The opening of preseason practice Wednesday takes on an added significance for coach Frank Lenti and the Mt. Carmel football team.
It was on the third day of preseason workouts a year ago that Kevin Dowling, a senior starting guard, was rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center after suffering heat stroke and then liver failure.
He died two weeks later–eight hours before his team’s season-opener against Joliet Catholic.
“I still spend a lot of time thinking about Kevin,” said Lenti, who said he believes the tragedy helped inspire an overachieving Mt. Carmel team to finish second in Class 5A last season.
“I coach the offensive linemen, and he was one of my guys.
“I know when we start working out, I’ll wonder about Kevin. He would’ve been out to watch us.”
With a forecast of partly sunny and temperatures in the mid-80s Wednesday and mid-70s to low-80s through Saturday, practice conditions will be nothing like last summer’s brutal heat wave.
Mt. Carmel will follow its usual regimen of practices from 8 a.m. to 9:25 a.m., 10 a.m. to 11:25 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 2:25 p.m., with unlimited water breaks.
Practices in full gear begin Saturday, and Lenti said his players will be in shorts and helmets only for the afternoon workouts.
“We’ve always been very concerned about heat exhaustion,” Lenti said. “Now, we’ll be even more leery.”
At Sandburg, trainer John Wator strongly recommends daily weigh-ins and weigh-outs to monitor water weight loss. In times of extreme heat, Wator said coaches should consider practicing during the cooler times of the day with players constantly drinking small amounts of water.
He added that players should eat healthy and avoid any liquids with caffeine.
According to Wator, early warning signs of approaching heat exhaustion are extreme perspiration, sluggish movements and stomach sickness.
He cautioned that some high school students can cover up these symptoms because of their athleticism.
McHenry coach Mike Noll remembers playing in junior high for a coach who didn’t believe in water breaks during practice. That old-line, hard-nosed thinking has been universally replaced with modern methods that stress total hydration.
Noll’s players undergo two-a-days, with each session lasting two hours. There is a one-hour break and half-hour chalk talk between workouts.
“We have three official water breaks during each practice, and the kids bring their water bottles with them wherever they go,” Noll said.
“If it gets real hot, we’ll double the water breaks and get off the field and out of the sun sooner.”
