It was a hot afternoon/evening for those fall high school sports squads that were outside on Tuesday.
Some school districts called off practice entirely, but some didn’t, on a day where temperatures soared into the 90s. One of those school districts was Wolcott. Wolcott Public Schools, not unlike many in the state, called for a half day, and with good reason. Temperatures reached 85-87 degrees inside Wolcott High, according to a report on nbcconnecticut.com.
Two outdoor scrimmages were called off. The only one played was between the Wolcott and Terryville girls volleyball teams indoors, and the doors were open to the outside air. The Wolcott boys soccer team did hold an intersquad scrimmage on the turf of Joe Monroe Field.
Wolcott football took to its practice field behind the school after 6 p.m. and got to work.
 |
| Wolcott football practiced under the lights on Tuesday evening. |
Temperatures still hovered in the low 80s at 8 p.m.
“We wanted to manage the conditions, the situation,” Wolcott head coach Jason Pace said after practice. “There’s nothing we could do. It’s out of our control.”
Pace and his fellow coaches told the players they could be in for a similar situation tomorrow. Wolcott also has a half day tomorrow. The plan is to have the players come in and lift weights at 5:30 in the morning.
At Bristol Central, the boys soccer team waited until 4 p.m. to begin their practice. The Rams had a home scrimmage scheduled for Tuesday against Torrington, but it was postponed. BC head coach Bruce Mazzochi said the scrimmage is supposed to be made up tomorrow in Torrington.
“We just practice light,” Mazzochi said as his team did cool-down exercises, adding “We’re not going to push them.”
 |
| Bristol Central boys soccer during Tuesday’s practice. |
Mazzochi said the Rams have been working hard since July, so it was OK to go light on Tuesday.
Bristol and Wolcott were both lucky to practice.
“Bristol allows us to practice, even if school is dismissed early,” Mazzochi said. “We just got to be careful with the hydration.”
Pace echoed that sentiment, with every practice valuable as Friday’s season opener against Wilby gets closer.
Mazzochi said players were told during preseason meetings to make sure to stay hydrated.
BC girls soccer practiced for about an hour, cross country went from 12:30-2 p.m., and football worked from 1-3 in shirts and shorts.
At Bristol Eastern, football was inside at 12:30 for their practice. Girls volleyball also practiced inside, but did so with the doors open to let some of the ultra-stuffy air out. There was no girls soccer or cross country practice. Cross country had a scrimmage called off while the boys soccer team traveled to Canton for their scrimmage, which was still held.
At St. Paul, football, boys soccer and girls soccer were scheduled to practice from 1-3 p.m. Girls volleyball went from 12:15-1:30 while cross country was called off.
In Waterbury, Sacred Heart called off all practices except for girls swimming. Waterbury Public Schools have already called for an early dismissal tomorrow.
