High school athletes and coaches must adjust summer training schedules after the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) voted to begin the football season on Aug. 5 instead of Aug. 10, changing preseason preparation and scheduling across schools, David Schoenwetter, Assistant Athletic Director and Head Varsity Football Coach, said.
IHSA approved a new schedule after reducing preseason practices from 12 days to 9 days and expanding the playoff bracket, Schoenwetter said. The decision affects schools statewide, with each athletic department having to weigh schedule consistency against extra practice time before agreeing to the new schedule, Tom Mietus, Assistant Principal of Athletics, said. Officials hope the earlier start balances preparation, fairness, and quality of play for all teams, Schoenwetter added.
¨By expanding the playoffs, they added an extra round of games but kept the state championship game the same week,¨ Schoenwetter said.
The extra practice time before the first game is critical for preparing players and refining strategies, Schoenwetter explained. If the start date had remained Aug. 10, teams would have only two weeks of practice before their first game instead of the traditional three. The schedule was moved up to accommodate the expanded playoff bracket, Schoenwetter said. The change forces families, athletes, and coaches to weigh the benefits of extra preparation against the disruption to summer plans, vacations, and personal schedules, Mietus said.
¨The biggest concern was that it is a big change, and many families have already booked vacations,” Mietus said. ¨On the other hand, coaches also benefit from having a little break before the season.¨
Students may have to adjust work schedules and summer camps, which highlights the compromise between increased preparation and the impact on daily life outside football, junior Jonas Wang, Varsity Football fullback, said. While the overall schedule shift affects different people in different ways, Wang’s main adjustment comes from balancing activities he normally fits in before the season starts.
“Pretty much all of my summers are planned around football,” Wang said. “My work is lenient on hours, but the new dates will probably still impact it a bit.”
Although the later start date is preferable to allow more recovery and preparation time, Wang said he and his teammates will adapt to whichever schedule is finalized and focus on leading younger players through the transition.
¨Players, coaches, and families are all impacted equally by these changes, since the group depends on everyone to make the schedule work,¨ Wang said.
