Although school has been in session for almost a week now, the summer weather does not seem to care one bit. The heat wave that is occurring is the worst timing for students, as we are drenched in sweat, exhausted, and still have to focus on academics. The heat serves as a distraction in the classrooms and has undoubtedly slowed progress for teachers and students throughout the first couple days.
The first thing people want to do right now is get some place where it is air conditioned, and the last thing people want to do is spend even more time in the heat, with the sun beating down on them. However, this is what members of fall sports teams at OA have to go through. I can barely operate in school, so I can’t even imagine how brutal it must be on all the sports teams. All I know is that I am glad that I don’t play a fall sport.
Sports such as football, field hockey, cross country, and soccer are outside in the sun for hours at a time for practice. Normally in fall this would not be a big deal, but because of the weather the whole structure of practice has been shifted. I spoke to the athletic director at OA, Bill Matthews, about the topic.
“We have to communicate with the coaches and provide educational information about the heat, hydration, and shade”.
Players have to get longer breaks than they normally would, drink more water, and coaches are supposed to try to find as much shade as they can for the players. In addition to this, some practices are even being scheduled for later times in the day when the sun is not as strong so the student-athletes have more of an opportunity to perform better at practice.
“We’ve had to modify and shorten practices”, said Mr. Sunderland, a coach at Oliver Ames. “This is the worst I can remember as far as the heat goes.”
The heat wave currently sweeping through Massachusetts is having tremendous effects on the athletic system at Oliver Ames, and will hopefully come to an end soon. Bill Matthews and the staff at OA is doing a great job of supporting teams and players through this which I think will have a huge impact for us when games start, as other towns may not have accommodated to the heat as well as us. The teams this year all have great talent so if they keep working hard this fall season is looking very optimistic for Oliver Ames.