Nacogdoches parents watching this football season have a new question in the mix: when does practice actually get called off for heat? Nacogdoches ISD is working on part of the answer. Commissioners agreed this week to draft a contract letting the district move practice into the Nacogdoches County Expo & Civic Center when the wet-bulb globe temperature outside is too high for outdoor drills under the new UIL rule that took effect Aug. 1.
Wet-bulb globe temperature is not the same number parents see on their weather app. It combines air temperature, humidity, wind, and direct sun into a single reading, and it has to be measured on the field itself, not borrowed from an airport station miles away. When the reading hits 91 degrees in Texas, outdoor practice has to stop under the new rule. Lower readings still trigger shorter drills, more water breaks, and reduced equipment. The rule covers football, track, cross country, tennis, and marching band, so the number matters to more families than just parents in pads.
Civic center staffer Miranda Hoffman told commissioners the facility is preparing for youth rodeo season and asked how the arrangement would work if Central Heights, Garrison and other county schools want the same access. Commissioner Sandy McCorvey said the county should try to help, adding, “we can help the schools out, especially if it’s going to help protect those kids.” NISD has said an indoor practice facility of its own has been discussed but is not yet planned.
For parents, this is a good week to ask your child’s coach or athletic trainer a few practical questions before the next hot afternoon. Who takes the WBGT reading at our field, and how often? What happens when the number crosses the cutoff, and where do the kids actually go? Is the indoor space cool enough and big enough to run a real practice, or is it a warm-building walk-through? Districts across the region are still working out the details, and this civic center arrangement is one of the first concrete plans in the area.
Source: KTRE