I coach middle school gymnastics at a small school in the northeastern part of the country.
- The weather is a major challenge for our sport.
We start practice for the pigskin season the first of November & the games run until the entirely end of November. At the beginning of the season, we deal with seriously hot & humid conditions. The gym at our middle school isn’t outfitted with a/c. While we set up electric fans, they don’t supply much relief, but because of the need for mats for stunting, it’s necessary to practice in the gym the majority of the time. Whenever possible, I take the boys outside & find a shady spot where we can take fortune of a breeze. It isn’t long before the weather cools off, & we’re dealing with freezing rain, snow & temperatures in the thirties. We then travel over an hour on a school bus to the away games. The gas heating systems on the buses are not able to keep up, but even with the heat blasting at maximum capacity, the boys all bundle up in blankets for the drive. The cold bus is still better than standing on the field, exposed to the elements, during the games, I sit in the bleachers & nearly freeze to death. Although the weather is especially brutal during basketball season, we get the fortune of cheering indoors. Fortunately, the gym is heated. We practice & have all games inside the gymnasium. Because of budget cuts, we no longer travel to the away basketball games, so the seasoned gas heating systems on the bus aren’t an issue.
a/c worker