Curious to hear thoughts from others across the state on this.

How many programs in Kentucky allow football players to participate in spring ball while also playing other sports like track? It seems like some schools make it work, while others require athletes to choose one or the other. 

 

Most schools I have been apart of will allow them a couple days of practice as long as they do not have a game. I have seen this most commonly with track more than than baseball. 

18 minutes ago, AssistantFBCoach said:

Most schools I have been apart of will allow them a couple days of practice as long as they do not have a game. I have seen this most commonly with track more than than baseball. 

I know at Owensboro they allow kids to do both as long as the coaches and players are in communication. We are blessed to have coaches that work together. 

15 minutes ago, AssistantFBCoach said:

Most schools I have been apart of will allow them a couple days of practice as long as they do not have a game. I have seen this most commonly with track more than than baseball. 

Baseball is one I understand—there’s a lot more overlap and conflict there. But I’m especially curious about how programs handle track athletes in the spring. For schools that allow both, what does that actually look like? Are football players still attending lifts or installs while competing in track, or are they fully committed to track during that season? And for programs that don’t allow it, what’s the main concern—missed football development, lack of continuity, or something else?

3 minutes ago, jester270 said:

Baseball is one I understand—there’s a lot more overlap and conflict there. But I’m especially curious about how programs handle track athletes in the spring. For schools that allow both, what does that actually look like? Are football players still attending lifts or installs while competing in track, or are they fully committed to track during that season? And for programs that don’t allow it, what’s the main concern—missed football development, lack of continuity, or something else?

I think it depends on the kid. I was a football player who happened to run track so I got to do spring ball and miss track. It is really the head football coach working with the track coach to allow it. As a coach now, its kid centric as well. If the kid is on track to be a regional champ in the 200 but just happened to come out and play receiver because its fun, that kid will typically get to defer to track. But, that has just been my experience. I don't know how big time programs handle it. 

Just now, TimeWillTell said:

I know at Owensboro they allow kids to do both as long as the coaches and players are in communication. We are blessed to have coaches that work together. 

 

When I was coaching (many moons ago), it was never really an issue—kids were able to balance both, and it seemed to benefit them more than anything. Recently, I heard from a parent with a son in a track program who was concerned that he wasn’t allowed to participate in both track and spring football. It's clear that OHS does a great job with balancing both. Their strength, speed, and size took major leaps and bounds last season. 

Glasgow didn't have spring football for many years due to not wanting to pull kids away from in-season sports. The Quarterback for many years played baseball and they felt like there wasn't a huge point in having spring ball without a quarterback. In perspective, they were having regional success. 

Coach Arnett is having spring football before school and so they kids don't have to miss any practices with any other sport, which I think is a cool idea and all the kids have seemed to adjust. Football coaches there also help with track and baseball so it blends the sports well together. 

CAL is pretty good about kids being allowed to participate, to some degree, in spring ball while playing another spring sport.  We literally have kids in baseball, track, lacrosse & tennis who all participate in spring ball and even spring lifting for football.  Spring sport games take priority, but other than that, they split time fairly regularly.

56 minutes ago, Unrivaled97 said:

CAL is pretty good about kids being allowed to participate, to some degree, in spring ball while playing another spring sport.  We literally have kids in baseball, track, lacrosse & tennis who all participate in spring ball and even spring lifting for football.  Spring sport games take priority, but other than that, they split time fairly regularly.

This is a reason your athletic department is good. It makes sense why you guys WIN. 

I wonder how many football coaches are open to kids participating in spring/winter sport workouts during football season?

2 hours ago, rjs4470 said:

I wonder how many football coaches are open to kids participating in spring/winter sport workouts during football season?

There are kids who play two sports and play football. I've seen kids play in state championships and the night before play in basketball tournaments. Hickey from Christian Co did this years ago. I also have seen kids run cross country play football as well. I think as long as the football coach and sport are ok then there shouldn't be a big deal. I tell you a sport that is all year around is baseball now. The fall leagues are going into November. 

18 hours ago, rjs4470 said:

I wonder how many football coaches are open to kids participating in spring/winter sport workouts during football season?

Two of CAL’s kickers play soccer.  It doesn’t seem to be an issue.  I’ve seen other kids miss Saturday morning film due to game day visits, training sessions in other sports, etc.  Again it doesn’t seem to be an issue.  We had multiple JV games this year where we didn’t have a kicker because they had a soccer game.  I will say the AD & coaches at CAL are really good at understanding that at a smaller school,  you often have to share athletes, so they find a way to make it work.

2 hours ago, Unrivaled97 said:

Two of CAL’s kickers play soccer.  It doesn’t seem to be an issue.  I’ve seen other kids miss Saturday morning film due to game day visits, training sessions in other sports, etc.  Again it doesn’t seem to be an issue.  We had multiple JV games this year where we didn’t have a kicker because they had a soccer game.  I will say the AD & coaches at CAL are really good at understanding that at a smaller school,  you often have to share athletes, so they find a way to make it work.

Can some of those players not show up when we have to travel to you guys week 2? ?

1 hour ago, TimeWillTell said:

Can some of those players not show up when we have to travel to you guys week 2? ?

I think you all will be just fine ?.  I view last year as an anomaly.  Owensboro & CAL have always had tight games with the exception of last year & I think this year it’ll be right back to that one possession game the teams typically play.  I will say that I hope the 2 teams continue their series after this year, but that might not be the case, unless they moved the game to a different week.  CAL was looking for a week 2 & week 11 opponent for 27 & 28 as recent as last week ?‍♂️ 

On 3/21/2026 at 10:07 AM, Unrivaled97 said:

Two of CAL’s kickers play soccer.  It doesn’t seem to be an issue.  I’ve seen other kids miss Saturday morning film due to game day visits, training sessions in other sports, etc.  Again it doesn’t seem to be an issue.  We had multiple JV games this year where we didn’t have a kicker because they had a soccer game.  I will say the AD & coaches at CAL are really good at understanding that at a smaller school,  you often have to share athletes, so they find a way to make it work.

That’s a big reason for your continued success. Strong programs prioritize communication across sports and understand that, especially at smaller schools, sharing athletes is necessary. When coaches are aligned and flexible, it benefits both the athletes and the overall success of the program.