Playing softball in extreme heat

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Jun 6, 2009
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Used to keep a cooler full of slushy ice water and washcloths in the dugout. Between innings they would use the cold rags to cool off. Made a big difference.


Agreed. We did the same but included full-size bath towels as well. From firefighter friends of mine, they do the same.

You got to love Texas heat in the summertime. :eek:
 
Nov 1, 2008
224
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while watching the WCWS i saw an interview with a player in which she was asked about playing several games in the heat. She said they have a small pool that they fill with ice and water to soak their feet in when they have breaks between games.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
We just got in and played our 20th game in the last 13 days. They changed brackets some and so, we didn't have to play 2 games tonight. We will play 2 tomorrow. Then, we advance into elimination play. We will play a minimum of 22 games in 14 days with an unknown number Sunday. Tonight seemed easy playing one game despite it being 99 degrees at game time and a heat index of 109. Tomorrow's high is 99 degrees again and the heat index will be higher. We have asked all players to get an ice bath tonight. Take the tub and run the water in over ice. There doesn't have to be much ice left when the water is drawn. Still, the players should sit in it for 5-8 minutes. This will do wonders for them. As a parent, I can't wait of Monday. It will be our first day off in what seems forever.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
Another HOT DAY at the Collinsville Extreme/Schutt Sports Tournament. Today topped out at 99 degrees with a heat index again of 115. We're through for the day. Start again tomorrow at 8:00 am. I give a lot of credit to all of the young ladies out there playing. It is so very hot. Also to the men in blue, good job! The temperatures are supposed to break soon and so, hopefully tomorrow will be cooler. The forecast for tomorrow is a high of 88. BTW, we now have played 23rd game in the last 14 days. Who knows who made up the brackets for this tournament. We won our pool with 3 games today and yet, a do not get a bye tomorrow. Yet, another team who placed second in another pool gets a bye. Tomorrow, how far can we go?

One other thought on extreme heat. Do you know the medical condition of your players? We have a young lady that has asthma. She hit a double and then we ended the inning. She was having a very hard time breathing and had to be taken out of the game. FYI, if you live next to a metropolitan area, you might have what is called a "heat island." The air quality is poor during these very hot days. If you have players with asthma, you'd better keep an eye on them.
 
Jan 6, 2009
165
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Texas
We have played a lot of games in very hot weather, sounds like you have received a lot of good advice. Mine to you from experience is to watch what your kids take in - really just common sense, lots of water, some prefer gatoraid type drinks, but water of course is best. I had one kid who loves frito pies (this is a bowl of chili with cheese and frito chips mixed in), when the 'angel' moms went on a food run, they brought in lots of fruit etc, this one kid ate the frito pie, she is the only one that went down in the heat, had to be treated by the ems people there and missed out on a lot of games on the last day.

Are your games timed or inning games?
 
May 24, 2009
45
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playing softball in extreme heat

Our games are timed. Usually 1 hour and 15 minutes long. But this past weekend we played an 12U "A" (open) tournament and we a definately a "B" team. There was a no mercy rule, so the other team could score, score and keep scoring. We were in the outfield for long periods of time and it was 103 degrees. The first inning the score was 10 to 0. We made tons of errors and could not get any outs. After 25 minutes of our girls in the outfield, the other team felt pity on us so they would deliberatly step off the bag before a pitch just to get an out to help us out. We would then get up to bat, then 3 batters later we were back in the outfield again. I do not think we even got through the entire line-up for the whole game. I am so glad that tournament is over...
 
May 12, 2008
2,214
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Finding enough games with the right level opponent for B teams who want to play can be problematic.
 
Jun 6, 2009
240
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Finding enough games with the right level opponent for B teams who want to play can be problematic.

Especially at 12U I think. At 10U there tends to be plenty of B tournaments and by 14U, the girls that are left have come to terms with their level of talent and just want to play a little softball and have fun.

At 12U, the girls (and their parents) are coming to grips with their capabilities in softball. Some are realizing that they are capable of playing at a higher level and have the desire, so they tend to leave for A ball. The rest are learning that no matter how hard they try they will never be able to compete at the highest levels and if they choose to remain, must learn it is more about having fun in softball and be satisfied with that.
 

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