By : Hailey Smithson
Due to the recent fires surrounding the valley the air quality has been constantly in the unhealthy range. The smoke that settles into the valley has an impact on everyone’s lives, however to athletes it becomes even more of a concern.
Since sport conditioning has started to take place, a few of the practices have already been cancelled due to the high air quality index. Also, there are many athletes that are still practicing and working out by themselves or with their club teams in order to keep their skills sharp. This leads to those athletes being out in the air quality, which could harm them in the long run.
Edgar Gonzalez, ‘21 has been putting in extra work throughout this time and he has realized that during his workouts he feels the need to, “take breaks more frequently than normal.” The air being filled with smoke from the fires causes athletes to not be able to take in as much oxygen as their lungs to need to be able to push through strenuous workouts.
Kiley Langford, ‘22 has been practicing with her travel softball team throughout the past few months and has realized just how much the air we breathe affects the way our bodies work. When she is outside practicing she has noticed that, “it can become hard to breathe.”
Langford is a three-sport athlete who is used to pushing herself through tough conditions but breathing this air makes it hard to workout at the normal pace.
Luckily, Langford’s coach Leroy Smithson takes into account the health of his players and wants to be sure that he is not pushing them too hard. Before every practice he checks the air quality index (AQI) in order to determine whether it is safe to have his athletes out playing and practicing.
Smithson is “always in contact with players and parents regarding air quality to make sure I can keep up with their concerns and plan accordingly”.
Langford praises her coach for his concerns and says, “He makes sure that we are safe before anything else”. Smithson is one of the coaches that are canceling practices to ensure that his athletes can remain healthy.
“Health and safety are the most important things in youth sports”.
Leroy Smithson, travel softball coach
This air quality has been a setback for many athletes because it limits the amount of work they are able to get in before they feel the need to rest. However by taking precautions they will be healthy to return to normal practices once the smoke and ash is gone.
Tags: air quality, fires, sports