Mike Fultz knows all about football practice in sweltering heat and humidity.

Try Florida for training camp in late July and early August, like Fultz did when he was a member of the New Orleans Saints in the late 1970s. Back then, only the weak drank water during workouts and the trainers filled players with salt tablets.

"It was ugly," said Fultz, the former All-American at Nebraska who's now Lincoln High's head football coach. "Things have changed and we've wised up a little since then."

These days, more and more precautions are taken to protect high school football players from heat stroke, particularly during the first week of August drills when the athletes are still acclimating to the heat. Athletic trainers make sure the players are hydrated before, during and after practices, and players are weighed both before and following workouts to make sure they're not at risk of losing too much water weight.

Coaches schedule plenty of water breaks and try to quickly recognize players who are struggling and get them into the shade or a cool place.

"When I first started coaching, kids used to lose 10 to 12 pounds, and that was considered a good practice," said Waverly coach Mike Johnson, who's entering his 30th year as a head coach. "It's certainly not that way anymore. We're careful now that doesn't happen."

Still, there are serious episodes and sometimes deaths attributed to the heat. A 15-year-old Kentucky boy died last August after collapsing at football practice. His coach has been charged with reckless homicide in what could be a landmark case, one in which a coach could go to prison for a player's death.

According to statistics from the National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research at the University of North Carolina cited in a recent Associated Press story, there have been 39 heat-related deaths in all levels of football since 1995. With that in mind, the National Athletic Trainers Association recommended last month that high school football teams should eliminate two-a-day practices during that first week of August drills.

Lincoln East coach John Gingery says cutting down the number of preseason practices creates another safety issue, however.

"Eliminating two-a-days can be just as dangerous because then you're putting players on the field who aren't ready to play," Gingery said. "If they're not getting enough training to learn the proper blocking and tackling techniques, they're at risk of a serious injury."

Practicing in the heat "comes down to using common sense and keeping close tabs on the kids who might be at risk," Gingery added. "We play 4:30 (p.m.) games, and early in the season, it can be 110 degrees on that FieldTurf (at Seacrest Field). We can't completely shelter them from the heat."

Most schools, particularly in Class A and B, hold voluntary conditioning workouts throughout the summer to get their athletes used to the heat and ready to go when preseason practices begin. Waverly, for instance, has three sessions a week for its athletes.

"We tell parents 'If you want your kids safe when practice starts, you want to make sure they're at as many of these conditioning workouts as possible,' " said Johnson, who also has a week of voluntary conditioning (50 minutes per session) for the football team before the start of the practice.

In Nebraska, the days of having two full weeks of two-a-day practices have gone by the wayside with school beginning earlier and earlier in August. Class C and D schools, which begin fall practice Aug. 17, might be lucky to get one or two days of two-a-days in before classes start. And those workouts are likely without full pads since the Nebraska School Activities Association prohibits full pads the first two days of preseason practices.

But with practices for Classes A and B starting a week earlier on Aug. 10, there are more opportunities for two-a-days. With Lincoln Public Schools beginning classes Aug. 19, a full week of two-a-days scheduled around teachers' meetings is possible.

"We'd miss them (two-a-day practices) if they were eliminated," North Star coach Mark Waller said. "We feel it's pretty important to have that practice time to sharpen things, get in all of our offensive and defensive schemes and work on our kids' technique.

"We've been fortunate that we've never had a problem with heat," Waller said. "Our kids work hard during summer conditioning to make sure they're in good shape and ready to go when two-a-days start. And our athletic trainers do a great job of making sure the kids are OK and getting plenty of water."

Coach Doug Goltz phased out two-a-day practices about 15 years ago at Falls City Sacred Heart because of early school starts and for the convenience of the players and their families. Instead, the Irish hold one longer practice, typically in the morning if school isn't in session.

"It's much easier for our kids who live in the country to come into town only once," Goltz said. "We might do a two-a-day practice those first couple days before we go to pads, but we haven't gone with a true two-a-day schedule in a long time."

The NSAA's Sports Medicine Advisory Committee has come out with its own recommendations. The committee does not call for the total elimination of two-a-day practices, but suggests limits in the number of practices in a week, rest time between practices in a two-a-day situation and how many hours a team practices in one day.

Many schools, like Lincoln East and Aquinas, have already been working inside the framework laid out by the committee.

"We always have time for the athletes to recover between practices, and the coaches and trainers are careful to watch the kids we feel could be at risk (from heat illness)," said East trainer Mike "Mac" McCuistion. "We weigh kids before and after practice and make sure they're hydrated. If they don't meet the standard, they don't participate."

During hot practices, Aquinas coach Ron Mimick gives his team a five-minute break every 30 minutes. "They take their helmets off, get in the shade and drink as much water as they want," Mimick said. "We've found they work harder and learn more if they take a break from the heat."

Mimick's team will have a full week of two-a-days next month to open the preseason. Typically, the Monarchs practice from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m., then again from 10:30 a.m. to noon or 12:30 p.m.

"That schedule has worked well for us," Mimick said. "We'll take the recommendations from the NSAA and adjust where we need to. Our goal is to be done by noon every day to miss the heat of the day."

Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.