Learn why Redding-area athletes continue to practice in extreme heat.
Anyone who has stepped foot outside in Shasta County over the past few days and weeks can instantly feel the heat.
Its inevitability is nearly debilitating, but for high school athletes gearing up for the 2025 season, practicing in such blazing temperatures has become routine.
In preparation for such days, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has explicit rules and guidelines for how to monitor extreme weather and how to modify athletic activities to ensure player safety.
Rather than simply opening the weather app and looking at the air temperature, coaches, athletic directors and trainers are required to monitor the WetBulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), which measures heat stress in direct sunlight.
The WBGT scale factors in temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover. This seemingly complicated measurement process is made easy by a weather monitoring system set up at schools across the district.
At Foothill High School, athletic administrator Joey Brown said that various members of the athletic department will get alerts throughout the day regarding the school’s WBGT.
“Our district has installed a weather center on each campus in our district,” Brown said. “We use that measurement to determine if we can practice and if we have to modify practice.”
Due to the various climates found throughout the state, the CIF set up a three-category system to determine the level of restrictions on athletic activities. Foothill and other schools in Shasta County sit in the third and least restrictive category.
Check out the CIF’s guidelines here for a full list of WBGT-based restrictions.
On Monday, Aug. 11, when temperatures reached 109 degrees and the WGBT hit nearly 87 degrees, the Cougars were forced to modify their practice. However, the modifications typically don’t interfere with the preseason schedule.
“The modifications we fell under once it hit 87 was, we had to maximize our practice to go no longer than two hours, which most of our competitions don’t go more than two hours anyways,” Brown said. “There may be some conversations between coaches and players or parents, but as far as the actual practice, we couldn’t go more than two hours.”
While the CIF oversees creating these regulations, “it is the school’s responsibility to monitor the rulings by region and follow the guidelines,” according to the CIF North Section office.
Enterprise athletic director and head football coach Chris Combs and his staff have the weather center set up above the press box at Moynahan field.
On Tuesday, when Combs and his squad started practice at 3:45 p.m., the air temperature was at 106 degrees. Yet, the WBGT was nearing 87 degrees, forcing the Hornets to modify their practice. Combs and his staff pre-planned seven water breaks into their practice schedule with room for additional breaks as needed.
For Brady Combs and Cole Anderson, two seniors on the Enterprise football team, playing in this heat is nothing new.
“You just gotta get prepared for the heat, drink a lot of water the day before,” Anderson said.
Anderson and Combs both grew up in Redding and are accustomed to the harsh temperatures in the summer.
“The heat is really nothing, to be honest,” Combs said. “You’ve been doing it your whole life and as long as you prepare yourself, you’ll be fine.”
In fact, practicing in such temperatures might even give the local players an advantage over schools that don’t deal with it on a daily basis.
“There is a big advantage because other teams aren’t used to the heat,” Combs said. “When they come down and play us, we’re prepared for it."
“Other teams around the area are practicing in the heat too, but they're not going as hard as us,” Anderson added.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding athletes prepare for extreme heat, practice modifications
Category: General Sports
