SALEM – Monday afternoon marked the beginning of the 2006 prep football season, with local players taking the field for the first day of official fall practice. But with temperatures soaring to record highs, it has some local football coaches concerned.

“I’ve been coaching for a long time, and I personally don’t remember a year where the weather was just absolutely terrible like it is this year,” West Limestone football coach Jeff Prince said. “It is dangerously hot this afternoon.”

Even though temperatures are unusually high, Prince knows his team members have to get their work in. In order to make practice a little more comfortable, Prince is making some adjustments.

“Instead of taking the field after school, we went in the weight room for a few hours to lift,” he said. “That way we could wait until about five-o’clock, and it and it wasn’t as hot. We are still putting the same amount of work in, just a little bit later.”

Prince’s main concern is dehydration, and like every other coach in the county, he is taking precautionary measures.

“We’re going to make these guys drink water,” he said. “Lots and lots of water. We have to make sure they stay good and hydrated. That way we shouldn’t have anybody fall out.”

Prince also had his assistants turn on the sprinkler system on the main field, where they could send the players to cool off.

While West Limestone was getting started later in the afternoon, every other football program started around 3 p.m. Elkmont coach Chad MacGhee had his players take the field at 3:30 p.m., but not without having water available for his players at all times.

“When it’s as hot as it is today, you have to keep the players hydrated,” MacGhee said.

At Athens, coach Allen Creasy was taking several different precautionary measures to ensure his players avoided heat-related injuries. Creasy said they were going to have plastic swimming pools filled with water in case a player suffered heat exhaustion. He also said there would be water available at every station along with a sprinkler system constantly spraying mist.

“Unlike when I played football, we know a lot more about how to prevent heat-related injuries today,” Creasy said. “In the old days, all coaches had were salt tablets and water. Now, all coaches are certified in CPR and first aid, and we go to several different clinics where they teach us techniques to prevent injuring our players.

“There is a fine line when it comes to how hard you can push your players, and it’s important that you don’t cross it. Every coach in the state would love to go out and have a two-a-day practice everyday, but we would rather have just one two-hour practice and come out with everybody healthy. We want to get as much work in as possible, but the safety of our players is the most important thing.”

Creasy also said Athens always has a physical trainer on the field in case of an emergency.

At Hatton, they are taking a different approach on the first day of practice. Instead of hitting the football field as soon as school is out, the Hornets coaching staff has arranged for an expert to come in and speak with players about how to take care of their bodies during extreme conditions. The players were supposed to learn what to eat when they go home, and how to make sure their body stays replenished with fluids.

Even though temperatures are soaring, all of the coaches are glad that it’s time to start practicing.