The new year is here and the soccer season is in full swing. In this past year we experienced new rules from UIL for Texas sports affecting games and practices that took place in temperatures too hot. Organizations like band, cheer, drill teams and sports teams like football and cross country were greatly affected by this rule. Some viewed it as beneficial and safer while others disagreed and were upset with their loss of practice time. Coming into soccer and track season, which are also outside sports, cold weather is causing some similar changes.
To find out more about these changes to our beloved Steers and Lady Blues soccer teams, I spoke over email with one of our soccer coaches. Coach Wankowicz gave me a lot of insight and first shared that “UIL doesn’t really have a rule that I’m aware of except to keep the safety of individuals as a top priority and to give some preventative measures to avoid hyperthermia and prolonged exposure.” He then said that our district does have a policy, similar to other districts. The district policy and recommendations for games and practices are below.
Coach Wankowicz gave some more information on his personal feelings about these policies. “I don’t have a problem with the cold weather policy because it keeps kids safe and at the end of the day, win or lose, we want every student athlete to go home to their family uninjured. As a coach, and many players feel the same way, we want to play. That’s why we do this, but we have to ask ourselves, what are the kids getting out of playing when it’s freezing outside.” He continues explaining some dangers of playing in the cold and common injuries that are a result. He also told us this policy wasn’t just for soccer but for all sports in winter. Baseball, track, etc.
After hearing about how Coach Wankowicz felt about these rules, I went to one of the girl’s varsity soccer players to hear a different point of view. When asked about if she was aware of the policy, Haley Escalante said “Yes, somewhat. I’ve heard it around. I just know if it’s too cold you can’t play. I became aware when our games got cancelled.” Knowing that the coaches are for this safety regulations, I was curious if Haley felt the same. “I think for important games we can wear protective clothing like leggings and undershirts. I think it’s kind of dumb because we have those clothes for a reason since the weather won’t always be perfect. Our sport is a winter sport and while some temperatures are too severe to play in, we should be prepared for cold temperatures” Haley shared. “We’ve gotten almost five games cancelled and that can hurt our reputation.”
Cold weather comes with soccer season in Texas but is it worth cancelling our games? Safety should always be first on the list of priorities but can precautions be pointless in some circumstances? Knowing the facts, tell us the feels you have about this down below!
