In 2007, Mason County Schools decided that every Wednesday we would have an early dismissal for students and that the teachers would meet after school until 4 pm. Our players would have to go home because they could not be on campus unsupervised. We could not practice at 4 pm because the heat that particular August was really bad. I told our guys we could practice at 8:30pm, after church, or we could practice before school at 6:30 am. I thought 6:30 am was best, but I also knew I needed to let them decide.

 

The kids overwhelmingly decided to go with 6:30 am. It became their favorite practice of the week and most Wednesday morning practices were good ones. We would be off the field everyday by 7:45 am so they could get to school on time.

 

The kids liked it so much, that when the faculty meetings ended several years later, the kids still insisted that we practice on Wednesday mornings before school. We did that until my last season at Mason County in 2014.

 

In year five at Mercer County, our guys approached me about Wednesday morning practices. It is tougher here because our county is spread out, our practice facility is off the school campus, and we have to be off the field by 7:15 am. At Mercer County, we would have to start at 6 am to get every thing done. After much discussion and preparation, we tried it for our 3rd game of the season. That was the week following our second Saturday night bowl game. For game #3, our kids seemed fresher and we were able to upset a really good team that had beat us nine of the last ten times we have played.

 

Wednesday morning practice allows our guys an extra 12 hours of recovery before the Friday night game. Because of the extra 12 hours, our Wednesday morning practices can be more physical and productive than a Wednesday afternoon. The extra time allows our guys more recovery time to feel good before the Friday night game. I also like that at 7:30 am on Wednesday morning, we know as a staff who we have for the week and who is unavailable. We have no injuries at 5 pm on a Wednesday.

 

Wednesday morning forces a fast practice tempo. We can't waste time. We have to be off the field by 7:15 am. Our scout team offense this morning ran 29 plays in less than 20 minutes. That is a decent pace for the starting offense. That is a GREAT pace for a scout team offense.

 

Wednesday morning practice gives our guys a day to be a kid and go home after school. They can get a haircut, go to a doctor's appointment, and date the girls who's boyfriends are at football practice on a Wednesday afternoon!

 

Our coaches get an afternoon with their families. We are practicing when our children are in bed. After school our guys get to be Dads.

 

I believe we are safer. In the early season, the mornings are cooler and it seems we have less injuries. It seems our guys are more vulnerable to injury in extreme heat.

 

 

In October and November, it works to our advantage that it is significantly cooler. It helps our guys get acclimated to the cold. I know of coaches that practice at night during the playoffs to accomplish the same thing. 6 am is the coolest part of the day. 7:30 pm in November feels warm to our guys. One morning in Maysville, it was 21 degrees. Our kids would hit the sled and it would go sliding across the practice field like it was on a skating rink. That stuff gets me fired up. We tell our guys that everyone plays football when it is warm. The good teams play when it is cold.

 

It makes our guys tougher and more disciplined. Tuesday is our toughest practice of the week. Our guys must get home, eat, do homework, get in bed, and be on the field practicing before 6 am. Those demands are good for our young men. More than once, my Mason County guys would be getting ready for the coin toss, look at the captains for the other team, and say, "I bet they wouldn't get up for practice before school." It helps our guys to have confidence. It also brings them together as a team. They appreciate their teammates making the commitment and sacrifices necessary to help our team be the best it can be and win.

 

 

I know some colleges have gone to a no sweat Thursday and a fast Friday. Because we give our guys the entire weekend off, we can't have a no sweat Wednesday. But, we move practice up 12 hours on Wednesday and we get a longer break than normal to recover.

 

I got up at 4:15 am this morning. Trosper and I left the house at 5 am to get the lights on. Sure, I am tired. But, it is a great feeling on a Wednesday afternoon to have the bulk of your game preparation completed.

