By BARRY LEWIS World Sports Writer on Aug 3, 2013, at 2:23 AM??Updated on 8/03/13 at 4:58 AM
STATE HIGH SCHOOL football teams are receiving an extra day of fall practice this year.The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association will allow its members to start practice on Monday, Aug. 12. Fall practice has traditionally started on Tuesday. The extra day was added to the conditioning period. Practice with pads will start on a Friday, as usual. That will be Aug. 16 this year.
"There's always been a kind of confusion about when practice starts," OSSAA executive director Ed Sheakley said. "We thought starting on Monday would make it easier for everybody and we thought one more day of conditioning before going to full pads would be helpful."
Reaction to the change was mixed during the Oklahoma Coaches Association Clinic held in conjunction with the All-State Games this week in Tulsa. Some coaches were not even aware of the change until they attended the clinic.
"When the proposal came across, I was indifferent about it," Union coach Kirk Fridrich said. "We will try to take advantage of it and treat it as a bonus, but there's only so much you can do without pads."
Glenpool coach Steve Edwards doesn't see the change as being very beneficial.
"I think it's a waste, but I don't mean that in a bad way," Edwards said. "It doesn't really help me a lot with conditioning. I think all programs have their players staying in shape during the summer. As an offensive line coach, you can't really do anything without pads on. It really would help us if we had the extra day with pads."
D.J. Howell is in his first season as Edison's head coach.
"I think the extra day is a good idea," Howell said. "Although kids are staying in shape, I think an extra day to get acclimated to the heat is good. I would rather err on the side of caution. And the extra day will allow us to work on some fundamental stuff."
Memorial first-year coach Ryan Reed was enthusiastic about the earlier start.
"We won't do a lot, but any practice we can get, we want," Reed said.
Coweta coach Bubba Burcham said, "It really does nothing. It's just another day in the heat."
Sand Springs coach Dustin Kinard also was not excited about the change.
"We're not going to even use the extra day," Kinard said. "We'll have our schedule the way we've always done it and start on Tuesday."
Moving up and down: The OSSAA's 2013-14 Annual Daily Membership Report that was released last week brought apparent good news to Edison and Hale. The ADM is used to place teams in classifications for athletics in the 2013-14 school year, except for football. The report is used to determine football districts for the 2014 and '15 seasons.
In order to give schools time to make sure their ADM numbers are accurate, the report won't be official until it's approved by the OSSAA board of directors at their meeting on Aug. 14.
Edison, which moved up to 6A in football for 2012 and '13, will drop back to 5A in 2014 and '15. The Eagles, 1-9 last year, have not had a winning season since 2005. Howell welcomes the move to 5A.
"It will obviously benefit us to play teams our size," Howell said. "But for this year we will look forward to being in 6A and competing with those larger teams, and seeing where we're at."
Hale was in 6A last year except in football but will return to 5A for all sports. Hale's boys basketball team, which has struggled in recent years but showed improvement in 2012-13, could contend for a state tournament berth with the move to 5A.
"We're very excited and glad to be back in 5A," Hale boys basketball coach Joshua McGee said.
The ADM report is a cliffhanger for Kiefer football coach Josh Calvert. Below 5A in football, other classifications aren't certain because there can be movement up or down for fringe teams depending on potential adjustments for private schools. As a result, Kiefer won't know until later this month whether it will be in 2A or stay in Class A for the 2014 and '15 seasons. Ketchum and Kiefer are on the 2A-A borderline. Kiefer just moved up to 11-man football last year.
"We're growing, but I would prefer to be in Class A," Calvert said. "We want to keep on being successful, and our chances of winning a gold ball would be better in Class A."
Union's Smith wins award: Union senior defensive lineman Janson Smith won a National Athleadership Grant sponsored by NCSA Athletic recruiting and the National Football League Players Association. The grant is awarded to student athletes based on leadership in their community, academic achievement, athletics and a required essay.
Read Barry Lewis' blog at tulsaworld.com/highschools
Original Print Headline: Football teams to get an extra day of practice
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