You might see some reports about high school football practice starting today (Aug. 3). Lake Highlands won’t hit the practice field for another week – Monday, Aug. 10.
So why do the Wildcats have to wait a week? According to UIL rules, only those teams that did not conduct spring practice could begin workouts today. Everyone that did have spring workouts, including LH, has to wait a week.
Only Class 5A and 4A teams have the option of spring practice. Class 3A and below cannot practice in the spring, so all of the smaller schools started today.
Most coaches would rather have the extra practices in the spring than start a week earlier in the summer. One reason is they can conduct full-contact workouts in the spring and not be as fearful of a player missing a game because of an injury.
Also, regardless of whether a team starts today or next week, much of the first week in August is taken up by UIL-mandated conditioning before teams are allowed to put on pads. Most coaches would rather rely on carryover from the extra spring workouts than try to cram the same instruction into an extra week in August.
