Texas high schools adjust football practice hours as UIL enforces new heat safety rules

Texas high school football coaches must adapt to new heat guidelines requiring Wet Bulb Globe Temperature readings, impacting practice schedules.

BEAUMONT, Texas — Southeast Texas football coaches are preparing for a new reality when it comes to dealing with the heat.

Beginning Aug. 1, the University Interscholastic League will require schools to use Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, or WBGT, readings when determining how outdoor athletic activities should be conducted. The measurement accounts for more than just the temperature, factoring in humidity, wind and solar radiation to provide a more complete picture of heat stress conditions.

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The new requirements will have a significant impact on football programs across Texas, particularly during the August heat that traditionally accompanies two-a-day practices and the start of the school year.

Under the UIL guidelines, schools must monitor WBGT conditions and make adjustments to outdoor practices based on the readings. 

Those adjustments can include changes to practice length, work-to-rest ratios, hydration breaks, equipment and scheduling.

For East Chambers football coach Russ Sutherland, the new requirements will force his program to rethink a practice schedule that has traditionally featured evening workouts.

“The last couple years, the wet bulb has been basically a suggestion, a guideline to go by. Now it’s a restriction, so everybody in the state of Texas is going to have to follow the same guidelines,” Sutherland said.

Sutherland said East Chambers plans to move most of its August practices to the morning, when temperatures and heat stress conditions are more likely to be manageable.

“I’ve always been an evening practice guy, but August camp we’ll practice in the morning every day,” Sutherland said.

The changes could continue once classes begin. Sutherland said the Buccaneers will have to evaluate whether afternoon athletic periods and after-school practices can be held safely under the new requirements.

“We know the only time we’re guaranteed to get out probably is in the morning,” Sutherland said.

That could mean more schools across the state adjusting their schedules to accommodate the heat, especially during the first weeks of the football season. 

Programs that have traditionally practiced during the afternoon or evening may have to consider morning workouts when WBGT readings make outdoor activity more restrictive.

The goal of the new UIL requirements is to reduce the risk of heat-related illness while allowing schools to continue preparing their athletes for competition.

For coaches like Sutherland, the challenge will be finding the right balance between player safety and preparation.

As Texas high school football programs begin preparing for another season, the heat will now be even more of a factor coaches must account for before the first whistle of practice — and throughout the season.