Principal, 57, Shows Team He Can Take the Heat

From a distance, he could have been any other player, bent at the waist, hands on his thighs, eyes glued to the coach, panting as the midday sun drew a steady sweat from beneath a Granby High Comets cap.

But this was no ordinary player. In fact, this was no player at all. This was the principal.

It all started when a dozen parents called Principal Michael Caprio last week, worried about football practice on sweltering days in the wake of heat-related deaths of players from the Minnesota Vikings, the University of Florida and Northwestern University.

“It got to the point where I said, ‘Time out. I’m going out there. If a 57-year-old man can do it,’ ” then the conditions should be OK for a bunch of athletic teenagers, Caprio said.

Since then, Caprio said, he has received a number of supportive phone calls and e-mails from parents. He was even stopped at the store and commended.

“As a leader, they thought it was a good idea,” Caprio said. “I understand their concern--dehydration can be prevented.”

Besides regularly scheduled water breaks, players can stop any time for a water bottle or cold towel. If it gets above a 105-degree heat index, practice is called off.

Caprio and the team have endured heat indexes up to 102 degrees. But the principal said practice isn’t bad if there’s a breeze.

“Where is God when I need him? Where is the wind?” Caprio said before heading out into Friday’s stagnant air.

“It’s great he can come out here and keep up,” senior Levi Brown said. “I know if he’s still going, I’ve got to work harder.”

Football Coach Dave Hudak said Caprio has no problem keeping up with the players.

“He was a great athlete in high school, and great athletes rarely lose it,” Hudak said.

But after the first day of practice Tuesday, Caprio said, “I came in and laid down on the floor and my secretary thought I was dead.”

Caprio plans to practice with the team until classes start Sept. 4. He said he goes back to his office before the tackling drills.

“I don’t let them hit me,” he said with a smile, “because some of them probably don’t like me.”