Texas HS A.D. Turns On Sprinklers, No Mosquitoes Arrive, Now Confident Safety Not An Issue

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, George Watson

http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2012-08-30/football-coaches-administrators-anticipate-no-issue-mosquitoes-games#.UEDS4kSq0vs

Lubbock Independent School District Athletic Director Mark Ball turned on the sprinklers in his yard late Wednesday evening and invited mosquitoes to come and take their best shot.

None showed up.

So he’s pretty confident that when high school football kicks off across the South Plains today that neither the players and coaches on the field nor the fans in the stands will be bothered by the buzzing pests, particularly reassuring given the outbreak of mosquito-borne West Nile virus that has swept across northern Texas late this summer.

“I’m sure our trainers always talk about the possibilities and we kind of put the health and safety issue in their hands,” Ball said. “If we anticipate trouble from heat or trouble from moisture, or cold, or mosquitoes or anything like that, we try to ask them to be prepared and have a plan for our kids. We count on them to be our educational professionals.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Wednesday, 1,590 cases of West Nile virus had been reported in the 48 contiguous states, with 66 deaths. More than 70 percent of those cases had been reported in six states — Texas, South Dakota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Michigan. Texas, alone, represents 45 percent of all reported cases.

North Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex have seen a tremendous amount of those cases to the point where there has been ground and aerial spraying for mosquitoes. But in the more arid climate of West Texas, most coaches report rare instances of even seeing a single mosquito.

“To be honest, we haven’t talked about it too much,” Ralls coach Tim James said. “I feel like if it was a concern here, someone would have mentioned it to us. We haven’t really had that much rain, so mosquitoes haven’t really been out. I haven’t been bitten in any of (preseason) practices.”

At Estacado’s scrimmage last week, mosquitoes caused coaches and players on the sidelines to break out cans of mosquito repellent, but the scrimmage was never delayed as repellent was readily available from the training staff.

Ropes head coach Lane Jackson said repellents such as OFF are always present with the team, but that he hasn’t been bothered by mosquitoes, either.

“We play six-man so a lot of times we play on a field where there’s a cotton field beside you,” Jackson said. “You’ve got to be aware of standing water. When we see them start buzzing around we start spraying the kids down with OFF and protect them that way. We haven’t had any mosquitoes during practice so it hasn’t been a problem.”

Even though the South Plains has had much more rain than last year, when the region was baking under drought conditions, coaches across the area report little contact with mosquitoes.

“We’ve sprayed and stuff out here before, but not this time,” Roosevelt coach Greg Poynor said. “We’ve had virtually no problem here. I don’t think I’ve even seen a mosquito since two-a-days.