VIDALIA — While many young athletes are learning how to play baseball and softball this summer, spectators alike are faced with a different challenge.

How do you beat the heat?

With temperatures often rising into what feels like triple digits, one can only do so much to cool down at all-star tournaments across the South.

For Millie Stokes, like many others, doing her best to stay cool is about thinking ahead.

Stokes was watching her grandson Kade play with the East Ouachita North 9U all-star baseball team at a tournament in Vidalia Friday night. Her secret weapon was a battery-powered fan that pumped cold mist out of an ice-filled 5-gallon bucket.

“We are as prepared as we can be prepared,” Stokes said. “This thing is wonderful.”

Stokes was accompanied by her daughter and Kade’s mother, Shelly Cook, Kade’s aunt, Terri Smith and her friend, Penny Jones.

All followers also had personal battery-powered fans that hung as necklaces.

“These aren’t bad either,” Stokes said. “They will keep you cool for the most part.”

When the sun is beating down, Stokes added that it’s crucial to drink lots of water. She said most people wear as little clothes as they can get away with and often look for the shadiest spots they can watch the game.

Luckily, Stokes said she’s never seen any small players get overheated but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful. She said its important to monitor that each child has enough fluids to stay hydrated and that breaks are taken when necessary.

“It is dangerous,” she said.

In the end, Stokes said even the hottest of days are worth it.

“You have to follow your team,” she said. “You just have to.

“It’s all about the game.”

Denny and Michelle Bozeman, parents of Vidalia High School rising junior Brandon Bozeman, are used to the heat, too. They like to bring their big umbrella to create shade for their folding chair setup.

The couple wouldn’t miss one of Brandon’s summer league games with the Miss-Lou Dixie Boys,  or any game for that matter, but they did say they would much rather the alternative.

When asked the best way to beat the heat, both laughed.

“We don’t,” Denny said.

“Yeah, it’s best to just stay inside,” Michelle added.