The high school football season officially begins this week and will do so in near record heat. Todd Tharp of the Iowa High School Athletic Association says many schools are adjusting their schedules to avoid the worst of it. He says some schools are moving their games to a later time or to next week to avoid the heat.
Tharp says the key is hydration and it needs to begin prior to game day. “You can’t just start telling your kids you’ve got a game tomorrow, you need to start drinking water,” Tharp says. He says they sent out information last Friday telling schools it would be a warm week and they needed to start hydrating early.
Tharp says game officials will do their part to help players avoid heat exhaustion. He says the rules allow the officials to take time outs and they expect those to be frequent to allow the players to get water.
By Pat Powers KWQC Webster City