COVINGTON, Ga. — Before the Newton County area teams game planned for the regular season, they matched up against a faceless opponent: Mother Nature. 

Mainly each schools’ cross country, softball and football squads have practiced amid unprecedented hot temperatures. Teams had to adjust their practice schedules accordingly. 

Ty Imler, Alcovy’s athletic trainer through OrthoAtlanta, shared how the Tigers approached workouts during the summer. 

“Most coaches know it’s going to be hot. So, we usually have practice in the mornings,” Imler said. “At Alcovy, we practiced from 8 a.m. to Noon. That would vary with either us going outside right when they got there and then working out afterward. Sometimes, if we knew it was going to be a cooler day, we worked out before and then went outside.” 

Newton's cross country team has practiced in the gym catwalk and Eastside football has been in the gym practicing. 

Social Circle’s athletic trainer through PlaySafe, Sierra Nix, has continually emphasized the importance of staying hydrated to the players. 

"The biggest thing for me is stressing hydration to the athletes," Nix said. "This is one of the larger obstacles we face as kids not properly hydrating. Instead of water, they are going home and drinking soda, sweet tea and basically anything that is not water. So they are coming into practice with an already 'empty/low tank.'"

To help determine when, where and how long teams can practice, athletic trainers use a device called the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), commonly referred to as the Wet Bulb. 

It has become a mainstay at each team’s practice and games so far in the 2023-24 school year. 

There’s a common misconception, according to Imler, that the Wet Bulb only factors in the heat index. But it does more than that. 

Imler said it accounts for air temperature, humidity, wind speed, cloud cover and “how direct the actual sun is beating down.” 

The Georgia High School Association provided the following guidelines for teams to follow based on the Wet Bulb's reading: 

Under 82.0 — Normal activities; Provide at least three separate rest breaks each hour of minimum duration of 3 minutes each during workout. 

Between 82.0-86.9 — Use discretion for intense or prolonged exercise; watch at-risk players carefully; Provide at least three separate rest breaks each hour of a minimum of four minutes duration each

Between 87.0–89.9 —  Maximum practice time is two hours. For Football: players restricted to helmet, shoulder pads, and shorts during practice. All protective equipment must be removed for conditioning activities. For all sports: Provide at least four separate rest breaks each hour of a minimum of four minutes each. 

Between 90.0-92.0 — Maximum length of practice is one hour, no protective equipment may be worn during practice and there may be no conditioning activities. There must be 20 minutes of rest breaks provided during the hour of practice.

Over 92.0 — No outdoor workouts; Cancel exercise; delay practices until a cooler WBGT reading occurs. 

Nix said readings are to be taken 30 minutes prior to each practice and every hour for the duration of practice. 

Other tools Nix uses to help student-athletes combat the heat are an ice tub being ready to go and a rectal thermometer to monitor core body temperature. 

“In the event of a heat illness, you want to cool first then transport,” Nix said. 

Keeping the heat temperatures under surveillance was especially prevalent this summer. 

July 2023 was the hottest month recorded in the global temperature record, according to NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.  

Even though that’s  no longer the case, temperatures remain in the mid-to-high 90s, which has caused a few softball games’ start times to be pushed back. 

Nix explained why the WBGT readings are crucial to the games. 

“The point of the readings for games is not to give restrictions like a practice,” Nix said. “But more so giving mandated breaks for water for the athletes and officials.” 

The Wet Bulb is out for the football and softball games as well with the regular season underway. 

Maintaining all the readings to ensure player safety adds a lot to the athletic trainers and even the teams’ plates. However, they remain diligent in their efforts to do so. 

Nevertheless, Imler is personally looking forward to cooler weather hopefully coming up soon.

“Even though I was born and raised here in Georgia, I always like the later fall and winter time,” Imler said. “I enjoy it when it’s cold out. I'm definitely looking forward to wearing a hoodie and being a little cold now and again.”