Turning up the HEAT: Summer no longer the offseason

It wasn’t all that long ago that summer workouts for high school athletes meant a mimeographed sheet handed out by the coach in May. On it were a series of calisthenics and running drills to keep the athlete in shape heading into the next school year.

Sometimes summer workouts included captains’ practices, with team captains in various sports responsible for rounding up teammates for impromptu games or practices.

For basketball and baseball players, there were pickup games available at area gyms or courts where high school players gathered, and American Legion baseball programs for the most gifted.

Times have changed, largely the result of relaxed guidelines from the state high school league. Many sports basically are now year-round in scope, and athletes hoping to have an impact in their sport need to rethink family vacations and summer jobs when seeking to reach a competitive level for the upcoming season.

Part I in a three-part series reveals just how regimented summers have become in many sports. Each installment deals with one sports season, today focusing on fall sports and targeting football.

Total commitment

Coach James Hale at Arnold said that summer workouts can’t be mandated, but the players know how strongly their commitment is stressed.

For schools in Bay County, the summer months not only mean getting stronger in the weight room and working on agility and quickness, but instruction and breaking down onfield assignments without having the pressure of getting ready for an opponent on Friday night.

Teams basically do just about everything except put on helmets and pads and go full contact.

“If you want to have a chance to compete you’ve got to work them hard in the weight room,” Hale said. “Being physically strong helps prevent injuries, it gives kids confidence. They buy into it.

“We tell a kid if he’s not totally committed don’t come out and play. Unless they are on vacation we tell them to be here. I feel very uncomfortable putting a kid out there who hasn’t done anything all summer. He’s not in shape. He’s not used to the heat.”

Arnold kept its weight room open for unsupervised workouts following the last day of school on June 8. The Marlins have off until Monday, when coaches will be present. Supervised activities will be held from 8-10:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday.

“We help them get jobs if they need them, but ask them to work around our schedule,” Hale said. “We feel like if they’re going to play football we’re first. We do allow them to go play baseball and basketball, but our coaches here are good. They set up their practices so they don’t interfere.”

Hale said that summer workouts will continue until school starts, which is early this year on Aug. 11. Some players also will attend summer camps. Hale said that in the past the entire team attended camps at nearby major universities, but that hasn’t been the case recently.

“We’re teaching everything we can, we just can’t put pads on them,” Hale said. “What I like is that we have time to show them every front they’ll face. We work on the last team we play to the first, and put in a little more time breaking down district games.

“Everybody talks about spring football, but I like the way it is now. You can do just about everything. You have all summer to get the kids ready. This gives us a chance to catch up.”

Not like it used to be

Bozeman’s Loren Tillman is the only head football coach in Bay County who attended high school here, and acknowledged the difference in summer training since he played at Rutherford in the late 1980s.

“When we go into spring it’s the running game and hitting,” Tillman said. “We worry about the passing offense and defense in the summertime because we know we’ll get in the reps. We get the hours to focus on that.”

The Bucks also go from 8-10:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday, but usually spend two hours per week in a 7-on-7 passing league held during the evening and hold one other practice for a total of 14 hours per week.

“Come August, most of the teaching is done,” Tillman said. “Then it’s just a matter of polishing.”

Rising seniors also attend camps, paid for by the booster club. If underclassmen wish to attend, Tillman said, they have to pay their way.

The passing league is informal, but many schools participate. It involves mostly skill payers, with guards and tackles eliminated. Players compete in shorts and T-shirts in a modified version of flag football.

“It’s structured to a degree,” Tillman said. “They’re running routes, throwing and catching the ball. The kids keep up with the points. Going against other teams keeps up the attendance and increases the kids wanting to come out.”

The league also is valuable for linebackers and secondary players. Tillman said that when Bozeman competes against Mosley, a coaches’ agreement with Perry Brown allows one running play every four downs to try and prevent defenders from automatically retreating into coverage zones.

Tillman said that in addition to Mosley, Bozeman competes against South Walton, Wewahitchka, Port St. Joe and travels to Vernon tonight to face the Yellow Jackets.

Cooperation with other coaches also is important to prevent overlap of practice sessions with other sports.

“When we get in at 8 o’clock kids know it’s not recreation,” Tillman said. “When kids go on vacation, we understand that. They keep us informed.”

Very, very important

Frank Sorrells is entering his second season at Bay, and got a late start with the Tornadoes while relocating here in spring 2009.

He said recently that this summer is key at Bay for two major reasons.

“We have got to get stronger in the weights, and number two we’ve got a new staff,” Sorrells said. “We have new guys we need to establish in our program with the kids on what we are trying to accomplish.”

Bay began conditioning on June 14 under the same time frame and days as the other schools. Sorrells said that a lot of athletes train for additional sports or work in the evenings, but can make arrangements for an established 8 a.m. start.

“We try to start out conditioning and agilities, and as the summer goes on get into more football-related stuff,” he said.

“Its very important to us, it was last year with me being brand new. It will be this year for the new coaches. For me, it’s very, very important.”

Bay also participates in the passing league, at least three or four times last summer and possibly more this year.

“It’s just a matter of getting some practice against some different people,” Sorrells said. “It’s unrealistic somewhat. Everybody knows you’re passing.”

Summer camps also are a possibility for some Tornadoes, but just as important could be the coaches meeting daily to map out a return to prominence at Bay.

Brown and Mosley and new coach Jeff Rolson at Rutherford weren’t interviewed for this story, but that in no way reflects less of a summer commitment at those schools.

To the contrary, it could be even more critical for Rolson at Rutherford as he seeks to cement the foundation for a new program. And Brown could place added emphasis on summer workouts at Mosley as the Dolphins seek to rebound from the first losing season in his five-year tenure.

Part II on Friday: Winter sports teams also take advantage of summer training