NCAA football preseason practice rules changes have coaches making major adjustments in preparation for two-a-day workouts in August.
The number of practice opportunities (29) before the first game has not changed, but two-a-day practices on back-to-back days have been outlawed. Coaches, many who consider two-a-days a player's rite of passage into a season, can no longer follow a two-a-day session with another the next day.
Other changes, based on "compelling medical data that shows changes are needed to ensure student-athlete welfare," according to the NCAA, include the elimination of separate preseason physical testing and freshmen-only workouts. In addition, a five-day acclimatization period has been implemented, allowing only one practice per day for the first five days, the final day the first permitted in full pads.
The new rules have caused UTEP to push up departure for its annual camp in Socorro, N.M.
"Last year we went to Socorro on Aug. 13," UTEP coach Gary Nord said this week. "This year we're going Aug. 6."
The NCAA's rules changes come in the wake of a string of player deaths in preseason workouts. Two years ago, eight players from high school to the NFL ranks died during a four-week period. Two of the prep deaths occurred in Texas.
Since 1966, 90 college players have died due to activity directly or indirectly related to the sport of football, according to figures from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research. Four collegiate players died last year due to heart- or heat-related problems.
"This has kind of been on the back burner for a while," UTEP assistant athletics trainer Matt Boles said of the changes. "I think the rash of heatstroke deaths and illnesses made them decide to do something about it. But it's just part of the evolution in sports these days. Athletes are getting stronger, bigger and faster and the intensity of practices is more than it's ever been. It takes more time for them to prepare. This is just a natural progression."
Boles especially agrees with legislation that has lightened the beginning of preseason practices.
"That's probably the most dangerous time for football athletes," he said. "You'd think it would be the first day in pads. But really it's the first day in just shorts and helmets, because you always have guys that have gone out of town and weren't staying in shape. Some coaches may feel they're getting cheated out of practice time, but with all the problems recently, something definitely needed to be tried."
Recovery time
UTEP Head Athletics Trainer Dawn Hearn said the break in between two-a-days, which have run as many as five consecutive days in the past, will allow time to recover from the grind.
"I understand the mental toughness coaches are trying to achieve in two-a-days," Hearn said. "But there are still days it's going to be pretty tough."
UTEP players welcome the changes.
"(Socorro's) going to be a little longer," 6-foot-6, 290-pound Miner senior offensive tackle Trey Darilek said. "But it'll spread things out and give us a little more time to recuperate."
UTEP sophomore offensive guard Alex DiMatteo thinks it will improve performance.
"Giving us more rest, we're going to be able to perform a lot better than just going out there and continually pounding our bodies," DiMatteo said. "And as far as spending more time in Socorro, with this being a new team with new goals, maybe it'll help us form more chemistry."
Nord said despite concern among coaches about added costs (UTEP will spend four more nights in Socorro than last year), he also favors the changes because they allow him to spend a longer period with his team.
"I think it's going to work out to our advantage," he said. "It'll allow us more time with the kids before the first game (Aug. 30 at Arizona). I'm excited about getting that extra week with them."
New Mexico State coach Tony Samuel said he's talked to several coaches about the changes.
"And after studying it, I think it's going to work out just fine for us," Samuel said. "There are a fair amount of people around the country that have already gone to that format and they rave about it. On the day you practice only once, you can still go out there and get a walk-through (no pads, helmets, ball or running allowed). In the long run, you get a little more teaching and meeting time with the kids on the field. And at the same time, when you do go hard, they're a little fresher."
Samuel said it's always been important to him to know when to back off during two-a-days.
"I've tended to go by feel a little bit," he said. "Every team has a point of diminishing return, when they're out there not functioning well due to mental or physical fatigue, or both. One of my responsibilities has always been making sure we don't take them too far beyond that."
Major concerns
Despite their acceptance, there are some major concerns among coaches about the new rules.
"They give you extra time to get in all the practices, but it makes for a very long season with 13 games and an open date," Nord said. "That's just more time the kids are away from the academic side of things."
Nord also said removing the right to conduct conditioning tests when players initially arrive has caused some controversy. For the past several years, UTEP players have dreaded the program's annual "Gasser Test," which usually separates the players who reported in shape from those who didn't.
"That kind of gave us a standard physically about what they could and couldn't handle," a disappointed Nord said. "Now we won't know where we're starting from. We go so much by numbers -- how fast they're running particular distances and how much they're lifting. It gave us a little bit of a starting point."
Nord added that with all players -- new and returning -- starting on the same day, it will limit opportunities for freshmen to get noticed. In the past, UTEP held three freshmen-only two-a-day workouts prior to Socorro.
