It has become a chilling certainty. Each summer as high school football practice begins, those of us who follow the sport closely hold our collective breath and hope this will be the year that no one succumbs to the blistering heat.

Unfortunately, that has not been the case in recent years. According to the latest national Survey of Football Injury Research, 29 prep football players have died from heat-related complications since 1995, including four last year.

Our area has not been hit by the death of a player since two young men died less than a month apart during preseason practice at North Jackson in 2002.

The concern over heat-related deaths among high school football players has led the TSSAA to implement a policy that prohibits teams from practicing when the heat index reaches 104 degrees. Having such a rule in place also helps the state's governing body protect itself from a potential lawsuit.

Today is the last day of the TSSAA-mandated two-week dead period, meaning almost every area program will begin practicing again Monday, in shorts and helmets, with passing scrimmages also beginning.

Tennessee teams can begin practicing in full pads the week of Aug. 1, and because the first day of the month falls on a Saturday, teams across the state will be allowed to begin full-scale practices the previous Monday, July 27. That leads to either a week zero kickoff on Aug. 21 or the first full night of regular-season games the following Friday.

"Two-a-days in in full pads in July is insane," said Marion County coach Troy Boeck, one of numerous area coaches who bought heat index gauges to ensure they comply with the new rule. "We have some work to do to be in shape, but there's plenty of time with preseason practice starting so early now. You shouldn't have to put kids at risk with as much time as we have now.

"The new rule assumes we can't make good decisions on our own, but I think this is a reaction to some coaches who weren't doing things the smart way. Obviously you don't want a kid to get hurt by the heat."

Our passion for prep and college football in the South means that despite what amounts to a deep-fryer August climate, two-a-days are accepted as a necessary evil for teams fine tuning for the start of the season. Although most of us parents believe those in charge of our kids' team will always act in the players' best interest, the new rule takes away any wiggle room for an overzealous coach to put players in potentially harmful situations.

However, the new rule would not have protected 15-year old Max Gilpin, a sophomore at Louisville's Pleasure Ridge Park High School who collapsed last Aug. 20, when the heat index was 94 degrees. He died three days later and the coach, David Jason Stinson, faces both criminal charges of reckless homicide as well as a civil suit by the family.

That case, in addition to the staggering number of total deaths since 1995, led to a report by the National Athletic Trainers Association, setting guidelines for gradually acclimating players to heat. Because teenagers are more accustomed to staying in air-conditioned settings for such activities as video games and television, trainers now recommend the first 14 days of preseason practice be spent helping the kids adjust to being outdoors.

"It's tough to put something on paper proving the time kids spend indoors is the cause for so many heat-related injuries," said Christy Murray, the longtime trainer for Boyd-Buchanan. "I do think that is the case, but I also think another problem is that so many kids play sports year-round without a rest. That can take a toll, too.

"The bottom line is that coaches will have to enforce the new rule. It's set up as a way to protect the kids, but the coaches still have to police themselves and also keep an eye on every kid so they can recognize if one looks like he's in trouble from the heat. The heat is my biggest concern every summer when practice starts."