 

 

If anyone has questions or suggestions to make Wednesday morning practice better, please email me at [email protected]. We will have to play great, but we are hoping for 5 more Wednesday morning practices. It has been a bunch of fun coaching these guys and they have become a pretty good football team. Would be great if our last full gear practice of the season was below 10 degrees. I mean... a guy can dream.

Great read and even better idea.

Great read and even better idea.

 

Thank you for saying that. I would love to take credit for the idea, but it was forced on me. When they put in those faculty meetings, I wasn't happy about it at all. Once we adjusted, we stumbled on to something that really helped our program. It would be great to say I thought of all of this from the beginning, but that just isn't true.

This is the information we shared with families through facebook and email:

 

A heads up.... our varsity (grades 10 thru 12)

is going to try a Wednesday ( 9/4) morning practice, before school, from 6 am thru 7:15 am. We are doing this to give our guys more recovery before the game and to give them a day after school for doctor visits, haircuts, etc. A few points of info:

 

1- the guys should be there no later than 5:45 am to be on the field ready to go at 5:55 am.

 

2- they will need to bring stuff to shower before school. They cannot go home and obviously must attend school.

 

3- A school bus will take them to the HS at 7:45 am. No transportation is needed once they arrive for practice.

 

4- Breakfast is available when they get to school or between 1st and 2nd period.

 

Our plan is to try this for the next two Wednesdays and then determine if this is the best way to go moving forward.

 

At Mason, we did this from 2007 thru 2014 and the kids loved it. Our bodies were fresher on Friday night and the guys enjoyed having a day to go home after school. The kids also like the discipline and toughness element of having a tough Tuesday practice, getting up early, etc. If we can make this work, it can really help our program.

 

If parents have concerns or feedback, please email me at [email protected].

 

This does not affect freshmen. They will still practice after school.

 

Thank you-

 

Coach Buchanan

Morning practices were very common when I played basketball in high school, but one of the things we as a football team would talk about during the season was how cool it was to practice at the crack of dawn during our summer team camp at EKU. Breaking a sweat when the 9-5 people are still sleeping makes breakfast that much tastier. I definitely also like the idea of being fresher for Friday.

I like it Coach! We went to Thursday mornings in 2011 through my last year in 2015. For much of the same reasons you talked about. We just seemed so much fresher on Friday.

 

Practicing early allowed our coaching staff a day off after school also. I had one assistant who seemed to be sick a few times on Thursday after our morning practice and magically got to feeling better on the lake fishing...

 

Depending on the team and what your practice plans look like, (Mondays/Saturdays), I could see doing two mornings on occasion.

 

--Kyle Pierce--

I like it Coach! We went to Thursday mornings in 2011 through my last year in 2015. For much of the same reasons you talked about. We just seemed so much fresher on Friday.

 

Practicing early allowed our coaching staff a day off after school also. I had one assistant who seemed to be sick a few times on Thursday after our morning practice and magically got to feeling better on the lake fishing...

 

Depending on the team and what your practice plans look like, (Mondays/Saturdays), I could see doing two mornings on occasion.

 

--Kyle Pierce--

 

That is funny. I've had coaches in the past... the temperature is below 50, too cold for football. The temperature is above 30, time to play golf! :laugh:

Thanks for sharing.

 

With all the positives you've seen with the early practice, I have to ask... Why not have all practices before school? That would completely change the dynamic of a high school football player, I think mostly for the positive.

Thanks for sharing.

 

With all the positives you've seen with the early practice, I have to ask... Why not have all practices before school? That would completely change the dynamic of a high school football player, I think mostly for the positive.

 

For some places, that could work great. My preference would be no.

 

 

Transportation every day would be tough for some families. One day a week is not too bad.

 

 

Also, when I was at Centre, we had our first practice when the sun came up through the entire preseason. It was discussed if that was part of the reason Centre started slowly each season in the early 80's... possibly sleep deprivation and inner clock not really set for an afternoon game.

 

But, Hoover HS did it and it worked well for them!