Pre-season Football Practice
Long Day / Short Day
South Carolina High School Football Pre-Season Practice Plan (Endorsed by SCATA, Ad Hoc SCHSL Preseason Acclimatization Committee)
BACKGROUND: In the summer of 2009 the Inter-association Task Force for Preseason Secondary School Athletics* recommended preseason heat-acclimatization guidelines for secondary school athletic programs to minimize the risk of heat illness during preseason football practice.
PURPOSE: The intent of the following “exposure-based proposal” is to promote an acclimatization and recovery model for SCHSL football consistent with the Inter-association Task Force guidelines that also allows coaches to appropriately prepare their teams and fits into the current SCHSL’s preseason football schedule.
PRACTICE TIMELINE:
• Days 1-2: 3 hours of Practice in Helmet and Shorts
▪ Divide the time to best benefit your program
• Days 3-4: 3 hours of Practice in Helmet and Shoulder pads permitted
o Contact with shields, dummies, and sleds permitted
▪ Divide the time to best benefit your program
• Day 5: 3 hours of Full Contact Practice in Full Gear permitted
▪ Divide the time to best benefit your program
• Days 6-14: Full Contact Practice in Full Gear permitted
o Must alternate days Long Practice Day and Short Practice Day
o Long Day: 5 hours of practice permitted
▪ Divide the time to best benefit your program
▪ Practices must be separated by 2-hours of continuous rest
▪ Long Day can follow a Rest Day (even if the day before the Rest Day was Long Day)
o Short Day: 3 hours of practice permitted
▪ Divide the time to best benefit your program
• Days 15+: Full Contact Practice in Full Gear permitted
o No restrictions on practice
NOTES:
• Practice is defined as a period of time a participant engages in a coach-supervised, school approved, sport or conditioning related physical activity.
• First practice permitted: Friday, August 2, 2024.
• Practice times (including warm-up, stretching, cool-down time, conditioning) shall not exceed 3 hours. • Three days between scrimmages 7 jamborees.
• All practices occurring Days 1-14 must be documented to show compliance.
• All athletes must complete Days 1-4 of the practice timelines before participation in full pads. • Weight room activities do not count as practice time, but must be separated from practice by at least 2 hours of continuous rest to allow for recovery.
o Exception: No continuous rest period is required if weight room activities are counted as a part of the day’s allotted practice time. (i.e. lift for 1 hour then practice for 2 hours; or practice for 2 hours and then lift for 1 hour)
• A Walk-through is allowed and does not count against practice time. Walk-through is defined as a teaching opportunity with athletes:
o not wearing protective equipment
o not using sports-related equipment
o participating in an indoor, climate-controlled environment.
• Must have a Rest Day after 6 consecutive practice days.
• Scrimmages permitted on either a Long Day or Short Day. A scrimmage will count as 3 hours. • All athletes must have a pre-participation physical exam before athletic participation.
• If weather/lightning postpones practice in progress, the practice may resume after a warm-up (20 minute maximum) and the remainder of allotted practice time may be completed.
*Inter-association Task Force includes – Gatorade Sports Science, Amer. College of Sports Med., NATA, NSCA, US Army Research institute, Amer.Orthopaedic Society for Sports Med., Amer. Medical Society for Sports Med., Amer. Academy of Pediatrics*
