High school football players hit the field despite heat

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – High school football players packed on gear and hit the field for week three of the season Friday, despite high temperatures across the Central Valley.

Early numbers showed Fresno reached 104 degrees on Friday. However, Fresno Unified School District will not postpone a game unless temperatures reach 105 degrees.

“We do our best to make sure and try and keep the athletes safe. We make sure and have water out here for them to drink any time they want and we have shade structures,” Fresno Unified Athletic Manager Brett Mar said.

Both Sunnyside High School and visiting Atascadero High School had professional athletic trainers as well as student athletic trainers on the sidelines.

Atascadero’s team arrived three hours early to acclimate to the heat.

“We have ice towels. We have ice just everywhere. So we can just quickly put them in there in an ice bucket or get these ice cold towels on their neck… I mean, the most important thing is to get their body temperature down,” Student Athletic Director Parker Woods said.

California high schools use special wet bulb globe thermometers to make sure the field is cool enough to play on.

State law places Fresno Unified in category three, allowing them to play at much higher temperatures.

Atascadero High School is in category one, so they are not used to playing in such high heat.

“We’ve had some heat-related illness, but, again, we have athletic trainers here… and we have in addition to our athletic trainer, we also have ambulance service here,” Mar said.

Mar says, because the turf is not real grass, it can get very hot. However, he says they regularly spray it down to manage the temperature.

Through a combination of ice baths, cold water bottles and fans, Mar says they have all the necessary resources to keep athletes healthy.

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