When the Heat Is On It Can Be a Devil of a Time

It should come as little surprise that Brent Newcomb, veteran football coach at Antelope Valley High, treats his players like plants growing in a hothouse this time of year.

They don’t call it hell week for nothing.

“We try to water them every 20 minutes,” said Newcomb, describing a routine that will commence Monday with the start of two-a-day practices for Southern Section football teams.

The grueling sessions will take place in temperatures sometimes exceeding 100 degrees, necessitating plenty of water breaks. Coaches also try to prevent heat-related problems by holding practices at cooler times of the day, usually in the early morning and late afternoon.

Medical and athletic training authorities say by taking precautions coaches can prevent tragedies, such as the one in 1992 when a San Fernando High player collapsed after a conditioning practice and died two days later as the result of heatstroke.

Sergio Echevarria, a 17-year-old senior who was trying out for the team for the first time, ran sprints in the early afternoon when the temperature reached 102 degrees. Although then-Coach Tom Hernandez cut practice short because of the heat, Echevarria collapsed about 30 minutes after running and lapsed into a coma after suffering three seizures at the hospital.

“It never made sense to me that that happened,” said Hernandez, who still teaches physical education at San Fernando. “None of the other kids were sick or tired or complained.”

WARNING SIGNS

Larry Cummings, an athletic trainer at Crespi from 1982 to 1995 and a Celt assistant football coach for all but one of those years, said coaches need to be aware of the signs and symptoms of heat-related problems.

“You might have an athlete who is sweating profusely, who may become somewhat lightheaded,” Cummings said. “The more severe symptoms are where an individual is becoming confused and disoriented, and sweats are beginning to dry up. That would be a heatstroke situation that would require emergency assistance.

“If an individual goes into unconsciousness or into a shock situation, these things need to be known and taken care of. Players whose condition extends beyond a profuse sweat should rest in a shady area and have their equipment taken off.”

Cummings, a longtime physical therapist who manages a number of sports-medicine and injury-rehabilitation facilities in Southern California, said coaches should be CPR certified and aware of any medication their players are taking. For example, he said players with asthma should have their inhalers available at practice.

Another commonly overlooked issue, Cummings said, is football apparel. Shoes should be broken in well before the start of practice to help prevent blisters, and clothes should be kept as clean and dry as possible to prevent chafing--this is especially important for heavyset players, he said.

Mike Wambolt, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound senior offensive lineman for Hart, knows all about hell week. Or, in Wambolt’s case, hell weeks. Hart will begin a two-week session of two-a-day practices on Monday. After three days in shorts and T-shirts, players will start practicing in full pads Thursday.

City Section teams, which no longer conduct two-a-days, began practice in full pads Monday after a week of conditioning. The high school season starts Sept. 12 for most teams.

PUSHING TOO HARD

Wambolt said the second week of practice is always the toughest.

“When you come back [for the second week], you start asking yourself, ‘When is this ever going to end?’ ” Wambolt said. “It feels like an eternity. It’s really an indescribable feeling. But you see all the guys around you going through the same thing, and that just pushes you.”

There’s nothing wrong with getting sweaty and tired at practice. But when players push themselves too hard--sometimes in response to the exhortation of coaches and teammates--problems can develop, a medical expert said.

Dr. Samuel P. Bessman, a retired USC professor who worked in the field of muscle metabolism and nutrition for 40 years, said it is harmful for athletes to exercise past their physical limits because the “other guy” is doing it.

“You have to keep their enthusiasm down,” Bessman said. “When small children play, they get tired and quit. No one has to tell them. But out on the football field, with someone whipping them up, players are going to try like hell to overdo something because they’re anxious to please.

“I think the way they should get into practice is very slowly over a few weeks. If you work players too hard, it might be a little much.”

Not to mention physically damaging. Bessman said overworked muscles can develop fibrous tissue that lasts a lifetime.

“To enlarge the muscle is a very good thing,” said Bessman, who advised the Israeli army on the intake of fluids and electrolytes in the 1973 war against neighboring Arab countries. “But you only get the enlargement to a certain point. If you get beyond that, and the muscle isn’t getting enough oxygen, it begins to die. It’s a slow process.”

For Bessman, the old adage “No pain, no gain” definitely doesn’t apply.

WISER APPROACH

Coaches, too, have come a long way since the days when players were given salt pills and denied water at practice because that was believed to be the best method to toughen them for the season.

“Yeah, I remember that,” said Newcomb, recalling his high school playing days. “You couldn’t get a drink of water. It was really stupid.”

Newcomb’s Antelope Valley players are provided with coolers of water and sport drinks, and can use a 12-man water station when the team breaks from practice every 20 minutes.

“It’s a good break, not only for the players but for the coaches too,” Newcomb said. “On a hot day, it gives you a chance to regroup and get the next period done.”

Newcomb, entering his 19th season as the Antelopes’ coach, said he limits two-a-day practices to two hours each--7:30 to 9:30 in the morning and 5 to 7 in the afternoon.

