KALISPELL — Unhealthy air is forcing young athletes off the field in northwest Montana.
State guidelines say sports must move indoors or be rescheduled when the air quality index tops 150.
That rule forced Flathead High School football coach Mac Roche to cancel the first day of youth camp this week. Legends Stadium sat empty on Monday instead of hosting crowds of young players.
Coach Roche made the call to keep everyone safe.
“I want to give these kids the best opportunity and the best experience they can camp-wise,” Coach Roche said. “But if the air quality is not below that 150 and not at a level where we feel safe and comfortable doing it, I'm always going to err on the side of caution.”
With no sign of the smoke leaving the valley anytime soon, Roche will be closely monitoring the air quality with the rest of his practices and camps in the near future.
Luckily, he will have help on the decision-making end on where and when to hold his practices.
“Ultimately, it comes down to what our athletic trainers are giving us information-wise,” Coach Roche said. “There's different levels that it needs to be at, and if it's in the unhealthy range, then we're not able to be outside. So I'm working with our athletic trainer as well as our activities director daily throughout this process.”
However, in the grand scheme of things, Roche also understands that his problems with the smoke, while inconvenient for him, are smaller compared to some.
“There’s a lot of communities that are hurting bad,” Coach Roche said. “Their houses are being burnt down, and you see what's happening in Spokane, and so you're just saying a lot of prayers and keeping them in your thoughts because, you know, as frustrating as it is for me to not run a camp, bigger picture, it's affecting other people in so many other ways.”
Roche will make the decisions on the remaining two days of youth camp the evening before the scheduled dates.
