High schools working to keep athletes safe amidst record heat and bad air quality

SALT LAKE CITY — Record heat and bad air quality are here just in time for high school sports to kick into high gear, with student athletes spending hours outdoors in these conditions.

Teams are spending as much time as they can on the practice field. However, current conditions are anything but safe.

Certified Athletic Trainer for Springville High School Lisa Walker said it’s important to have someone who actively monitors these dangers for student athletes.

“Everybody plays a role in keeping them [student athletes] safe, myself, the parents (and) the coaches,” she said. “If you don’t have an athletic trainer on your campus, you need to go ask why, because you’re doing a disservice to the kids.”

According to Walker, each school has special tools to help monitor heat and air quality. The machines alert when things become unhealthy, but it’s up to each program to use them properly.

“They’ve been given the tools: the monitor. They’ve been given the advice: the education and the consequences that could happen. It’s now on that team to make the necessary adjustments,” Walker said. “I am sad to report that many do not.”

Walker said it’s important for athletes and parents to be proactive by asking questions about the teams plan for extreme heat conditions.

Britt Johnson is a reporter and anchor for KSL NewsRadio.

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