Evening Practice in August…so much better!!!!!

[coachdubyah]

I know some people pride theirselves with going at like 6am to beat the heat, but we are going in the evening. We have a “wet bulb” cut off (Google it) and if it gets too hot there are no outside activities. To beat this, the program I’m with practices in the evening….I freakin love it. Yes I get home late, yes it puts a little more on the Mrs…but it’s so much better. I leave school after the last bell (2:30pm), go pick my kids up(this sold my wife on it), run home, fix me a cup of coffee, spend a little time with family. Then I head back up to the school around 4:30-5:00.

Players go home after school, do homework (I mean if they don’t it’s on them). Meetings start at 5:30, pre practice at 6. Period 1 at 6:15. Go til 8. Yes it’s a late night, but I’m failing to see why this is such a bad thing…8-10 years ago I was all about getting up and getting it done. But our players are so much more energetic than they would be at 6am…some people do it and that’s cool. No body misses and our parents actually like it too. But if you’re struggling right now to beat the heat down here in SEC country, I recommend this!!!!!

[tripsclosed]

Aug 12, 2024 21:04:42 GMT -6 coachdubyah said:

I know some people pride theirselves with going at like 6am to beat the heat, but we are going in the evening. We have a “wet bulb” cut off (Google it) and if it gets too hot there are no outside activities. To beat this, the program I’m with practices in the evening….I freakin love it. Yes I get home late, yes it puts a little more on the Mrs…but it’s so much better. I leave school after the last bell (2:30pm), go pick my kids up(this sold my wife on it), run home, fix me a cup of coffee, spend a little time with family. Then I head back up to the school around 4:30-5:00.

Players go home after school, do homework (I mean if they don’t it’s on them). Meetings start at 5:30, pre practice at 6. Period 1 at 6:15. Go til 8. Yes it’s a late night, but I’m failing to see why this is such a bad thing…8-10 years ago I was all about getting up and getting it done. But our players are so much more energetic than they would be at 6am…some people do it and that’s cool. No body misses and our parents actually like it too. But if you’re struggling right now to beat the heat down here in SEC country, I recommend this!!!!!

Seems like this could be better for the homework and practice energy aspect, too. If you go straight into practice after school, who's going to have the energy and motivation to do homework after having been up early for school anyways, spending all day at school, then getting further sapped of energy at practice? By doing this, it allows the players to get homework done for the night, and maybe catch a quick power nap to refresh before practice.

[silkyice]

There is a lot to like here.

But, that makes for a long day for everyone. Just curious how this feels after a couple of weeks.

Also, is impractical for schools for where majority of kids are bussed. They would just have to stay at school from 3 until practice starts. Sure they could get their hw done, but what about food? And being at school from early until late knowing you have to be back at school in the morning is tough.

Every situation is different though and it sounds like it is working for yours.

[tripsclosed]

Aug 13, 2024 5:18:19 GMT -6 silkyice said:

There is a lot to like here.

But, that makes for a long day for everyone. Just curious how this feels after a couple of weeks.

Also, is impractical for schools for where majority of kids are bussed. They would just have to stay at school from 3 until practice starts. Sure they could get their hw done, but what about food? And being at school from early until late knowing you have to be back at school in the morning is tough.

Every situation is different though and it sounds like it is working for yours.

Isn't it a long day for everyone either way? Lol. Sure it's an extra trip, I do get that

The bussing concern was the one reservation about this that crossed my mind. As far as food, they could pack snacks/dinner. But it's still a valid concern

[44special]

beating the heat would be location based.

at 6pm in texas, it might be a degree or 2 from the high temp of the day, but it's still very hot. starts cooling off more around 8.

not that anybody i know of in texas does that. there may be a few, but most practice right after school. some kids wouldn't be available later; part time jobs, farm/ranch stuff, etc.....

if you wanna beat the heat, morning is about the only time available.

[CS]

Aug 13, 2024 8:34:50 GMT -6 tripsclosed said:

Aug 13, 2024 5:18:19 GMT -6 silkyice said:

There is a lot to like here.

But, that makes for a long day for everyone. Just curious how this feels after a couple of weeks.

Also, is impractical for schools for where majority of kids are bussed. They would just have to stay at school from 3 until practice starts. Sure they could get their hw done, but what about food? And being at school from early until late knowing you have to be back at school in the morning is tough.

Every situation is different though and it sounds like it is working for yours.

