TPS institutes 1-6 p.m. football practice ban
BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
8/07/12 at 12:45 PM
Tulsa Public Schools football teams are under a practice moratorium from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily to avoid the hottest part of the day while triple-digit heat continues.
Most high school and junior high teams are practicing in the morning hours, and some are practicing after 6 p.m., TPS athletic director Gil Cloud said.
“We just have to watch the kids and make sure they aren’t getting too much heat,” Cloud said.
Cloud said he instituted the ban last week when preseason work for cross country and girls fastpitch softball teams began, and decided Monday to extend it for football.
Tuesday was the first day that football teams could take to the practice field.
Drills are limited to non-contact work until Friday when teams can don full pads for the first time.
Tulsans have seen a succession of blistering daytime highs well over 100 degrees. Cloud said the ban would remain in effect until at least next Monday when he will decide whether to extend it, depending on long-range weather forecasts.
Highs dipping into the 90s are forecast for later this week, but temperatures are expected to climb back over 100 degrees by early next week.
OSSAA staff member David Jackson said he did not know of any other school district under such a moratorium, but that almost all teams were going with early-morning or evening practices.
Associated Images:
Gil Cloud
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