WHITELAND, Ind. — In Central Indiana, some high school football teams, including Whiteland, are having early morning practices to help avoid the hottest temperatures of the day.
Players hit the field under the lights around 6 a.m. Tuesday for practice.
"The plan is the next three days, we'll be here in the mornings," Whiteland High School football head coach Darrin Fisher said.
The school made the decision to move practice times this week to keep student athletes safe.
"Everybody wants to keep the kids (as) safe as we can. Obviously, with the heat index as high as it was, we still want to practice football and keep everyone safe and be effective," Fisher said. "We had to move either to the evenings or the mornings, and we thought the morning was probably the best option."
The morning wasn't a bad choice, with a light breeze and around 75 degrees.
Players had plenty of water on hand, along with periodic breaks Tuesday morning.
It's a protocol other school districts are also following this week as temperatures soar.
Fisher believes his players are adjusting well.
"We do what it takes, and you know, experienced football teams expect to adjust and adapt ... so that's what we're doing this morning," Fisher said.
According to Fisher, they're even looking at the idea of pushing back the kickoff time for Friday's game to try to beat those hot temperatures.