Isn't it a long day for everyone either way? Lol. Sure it's an extra trip, I do get that

The bussing concern was the one reservation about this that crossed my mind. As far as food, they could pack snacks/dinner. But it's still a valid concern

No cause we have the kids during the school day. So we bang it out and go home. 6-8 am for the win if we have to

[silkyice]

Hope this doesn't actually derail this good discussion, but I swear in Montgomery, AL, 3pm feels a whole lot better than 6am. I realize that it is 96 at 3pm at 80 at 6am, but the field is wet and the air is so muggy, you can't breathe. I usually feel cooler in the afternoons.

I am soaking in sweat during morning practices and realized that yesterday afternoon, I was dry at it was 96 degrees.


Of course, 6pm would feel better, but it isn't until about 8pm that it actually starts to feel cooler.

[CS]

Aug 13, 2024 9:29:58 GMT -6 silkyice said:

Hope this doesn't actually derail this good discussion, but I swear in Montgomery, AL, 3pm feels a whole lot better than 6am. I realize that it is 96 at 3pm at 80 at 6am, but the field is wet and the air is so muggy, you can't breathe. I usually feel cooler in the afternoons.

I am soaking in sweat during morning practices and realized that yesterday afternoon, I was dry at it was 96 degrees.

Here’s the thing. If you get out there earlier in the afternoon(even if it’s hot) the field hasn’t absorbed all of that heat or at least not as much. Let it sit there and smolder for several hours and it’s like walking out on a frying pan to practice.

This of course is only relative to turf fields.

We’ve gone 6 am the last 2 days and it’s been glorious

Here is the real question. How come we get wet bulbed out of practice but not games? 7pm around here feels awful

[silkyice]

Aug 13, 2024 9:35:35 GMT -6 CS said:

Aug 13, 2024 9:29:58 GMT -6 silkyice said:

Hope this doesn't actually derail this good discussion, but I swear in Montgomery, AL, 3pm feels a whole lot better than 6am. I realize that it is 96 at 3pm at 80 at 6am, but the field is wet and the air is so muggy, you can't breathe. I usually feel cooler in the afternoons.

I am soaking in sweat during morning practices and realized that yesterday afternoon, I was dry at it was 96 degrees.

Here’s the thing. If you get out there earlier in the afternoon(even if it’s hot) the field hasn’t absorbed all of that heat or at least not as much. Let it sit there and smolder for several hours and it’s like walking out on a frying pan to practice.

This of course is only relative to turf fields.

We’ve gone 6 am the last 2 days and it’s been glorious

Here is the real question. How come we get wet bulged out of practice but not games? 7pm around here feels awful

Turf does make a difference!

I was at a different school last year and we were turf. The humidity was not near as severe. I think the temp was a little hotter, but the overall feel was better.

We never did morning practices. Is the field dry on turf in the morning?

[mnike23]

in the south, running the risk of evening practices when it storm more here than in oregon.....
3pm its hot, sunny,
6pm its cloudy and rainy, or lightning or the threat is there(daily)
missing a 6pm practice because of cloud and rain, when it was sunny and clear at 3pm, is the cause for concern as we wont do any night practices until october...

[coachwoodall]

Aug 13, 2024 9:35:35 GMT -6 CS said:

Aug 13, 2024 9:29:58 GMT -6 silkyice said:

Hope this doesn't actually derail this good discussion, but I swear in Montgomery, AL, 3pm feels a whole lot better than 6am. I realize that it is 96 at 3pm at 80 at 6am, but the field is wet and the air is so muggy, you can't breathe. I usually feel cooler in the afternoons.

I am soaking in sweat during morning practices and realized that yesterday afternoon, I was dry at it was 96 degrees.

Here’s the thing. If you get out there earlier in the afternoon(even if it’s hot) the field hasn’t absorbed all of that heat or at least not as much. Let it sit there and smolder for several hours and it’s like walking out on a frying pan to practice.

This of course is only relative to turf fields.

We’ve gone 6 am the last 2 days and it’s been glorious

Here is the real question. How come we get wet bulbed out of practice but not games? 7pm around here feels awful

according to our guidelines, we might/can

[coachwoodall]

Aug 13, 2024 9:41:46 GMT -6 silkyice said:

Aug 13, 2024 9:35:35 GMT -6 CS said:

Here’s the thing. If you get out there earlier in the afternoon(even if it’s hot) the field hasn’t absorbed all of that heat or at least not as much. Let it sit there and smolder for several hours and it’s like walking out on a frying pan to practice.

