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No hitting the ground running in first practices

Summer downtime and intense August heat have players taking it somewhat easy during their first few days back on the field.

By DAVID MURPHY
Published August 1, 2006

BROOKSVILLE - Aaron Bourguignon doesn't look like a kid who uses the word "scared" too often. He has a black beard that coats his jaw line, a square head, a 235-pound frame.

He is an offensive tackle, and if you are having difficulty opening the pickle jar, he probably can help.

Still, when the Central senior passed out two years ago after practicing in the August heat, he had no problem admitting he was afraid.

"It scared me," Bourguignon said. "I was shaking. I couldn't run. I fell to the ground."

Though Bourguignon was not hospitalized and did not suffer any ill effects from the incident, his bout with the heat underscores the dangers that arrive with the official start of football practice.

Just like the death of the Minnesota Vikings' Korey Stringer did in 2001, the recent deaths of two players in the bay area have thrust the issue back into public consciousness. And as Central and other area programs took the field Monday, issues like rest and hydration and acclimation were very much on their minds.

"It's something you have to be conscious of all the time," Central coach Cliff Lohrey said. "If (the tragedy) is what makes you start thinking about it, you probably aren't doing your job. But it definitely magnifies it."

For that reason, high school teams around the state will take it easy these next few days. Like the NFL and the NCAA, the Florida High School Athletic Association incorporates an "acclimatization period" into its practice dates. For the first three days of practice, players are not permitted to wear pads or engage in any contact drills. The goal is to gradually work athletes into the grind of practice, rather than force their bodies to adjust all at once.

Michael F. Bergeron, an assistant professor at the Medical College of Georgia and a member of the American College of Sports Medicine, said the human body needs time to adjust to the rigors of practicing in high heat and humidity.

"The bottom line is you need some gradual lead-in time to get used to exercising in that environment," Bergeron said.

Gary Pigott, an FHSAA staff member who has been with the organization 15 years and who oversees football, said the acclimatization period has existed for "as long as I can remember." This year, the FHSAA began publishing a guide for fall preseason practices that stresses acclimating athletes to the heat.

He said he thinks county administrators in the state have done a good job over the past 10 years in imposing guidelines designed to help athletes cope with the heat.

"Thirty years ago if you were at practice and you went to get a drink of water, it was a sign of weakness," Pigott said. "Now, I think most people have an open water policy."

While most players seem more concerned with getting the pads on than getting acclimated to the heat - "Right now it's like they are dangling candy in front of our faces," Bourguignon said - they also realize the need to take the heat seriously.

"I made the mistake once," Bourguignon said. "I don't want it to happen again."

[Last modified August 1, 2006, 06:59:25]