It is the middle of October but the August heat still has yet to pass. With highs in the 100s, practice has not been much fun in the sun for some of the nation’s best athletes.
Many of the Poly coaches and staff have changed their regular routines around to accommodate the heat.
For some teams, the sun has been a blessing in disguise, getting some athletes out of strenuous practice on some days. This proved true for the Poly girls soccer team last week when Coach Collins rewarded her players with cool treats to escape the heat.
“Instead of running and conditioning, we eat Popsicles, take naps and bond as a team,” says senior varsity soccer player Madison Brown.
The basketball team is having a football scrimmage instead of the normal conditioning the players do in their morning practices but, luckily, the basketball boys get the luxury of practicing early in the morning.
“It’s a great feeling going to practice before the heat comes. I’m happy we get all of our working out done in the morning and have the rest of the day to focus on school and not think about the practice I would have had sweating in the sun,” said senior varsity basketball player Drew Buggs.
Even indoor sports teams are feeling the burn. Varsity volleyball player Maddi Olea jokes about adding an air conditioning system into the gym. “We would be able to practice longer in a more comfortable environment, I think it would be a really good investment and would make lots of us more excited and energetic for practice, especially this year,” said Olea.
Our varsity football team has already played two away games in tremendous heat, one in Arizona against the Centennial Coyotes and another in Las Vegas, Nevada against the Bishop Gorman Gaels. Playing in those cities has made the team appreciate the beautiful Long Beach weather.
“It may be hot now, but I know some other schools have it much worse than us,” said junior varsity football player Joshua Brown. “Playing in extreme weather like in Arizona and Las Vegas showed us as a team that weather can really affect your game if you let it.”
With the approach of the winter months, we will all have to wait and see if the sun gives these hardworking athletes a break this year or if they will have to endure more scorching temperatures throughout the rest of the season
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