Monday will be like Christmas morning for high school football coaches and athletes across Southern Nevada for the official start of fall camps ahead of the new season.
But unlike usual Christmas mornings, the temperatures will not be as cool.
When teams begin practices, temperatures are expected to be in the triple digits most of the day beginning at around 10 a.m. and a projected high of 109 degrees.
The first official practices for high school football teams begin with heat acclimation practices on Monday and Tuesday in helmets. Wednesday through Friday are non-contact practices in shells.
Dealing with the heat has become common for all Southern Nevada football programs, but temperatures are expected to surpass 110 degrees this week with Saturday’s expected high to be 115 degrees. Saturday is the first day teams can do contact practices with full pads.
“There’s a lot of mental fortitude that goes on with all Southern Nevada football players. It’s hot,” Faith Lutheran coach Jay Staggs said.
Coaches around Southern Nevada are working to navigate the heat, with teams practicing early in the morning or later in the afternoon or evening to limit exposure time in the sun, while managing the three weeks to prepare for the season that begins Aug. 14.
“We’re keeping an eye on the kids, making sure they’re hydrated, building in way more water breaks throughout the practice and having that emphasis with your coaches about keeping an eye on kids and just trying to stay ahead of it,” Silverado coach Tony Barilla said.
“Every summer, it’s always a challenge in Vegas and we always try to just have an emphasis on it early, understanding that for the kids they got to get in shape and get conditioned.”
Many teams around Southern Nevada will begin their seasons on Aug. 14. The final day for the fall team sports regular season is Oct. 23, which is the final day for games for the 30 Clark County School District football programs that opted for independent stays in March. The independent teams are not eligible for NIAA postseason events or state championships.
Education on nutrition, hydration
Sloan Canyon has been one of the teams holding its summer workouts early in the morning. The team has practiced at Montagna Park in Henderson at 7 a.m. with new turf being put in at its field.
Pirates coach Nate Oishi said the team has utilized a wet bulb thermometer to monitor the heat, which could impact how long players spend on the field. The former UNLV offensive lineman said aside from working on conditioning, he and his staff have focused on how players fuel their bodies to deal with the heat.
“We try to educate them on nutrition and how to keep their body the most hydrated,” Oishi said. “We tell them: If you’re telling me you started hydrated and getting ready for the game on game day, then you’re dehydrated for the game. The hydration is an all-week thing, and we try to educate them on that, but just trying to get them in the best shape in possible in the summertime.”
Staggs, in his second year at Faith Lutheran, said the team constantly stocks the kitchen in the varsity locker room for the players. The Crusaders coach said the team focuses on hydrating with coconut water and pineapple juice to get micronutrients that get flushed out by drinking just water.
Focus on type of workouts
Faith Lutheran will practice later in the evening, but Staggs said he is in constant communication with the team’s athletic trainer on monitoring the rising temperatures and weather index if the team needs to move practice later into the night.
Staggs added that the team’s workouts avoid older-generation workouts that would “run your guys ragged and grind them into the turf.”
“It’s been more of training the energy requirements for football,” Staggs said of the science behind the team’s time management in workouts to maximize time of drills.
“On average, a high school football play is going to last five seconds and then in a normal tempo you got about 25 seconds (off). We train for that and we utilize tribe test (conditioning) where they’re working a max effort for five seconds, it’s got a change of direction, linear acceleration, breakdown requirements. It’s five seconds on, 25 seconds off and we’re doing that for a series of plays.”
Mentally dealing with heat
Centennial has practiced later in the afternoon during head coach D.J. Campbell’s tenure, with the coach entering his fourth season. Campbell said there are extra precautions with team managers walking around with water and cool towels, canopies with misters and cold tubs to help reduce body temperature if needed.
The summer heat will last throughout camps and go into the early parts of the season with temperatures at game times in August and early September expected to be at or near triple digits.
Campbell said he and his staff have been very “intentional” and “efficient” about the time the team is together to help deal with the mental aspects of playing through the heat.
“It’s not even so much about the physical to be honest, it’s about the mental aspect of it and dealing with the heat. It’s hot,” Campbell said. “I try to make the guys comfortable with the heat. … The mental aspect of it is fighting through the mental fatigue or mental stress.
“Just getting them mentally to have to deal with adversity or deal with changes on the fly while it’s still hot outside. So once the games come, it’s a little bit cooler, slightly cooler at game time and that mental fatigue isn’t as stressful.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Key dates for 2026 high school football season
Monday-Tuesday: Heat acclimation practices with helmets
Wednesday-Friday: Non-contact football practices in shells
Saturday: First day for full-contact practice in full pads
Aug. 6: First permissible date for football scrimmages
Aug. 13: First permissible date for fall sports competition
Aug. 14: First high school football games in Southern Nevada
Oct. 23: Final day of fall sports regular season and last day for games for independent teams
Nov. 6: Beginning of 4A and 3A Southern Region playoffs
Nov. 13: Beginning of Open Division/5A playoffs
