Saskatchewan and Texas are probably two of the best places to be at this time of year especially if you happen to be a football nut.
Saskatchewan has one professional football team and a whole bunch of other clubs operating.
Texas has two pro teams and likely more college/university/high school teams than anywhere else.
This is a good time of year. If you like football, coach football, play football, follow football or even help to produce football gear, this is likely the time of year you look forward to the most.
It is still August. It is blazing hot outside. Two more weeks of flip flops maybe then it is time to bring out the arctic snowman boots.
School hasn't even started yet but football has.
If you are a coach, preparations include a lot of things but perhaps more important than the usual Xs and Os is the hydration factor.
As is probably the case in southern States such as Texas, Louisiana and Florida to name a few, the temperatures here are disgustingly high at times.
As most coaches in the game know, there is more to coaching football than simply teaching kids how to throw or how to block.
During the first football practice of the season here in Yorkton Monday, a handful of coaches got their troops together for what is expected to be the first of four one-hour-plus practices they will hold to get ready for season openers across the board.
During the Pee Wee Gridders time on the field Monday after work, coaches took time for at least two water breaks, according to staff.
It is firmly an issue at this age, says one member, adding that most of the kids are totally stripped of nutrients.
For one of the youngest age groups in the City, they took one break near the start and another near the end.
By the completion of the practice, the water bottle count was at 16.
Eight of those bottles were completely drained; the remaining were half-empty, reported one coach, who noted that most players anxiously await water breaks.
He said most players understand the importance of fluid intake, but some don't see it and they need to take it seriously.
Water intake isn't just important at the Pee Wee level.
Even some professional athletes have had instances where they've fallen victim to the dehydration bug.
As temperatures in parts of South Texas reach into the 100s, one coach said he gives his players five-minute water breaks every 15 minutes.
Even if the team is in the middle of drills, water is encouraged, says Gary Green, head coach of a team at Sam Houston High School.
Green also added that he recommends that players are weighed every day just to ensure that weight-loss is replaced each day.
Offensive and defensive lineman Ralphael Green, who is nearly seven feet tall and weighs in at 320 lbs, says he drinks around three gallons of water per day.
Most notably (and recently), Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins had been hospitalized overnight during the Bruins' run to the Stanley Cup this past spring.
Reports out of Boston said Chara's status to play in game one of the opening round of the playoffs against Montreal was up in the air because of hospitalization due to dehydration.
If there's anything you'd like to see covered by Game 7, please forward your suggestions to the Yorkton This Week sportsdesk by phone (306) 782-2465, or email jeff@yorkton this week.com.