This of course is only relative to turf fields.

We’ve gone 6 am the last 2 days and it’s been glorious

Here is the real question. How come we get wet bulged out of practice but not games? 7pm around here feels awful

Turf does make a difference!

I was at a different school last year and we were turf. The humidity was not near as severe. I think the temp was a little hotter, but the overall feel was better.

We never did morning practices. Is the field dry on turf in the morning?

turf game field, with adjacent grass practice field

grass field used to always be worse...... b/c the maintenance crew ran the sprinklers around 1-2 PM, soaking the field just in time to get steamy

thankfully we got that fixed

[CS]

Aug 13, 2024 9:41:46 GMT -6 silkyice said:

Aug 13, 2024 9:35:35 GMT -6 CS said:

Here’s the thing. If you get out there earlier in the afternoon(even if it’s hot) the field hasn’t absorbed all of that heat or at least not as much. Let it sit there and smolder for several hours and it’s like walking out on a frying pan to practice.

This of course is only relative to turf fields.

We’ve gone 6 am the last 2 days and it’s been glorious

Here is the real question. How come we get wet bulged out of practice but not games? 7pm around here feels awful

Turf does make a difference!

I was at a different school last year and we were turf. The humidity was not near as severe. I think the temp was a little hotter, but the overall feel was better.

We never did morning practices. Is the field dry on turf in the morning?

It hasn’t been wet the last 2 days. I have walked out in the morning before and it has been. We just get new turf though so that may be the difference maker?

[silkyice]

Aug 13, 2024 9:59:21 GMT -6 coachwoodall said:

Aug 13, 2024 9:41:46 GMT -6 silkyice said:

Turf does make a difference!

I was at a different school last year and we were turf. The humidity was not near as severe. I think the temp was a little hotter, but the overall feel was better.

We never did morning practices. Is the field dry on turf in the morning?

turf game field, with adjacent grass practice field

grass field used to always be worse...... b/c the maintenance crew ran the sprinklers around 1-2 PM, soaking the field just in time to get steamy

thankfully we got that fixed

I always loved it when the maintenance crew would weed eat or cut grass around the field or bleachers when we were practicing. I mean you have 22 other hours during the day to do that. We would like for the kids to be able to hear us when we coach.

[tripsclosed]

Aug 13, 2024 9:44:34 GMT -6 mnike23 said:

in the south, running the risk of evening practices when it storm more here than in oregon.....
3pm its hot, sunny,
6pm its cloudy and rainy, or lightning or the threat is there(daily)
missing a 6pm practice because of cloud and rain, when it was sunny and clear at 3pm, is the cause for concern as we wont do any night practices until october...

I too am in the South and this is a great point...

[44special]

only practiced on turf at one school. had to move over to the old practice field early on because the kids wouldn't put their hands on the ground.
maintenance crew started measuring turf temp; i struggle to remember, but i think it was over 170 degrees every day.
then they started using sprinklers to cool it off.

rain wasn't much of a threat in west texas.

[coachdubyah]

Week 1 we will be after school. Bulb should be fine by then. I really like this for the month of August. School has started but it lets them ease into the season.

[mrcoachklein]

We run our 2-a-day practices from 4-9 in Ohio, part of that is lifting and conditioning so we're actually outside from 5-9 with a 45-60 min. break in the middle. The second practice is always our best practice of the day, and a big part of that is the cooler weather. Now we're back into our regular after-school schedule, from 3-6. That hour from 4-5 feels pretty dang hot at times

[lws55]

I live in South Carolina and we started morning practice this year. We begin at 6 and are off the field by 8. We have 1st block football weight room so we get our lift in and film during that time. As a coach I love it! I am home with my family and we have not been wet bulbed once since school started. We have a few guys that are late but they will weed themselves out sooner than later. The energy at practice is better and we move faster through practice.

Last year there were times when the wet bulb wouldn't let us start practice until 7 or 8 o'clock at night.

[blb]

Aug 14, 2024 13:14:43 GMT -6 lws55 said:

I live in South Carolina and we started morning practice this year. We begin at 6 and are off the field by 8. We have 1st block football weight room so we get our lift in and film during that time. As a coach I love it! I am home with my family and we have not been wet bulbed once since school started. We have a few guys that are late but they will weed themselves out sooner than later. The energy at practice is better and we move faster through practice.

Last year there were times when the wet bulb wouldn't let us start practice until 7 or 8 o'clock at night.

