The football players of Sedona have one new major advantage on the field that most high schoolers don’t.

The Red Rock Youth Football teams and volunteer group raised enough money to purchase a powerful misting fan, called a Port-A-Cool, for the high school teams and youth teams to use during practices and games. It was delivered last week, just in time for the youth teams to use it at their season openers on Saturday, Sept. 8.

The Port-A-Cool is a dynamic and effectual portable evaporative cooling fan for when standard air conditioning may be unavailable, impractical or cost-prohibitive. According to its website, Port-A-Cools “present an elaborate cooling system capable of cooling thousands of square feet by as much as 20 degrees and operate simply on electricity and water at a fraction of the cost of standard air conditioning.”

When football players are practicing or playing outside on the field, especially if it is artificial turf, in the beginning of the season [August], it gets hot. The artificial turf of the John Ordean Field at Sedona Red Rock High School is made of plastic which radiates heat exponentially. The temperatures on the field can get up to 120 degrees under the hot Arizona sun.

“The Port-A-Cool will help keep our boys safer by keeping them cool when they make it to the sidelines,” said Scott Saxman, a father of three SRRHS football players who was involved in the business end of purchasing the Port-A-Cool for the program.

For the full story, please see the Friday, Sept. 14, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.