The Heat Wave Strikes Oakton

As September rolled around, an unexpected heat wave hit, forcing many Oakton teams to move practices to the morning. This included the cross country, football, and field hockey teams. Temperatures soared as high as 98°F on 9/5 and 100°F on 9/6. This excessive heat puts athletes with an outdoor sport at high risk for heat stroke or exhaustion. Instead of opting for no practice, these determined teams moved practice to before school from 9/6-9/8.

Upon listening to the news of the practice change, Monice Uribe, a freshman cross-country athlete, thought “I wasn’t going to sleep enough.” Waking up early for practice was an initial concern, as practice is a few hours before school starts. Field hockey coach, Erin Keenan, said, “I like to start my day outside and moving around so I was excited.” While some are worried about sleep, others like Coach Keenan are excited to start the day with practice. 

As practice continued, Monica said, “My sleep schedule was pretty consistent, but I did feel really tired by sixth or fifth period.” When asked if the tiredness affected her school performance, she said, “Math is a little hard, it's my first period of the day. I eventually got used to it, but it was pretty hard at first.” In first period, Athletes struggle to transition from post-practice fatigue to learning, which can follow them throughout the day. However, as more practices occur, athletes grow less tired and more accustomed to the schedule. 

The practices themselves are affected by the time change. “Having everyone be awake and ready to have productive practice was a little challenging initially,” Coach Keenan said.  Monica recalled, “It was the same as regular, if not a little better. I felt more energized and not as drained by the school day.” Practice posed pros and cons--the early time led to athletes being tired and not as ready for practice. On the other hand, with regular practice, many are drained from the school day, so this earlier time has them more energized. 

When asked if they would prefer to have the early practice time or the regular practice time, Monica said, “Definitely usual, I would like to not wake up at 5:00 in the morning.” Coach Keenan explained, “The girls really enjoyed having the morning practice,  they like starting their day at field hockey, and then going to class, and then having the afternoon to do whatever they wanted to do after school.” However,  she added, “I think it might affect the games because it would be a long time from a 5:00 a.m. practice to a 7:30 game the next day.” Overall, she consistently preferred regular practice. 

So while the consensus for morning practice was positive, on a long-term basis, regular practices are the way to go. Morning practices took some adjusting and initially, there were some struggles, but overall, athletes and coaches enjoyed starting their day with practice and having the rest of the day for themselves. However, regular practice is better long-term because of the practice-game time difference and sleep schedule early practices cause. As the heat wave leaves, it’s back to regular practice!