FOOTBALL: Less is more, coaches say for preseason practices

Perkins coach Gary Quisno had a long first week of two-a-day practices after teams began preparation for the 2009 season on Aug. 3.

He wasn’t alone.

In the spring, the OHSAA pushed back the start date for football practice from Aug. 6, to Aug. 3. That has given football teams a full three weeks of two-a-days, and four weeks of preparation before the season’s first game.

Coaches were also permitted 10 days of instruction in June and July, which is also three more days from the seven days allowed in 2008.

“I think it was a day or two too much myself,” Quisno said. “That first week was awful, awful long. It would have been nice to have broken it up somehow. It was a little long…a long week.”

At Bellevue, 19th-year head coach Ed Nasonti hasn’t seen the effects...yet.

“It’s a little different, but these first two weeks, we’ve run it like we always have,” Nasonti said. “Now, I’m going to have to evaluate where we are and see how we want to handle this third week, that’s going to be the key.”

At St. Paul, another 19th-year coach pulled no punches when asked where he stood on the extra practice time.

“I’m totally against the added three two-a-days and I’m totally against the days added in the summer,” John Livengood said.

“I think No. 1, there is so much expected out of these kids and a big part of this game is obviously weight and fitness training. It doesn’t matter what sport you’re in, you’re expected and should be physically training for that sport.

“Secondly, a lot of these kids play summer baseball and basketball, then you add three more days in the summer, so we had to be smart about how we used those days and we didn’t use them all and we never have. It’s important for our kids to have some time off and let them focus on actually getting to be a teenager a little bit.”

A third football preseason contest is also permitted. A preseason contest that occurs Aug. 21-22 may be a “Jamboree,” which is a preseason contest played under game conditions, including admission charges.

At Edison, ninth-year coach Jim Hall is taking an open, but wary mind towards the extra time.

“You definitely have to vary what you do,” he said. “We’ve taken advantage of all the days they give us, but we try to change our approach every day and lighten it up a little bit here and there.

“I think if they are going to afford us that opportunity, we’re going to use it and try to get better every day. But you have to watch out, the kids can get worn down or wary in a hurry, and you have to find that balance between too much and not enough.”

While admittedly yet to take advantage of the extra time, Nasonti said one positive could be the ability to space things out.

“It’s nice from the standpoint that we feel like we can get everything in,” he said. “Over the last few years, we’ve felt crunched because we couldn’t get all our stuff in. With what we do with our kids in the summer, we don’t take up their whole summer anyway, so we’ll see yet.”

St. Paul did not choose the option of having a third scrimmage, and Tuesday will practice just once after school as the strongly-opposed Livengood attempts to lighten the workload.

“My concern is kids getting tired and having dead legs,” Livengood said. “It gets difficult for them to come out with the same motivation that they had earlier in the season when we first start.

“It lets them sleep in a little bit and shorten the practice time down, freshen them up a little bit and be realistic that you don’t want to bury these kids and overburden things when you don’t need to.”

Livengood also pointed out he isn’t alone in regards to being opposed to the changes.

“I know that the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association did not promote or request that,” he said. “And I don’t know that many coaches who feel too positive about it. I just think it’s just too much and your asking for injuries. There is a limit to what you need to do.”