Football Practice Starts Up Under Heat Advisory

ELK GROVE (CBS13) - Most of the Valley is under a heat advisory this week but all across Sacramento County, high school football teams are back on the field practicing in triple-digit temperatures

"I know it's hot," said Coach Jerry Haynes, at Laguna Creek High School.

For his players at Laguna Creek High School, it's back to daily practices on the field.

"Out here we are sweating so much, it gets up over 100 degrees," said Daniel Ray, a member of the Varsity football team. "We have to take practice a little bit at a time."

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And in this heat, Coach Haynes relies on his star player: water.

"On days like this, it's our number one, water is our quarterback," He told CBS13.

Stationed between the yard lines, the teens can grab a bottle and rehydrate whenever necessary.

"We'll have ice towels that we'll put on their head and they can kind of eliminate heat that way as well," said AJ Coronado, the team's athletic trainer.

And on the ground, there's brand-new turf aimed at keeping players cool.

"This is cork, it's a cork field," Haynes said. "It's not the recycled tires or black rubber that most campuses have, which draws all the heat to it and adds 20 or 30 degrees to the football field."

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CBS13 used a temperature gun to check the temperature on multiple surfaces. Around 7pm, it was 94 on the grass field, 118 on the asphalt and 104 on the new cork turf.

"It absorbs heat a little easier, you can lay on it, it's not hot," Haynes said.

Coronado watches players from the sidelines, on the lookout for signs of heatstroke.

"We're looking at headaches dizziness, lightheadedness, signs of disorientation, vomiting, that kind of stuff," he said.

Many of the freshmen aren't used to carrying gear or tackling in the heat. Varsity player Daniel Ray has some advice.

"Just gotta make sure you keep breathing, keep your head up because once you put your head down, that's when you start to pass out," Ray said.

The Laguna Creek team of coaches stays close to the action to guarantee each player makes it into the end zone.

"We do everything we can and heat is just part of the Central Valley," Haynes said.

He told CBS13 parents are a big part of the solution: making sure their kids drink plenty of fluids and eat healthily. The Varsity team will play its first game in just three weeks.