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Sports

Local Athletes Prepare for Heat

High school practices for Missouri fall athletes can begin Aug. 8.

There seems to be no end in sight to the current heat wave which has affected most of the country.

That could spell some long days for area high school athletes as practices can start Aug. 8 for fall sports.

MICDS head trainer Stacey Morgan hopes that Ram players have prepared for what lies ahead.

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"There are always a percentage of athletes who do not come into practice in shape but those numbers have gone down in recent years," said Morgan, who will begin her 18th year as the head trainer at MICDS. "Some kids these days have personal trainers and a lot go through our strength and condition program."

That program, which has been going on for almost 10 years, is a six-week program during the summer.

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"You can certainly tell which athletes take advantage of that program," Morgan said. "They are much more acclimated to the weather."

Boys, especially football players, are the most likely to come into the fall having gone through the conditioning program.

All MICDS athletes must have completed a physical and passed a concussion baseline test before they can step on the field.

The physical must have been taken after Feb. 1.

"They can not participate in a practice without the physical and the MSHSAA concussion acknowledgement form," Morgan said. "We have had kids who come to practice without turning in their physical but we have never had someone fail a physical."

Morgan said that she and athletic director Don Maurer usually meet with the athletes at the beginning of fall practice.

"The coaches are great and usually give up 20 or 25 minutes so we can talk to the kids about the importance of diet, hydration and the such," Morgan said.

She said that contingency plans are in effect if triple digit temperatures continue.

"The National Trainers' Association and MSHSAA have some guidelines with the weather," Morgan said. "The bottom line is that you have to make changes if the heat index is in triple digits and if it is over 105 degrees you have to go to indoor practices."

One of the things that many of the MICDS coaches do is have early practices.

"We have had practices as early as 6 a.m. and the majority of the teams practice either at that time or 6:30, 7 or 7:30 if we have real hot weather," Morgan said.

Morgan has loved her many years at MICDS

"I love it," said Morgan, who is a native of upstate New York. "The coaches are awesome. They respect our department and realize our job is to take care of the kids and the kids here are fantastic."

Morgan admits to being an addict of the National Football League.

"I am a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys and go every year to watch one of their games," Morgan said. "But if one of my kids asks me my favorite team I have to say the Rams."

And in this case it is not the NFL St. Louis Rams but the Rams of MICDS.

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