"It's going to be very difficult for a freshman to come in and play now," Nord said, "because they're going to be thrown in there with the rest of them."
http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/sports/todaysstories/20030622-127983.shtml
The number of practice opportunities (29) before the first game has not changed, but two-a-day practices on back-to-back days have been outlawed. Coaches, many who consider two-a-days a player's rite of passage into a season, can no longer follow a two-a-day session with another the next day.
Other changes, based on "compelling medical data that shows changes are needed to ensure student-athlete welfare," according to the NCAA, include the elimination of separate preseason physical testing and freshmen-only workouts. In addition, a five-day acclimatization period has been implemented, allowing only one practice per day for the first five days, the final day the first permitted in full pads.
The new rules have caused UTEP to push up departure for its annual camp in Socorro, N.M.
"Last year we went to Socorro on Aug. 13," UTEP coach Gary Nord said this week. "This year we're going Aug. 6."
The NCAA's rules changes come in the wake of a string of player deaths in preseason workouts. Two years ago, eight players from high school to the NFL ranks died during a four-week period. Two of the prep deaths occurred in Texas.
Since 1966, 90 college players have died due to activity directly or indirectly related to the sport of football, according to figures from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research. Four collegiate players died last year due to heart- or heat-related problems.
"This has kind of been on the back burner for a while," UTEP assistant athletics trainer Matt Boles said of the changes. "I think the rash of heatstroke deaths and illnesses made them decide to do something about it. But it's just part of the evolution in sports these days. Athletes are getting stronger, bigger and faster and the intensity of practices is more than it's ever been. It takes more time for them to prepare. This is just a natural progression."
Boles especially agrees with legislation that has lightened the beginning of preseason practices.
"That's probably the most dangerous time for football athletes," he said. "You'd think it would be the first day in pads. But really it's the first day in just shorts and helmets, because you always have guys that have gone out of town and weren't staying in shape. Some coaches may feel they're getting cheated out of practice time, but with all the problems recently, something definitely needed to be tried."
Recovery time
UTEP Head Athletics Trainer Dawn Hearn said the break in between two-a-days, which have run as many as five consecutive days in the past, will allow time to recover from the grind.
"I understand the mental toughness coaches are trying to achieve in two-a-days," Hearn said. "But there are still days it's going to be pretty tough."
UTEP players welcome the changes.
"(Socorro's) going to be a little longer," 6-foot-6, 290-pound Miner senior offensive tackle Trey Darilek said. "But it'll spread things out and give us a little more time to recuperate."
UTEP sophomore offensive guard Alex DiMatteo thinks it will improve performance.
"Giving us more rest, we're going to be able to perform a lot better than just going out there and continually pounding our bodies," DiMatteo said. "And as far as spending more time in Socorro, with this being a new team with new goals, maybe it'll help us form more chemistry."
Nord said despite concern among coaches about added costs (UTEP will spend four more nights in Socorro than last year), he also favors the changes because they allow him to spend a longer period with his team.
"I think it's going to work out to our advantage," he said. "It'll allow us more time with the kids before the first game (Aug. 30 at Arizona). I'm excited about getting that extra week with them."
New Mexico State coach Tony Samuel said he's talked to several coaches about the changes.
"And after studying it, I think it's going to work out just fine for us," Samuel said. "There are a fair amount of people around the country that have already gone to that format and they rave about it. On the day you practice only once, you can still go out there and get a walk-through (no pads, helmets, ball or running allowed). In the long run, you get a little more teaching and meeting time with the kids on the field. And at the same time, when you do go hard, they're a little fresher."
Samuel said it's always been important to him to know when to back off during two-a-days.
"I've tended to go by feel a little bit," he said. "Every team has a point of diminishing return, when they're out there not functioning well due to mental or physical fatigue, or both. One of my responsibilities has always been making sure we don't take them too far beyond that."
Major concerns
Despite their acceptance, there are some major concerns among coaches about the new rules.
"They give you extra time to get in all the practices, but it makes for a very long season with 13 games and an open date," Nord said. "That's just more time the kids are away from the academic side of things."
Nord also said removing the right to conduct conditioning tests when players initially arrive has caused some controversy. For the past several years, UTEP players have dreaded the program's annual "Gasser Test," which usually separates the players who reported in shape from those who didn't.
"That kind of gave us a standard physically about what they could and couldn't handle," a disappointed Nord said. "Now we won't know where we're starting from. We go so much by numbers -- how fast they're running particular distances and how much they're lifting. It gave us a little bit of a starting point."
Nord added that with all players -- new and returning -- starting on the same day, it will limit opportunities for freshmen to get noticed. In the past, UTEP held three freshmen-only two-a-day workouts prior to Socorro.
"It's going to be very difficult for a freshman to come in and play now," Nord said, "because they're going to be thrown in there with the rest of them."
http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/sports/todaysstories/20030622-127983.shtml