“We used to practice three hours, but why punish the kids because I can’t get it done [quicker]?” Newcomb said. “We like to be very organized and very crisp in our drills.”

Aaron Yost, a senior tight end-linebacker for Antelope Valley, said he brings two jugs of water to each practice. In between two-a-days, he relaxes at home and eats light, usually fruit and carbohydrates such as pasta and potatoes.

Just as important, Yost said, he comes into practice in fairly good shape after lifting weights and running on his own in the month leading up to hell week.

The 6-foot, 215-pound Yost said he can handle the physical demands of two-a-days much better now than he did as an inexperienced freshman.

“The first hell week was the toughest for me,” he said. “I didn’t know what it would be like. The running in the heat got to me. I didn’t stop but I felt like it. I’ve prepared better for it since then.”

GETTING PREPARED

Mike Cohen, a senior tight end-linebacker at Buena, said most of the team’s returning players participated in the six-week summer football program through July and have continued to work out on their own in the last month. Players who don’t show the same commitment come into practice at a disadvantage, he said.

“The guys on the team, you have to earn their respect,” Cohen said. “If someone is not here [in the summer], we lose a lot of respect for them. Not to sound mean, but we want to make them pay. We’ve been working [hard], and they just float right in.

“I wouldn’t want to do it. Sure, you can, but it’s a lot easier to go in with some conditioning.”

Cohen has been doing his part. Through diet and weightlifting, he has added 20 pounds since last season and is 6-2 and 210 pounds. His parents, Henri and Jackie, encourage him to eat properly and recently gave him a supermarket credit card so he can buy his own food.

Asked how many meals a day his son eats, Henri Cohen said, “Ask me how many times a day he doesn’t eat. Every time I see him, the refrigerator door is open. I think that thing is about to fall off.”

The elder Cohen said Mike routinely eats four peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches before dinner, and caps off his meal by eating a whole pumpkin pie.

Bessman said young athletes need to eat healthy, hearty meals to replace the massive amounts of calories they burn during strenuous exercise. And they should not be afraid of eating foods with fat and sugar, two taboos of our fitness-conscious culture.

“Don’t starve yourself of calories because you’re eating them up like crazy,” Bessman said. “A good athlete should be drinking whole milk and eating butter and cheese. . . . Muscles need a lot of [dietary] fat.”

HELPING HANDS

Cohen is bracing his muscles to take a pounding in two-a-days.

“I know what I’m in for,” Cohen said. “My back and neck are going to be sore. Every muscle is going to be sore, but I’m still looking forward to it.”

To help alleviate any problems that may develop, Cohen’s parents send him to a chiropractor once a week during football season and twice a month the rest of the year.

Donna Keller, whose son, Bryan Cox is a senior offensive lineman for Hart, said Bryan has worked with two personal trainers who help him with the mental part of football as well as the physical.

“Bryan has been taught how to concentrate and not get down,” Keller said. “He sees the game as a positive experience. I know that’s why he doesn’t complain [during practice].”

Patrick Devericks is looking forward to a unique feature of hell week at his school--St. Bonaventure in Ventura. The Seraphs will camp out at school Wednesday through Friday, sleeping in a large classroom. Devericks, a junior free safety, brings his own mattress, and players’ mothers help provide food.

“We learn to be together as a team and get to know each other,” Devericks said. “Staying the night, it helps discipline us for the season.”

However, Devericks acknowledged that the best feeling comes on Saturday when the team concludes two-a-days with an intrasquad scrimmage.

“If you can get through hell week, the rest is downhill,” he said.

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HELL WEEK TIPS

DO’S

--Drink fluids before, after and at frequent intervals during practice.

--Eat a balanced diet consisting of carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits, pasta, grains), proteins (meat, poultry, fish, dairy products) and fat (found in most proteins).

--Get at least eight hours of sleep.

--Warm up before practice and slowly begin any exercise or drill.

--New football shoes should be broken in several weeks before practice starts and layers of socks should be worn to prevent blisters.

--Clothing should be kept clean and dry as possible. Talcum powder can be used to prevent chafing.

--Coaches should be CPR certified and be able to detect the signs and symptoms of heatstroke.

DON’TS

--Avoid doing too much too fast. Overworked muscles can lead to injury.

--Don’t starve yourself. It’s important to eat hearty meals to replace burned calories.

--Avoid practicing in the middle of the day when temperatures are the highest.

--Don’t continue exercising if you feel faint or light-headed.

--Coaches and peers should not pressure a player to exercise past the point of exhaustion or pain.

MYTHS

--Salt tablets help replentish lost salt due to sweating. Actually they provide no relief and will make the player more thirsty.

--Sports drinks are best for replacing lost fluids. While good, sports drinks are not terribly important. Water works just fine.

--Fat and sugar should be avoided in the diet. On the contrary, some fat is needed by muscles to recover from exercise, and sugar is good for providing energy. Sugar substitutes should be avoided, however.

--Young people can handle and recover from heavy exercise, even if they are not in peak condition. In truth, growing bodies are susceptible to pulls, sprains and injuries.