it, so when they went back to that, it kind of made it a little easier to go by because whenever you talk about heat index, it could be hotter five miles down the road than it is here, but the wet bulbs a little different so  that’s kind of helped out a little bit, and the whole thing at the end of the day is making sure the kids are safe.”

The metric being used by teams using the heat bulb is calculated with temperature, humidity, wind, and sunlight all factoring together and shown on an app for coaches during practice.

With the ready availability of the free apps for smart phones that give temperatures in WBGT measures, this eliminates the need for schools to purchase equipment specifically for making these readings.

Coach High continued to say that it’s going to be tough to navigate, but it’s nothing the coaching staffs along the Gulf Coast can’t handle. “There’s going to be challenges to it, but in this profession, we’ve got guys that are known to adapt and overcome all across the coast. They’re some of the best coaches I’ve ever been around on the gulf coast.”

George County Head Coach James Ray said, “We’re going to do the same things we’ve always done. We’re going to give him plenty of water breaks, we’ve got girls that’ll be out in practice with us, our managers, and they’re going to have water and those guys know they can get water anytime they want it. We’ll have the cold tubs ready if we’ve got to put somebody in it or they want to get into it after practice and you know, we’re just going to adjust to 105.”

St. Martin Head Coach Ty Smith said, “Where I’m at right now is, we’re going to work out fourth block, we’re going to plan on going out every day to start practice just like we normally will, and if it hits that point, and we have to adapt, we’ll adapt. We’ll bring them back up if we miss two consecutive days, and obviously when the season starts and we face off versus Vancleave week one, if it’s Tuesday and it’s 105, yeah, we’ll have to come up back at night, or just feed them, let them hang out, let them stay around and do film, do weights. You know, you don’t have to be on a football field to get better at football. That’s the big thing.”

After listing the changes and ways his team will have to adapt, Coach Smith says it is all worth it because it has the athlete’s best interest at heart. “I’m not aggravated about it. It’s a safety precaution. Last thing you want as a coach, I cannot imagine what some coaches have gone through with a kid falling out on the field like that, and it’s humbling.”