That stuff definitely makes a difference.

Also confirms why I never desired to coach South of the Mason-Dixon.

Glad it's working for you, lws55!

[coachdubyah]

Block scheduling is the key. I would certainly be all for it with block scheduling. That’s crazy. Talk with the educators down here where I am. You mention block scheduling everyone acts like you practice witchcraft if you do that down here.

[CoachK]

We did 6-8pm at one school I was at because the women's field hockey team got priority. Loved that. Sucked for the kids, too, because they had school all day, weights/study hall until like 5, then a few more hours getting yelled at by the worst coaching staff I've ever been a part of.

We were a school of 4,000+ and had maybe 45-50 on varsity. I think that was part of the reason why.

[rsmith627]

Is evening practice becoming more common place? I am actually out of coaching this year, and we always started in mornings. I know I sure would've caught a lot less grief at home with the wife and kids if we had done evening practices instead.

[rsmith627]

Aug 13, 2024 9:35:35 GMT -6 CS said:

Aug 13, 2024 9:29:58 GMT -6 silkyice said:

Hope this doesn't actually derail this good discussion, but I swear in Montgomery, AL, 3pm feels a whole lot better than 6am. I realize that it is 96 at 3pm at 80 at 6am, but the field is wet and the air is so muggy, you can't breathe. I usually feel cooler in the afternoons.

I am soaking in sweat during morning practices and realized that yesterday afternoon, I was dry at it was 96 degrees.

Here’s the thing. If you get out there earlier in the afternoon(even if it’s hot) the field hasn’t absorbed all of that heat or at least not as much. Let it sit there and smolder for several hours and it’s like walking out on a frying pan to practice.

This of course is only relative to turf fields.

We’ve gone 6 am the last 2 days and it’s been glorious

Here is the real question. How come we get wet bulbed out of practice but not games? 7pm around here feels awful

In relation to turf fields, I coached in Utah for a while. Early in the season it's still pretty hot. Can see some 100+ degree days until Fall sets in. I was the OL coach. Some genius when we put in our turf though black end zones were cool. It did look good. The only space the HC would give the OL for indy work was in the endzones. We took a thermometer out there one day and it was 165 degrees lol. That's insane. 

[agap]

Personally I would like evening practices so I could get some work done for football in between school and practice, but that wouldn't work in rural Minnesota. Our school district is three towns so if we practiced from 6 PM to 8 PM, some kids wouldn't get home until about 9 PM. Then they're up the next morning to go right back to school. Those same kids would have to stay at school until practice starts, so they would end up being there for 12+ hours. It would be cooler here too either in the morning or in the evening until later in the season, but it's just not realistic for districts like ours. I would assume a lot of other schools in the state would have the same issue besides the metro and a few other cities.

[coachdubyah]

For what it’s worth, I feel like I have been sweating since Monday.

[blb]

Aug 15, 2024 14:17:34 GMT -6 coachdubyah said:

For what it’s worth, I feel like I have been sweating since Monday.

Good reason to want to get practice over (after school) and home into the AC ASAP.

6 PM would be my target time.

[44special]

i'm at 9000 ft in colorado.

heat wave here, moving temps from the 60's to the low 70's.

i still sweat when i cut firewood, though.

[coachagamble]

In SC. We went to the morning this year because of the heat. Will not go back to the afternoon.
The pros outweigh the cons by a mile. Kids and coaches have better energy, quicker pace of practice, and guys on staff have really loved being able to pick up their kids and be there for their wives and families in the afternoon. I know I have. Last season (my daughter is almost 2) there would be days I only saw her for 10-30 minutes in the morning before I had to leave for school and not see her again till the next day. This season I have gotten to pick her up from school, do dinner, bath, bedtime every night since camp started.
Think the move has been good for all parties involved.

[irishdog]

At my school in Texas, for our SCHOOL DAY PRACTICES I would hold an AM practice (7 am) and just worked on special teams (if needed) for an hour in uppers OR have the varsity in the weight room on Mondays and Wednesdays (school started at 8:20). Afternoon practices would start immediately after school with either varsity film/study hall/ freshmen lifting. On the field practice would start at 4 and go to 6. Yes, it was a hot, but we also only dressed in uppers on Mondays (offense). Tuesdays went full gear (Defense). Wednesdays uppers (both O and D). Thursdays always in shells at 7 am with a short game script.  The boys preferred it, and the parents (and coaches!) loved it!