If you’ve found yourself sweating profusely on the way to class this school year, at least you’re not an athlete.
But if you are (DePauw is home of the student-athlete after all), then walking around campus is nothing compared to afternoon practices.
It’s no secret that it’s been hot as a thousand demons these past few weeks in the Castle. But the question is, how hot? Let’s look at it from a numbers standpoint.
Through the first week of September, temperatures reached a high of 88 degrees or above during six of the seven days according to AccuWeather.com. In that span of time last year, the highest it ever got was 82 degrees.
“Practices have been brutal with the heat,” said sophomore cross country runner Kevin Kenney, who noted the team usually covers 50-70 miles each week. “We usually try to run at the Nature Park and stay in the shade during hot days.”
Despite the hot weather, head cross country coach Kori Stoffregen trusts his runners with dealing with the heat.
“All the kids have run enough that they’ve run in heat before, so they also know how they’re affected by [it],” said Stoffregen. “Some can’t do anything when it’s hot and some it doesn’t bother them at all. So they do self-identify themselves in terms of 'how well do I do in the heat?'"
But that doesn’t mean Stoffregen and his staff don’t pay attention to the conditions.
“It’s just a non-stop 'are you hydrating well, are you drinking well before you get to practice, are you eating well,'" explained Stoffregen. “We also modify the workouts. We make significant changes to the workouts and so we don’t run near as much or near as fast, but we’re still getting quality work done [in the heat].”
The staff’s efforts are a result of a heat-caution reminder that director of sports medicine Rex Call sent out last week as temperatures started to rise. The precautions included taking frequent water breaks, removing equipment when it was not needed in conditioning and watching for signs of dizziness or dehydration from players.
With the health of athletes always a concern, Athletic Director Stevie Baker-Watson especially appreciated the precautions.
“This is what happens when you have folks who are in positions [they love],” said Baker-Watson of Call’s awareness of the heat. “Team’s walk out and everything is ready to go.”
But as many know, it wasn’t always like this. DePauw football coach and former Butler University quarterback Bill Lynch remembers dealing with the heat very differently.
“We were told to take salt pills. In all honesty, water breaks were at a minimum,” Lynch explained. “[Now] it’s light years different. As a result, we get a lot more work done now than we did then, because everyone was drained.”
But while the regulations of today have created a safer environment for athletes, the heat still makes it tough on them, especially football players, who are often wearing extra gear in the form of pads and helmets, which not only add weight, but heat as well.
“Honestly it doesn’t really affect me,” said junior linebacker Charlie Douglas. “But once you get off the field it hits you a little bit. You kind of feel more dehydrated. You kind of feel slower: like you have less energy.”
The program did it’s best in keeping the heat at a minimum over the course of the preseason. The team kept a running clock during the second half of last week’s junior varsity game, as well as not requiring its players to practice in full pads, considering the team didn’t have a game last Saturday.
“If that would’ve been a game week, they probably would’ve considered [full pads] in that case,” said Baker-Watson.
With August usually being the hottest month of the year, it seems fall sports is out of the woods with the heat, as temperature highs are not looking to break 83 for the upcoming week.