By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – The Illinois High School Association has given the thumbs up to limiting the amount of time high school football teams can have full contact practice.

Beginning the week leading up to the first game and continuing the rest of the season, teams will be limited to three days of full contact practice.

“During those three days where they might be involved in full/live contact activities they’ll have a time limitation of 90 minutes,” said IHSA Assistant Executive Director Craig Anderson. “That’s total for the three days.”

Anderson said previously the amount of full contact time was unlimited. Still, he did not see the change effect teams too much.

“We came up with this time limit and day limit based upon feedback that we had from our football advisory committee, made up of football coaches, and our sports medicine advisory committee,” said Anderson. “They approached this with the idea that, generally, it’s what our schools and our coaches are currently in line with.”

Anderson added the limitations have everything to do with concern for player safety.

Another change made by the IHSA regards how teams are seeded in the high school football playoffs. Beginning this year, classes 1A through 6A will be seeded 1-16 in two geographical brackets.

“In previous years, when we established that there were travel situations in the first round more than two trips that involved travel that exceeded 150 miles one-way, then we separated that particular group of 16 into quadrants, or two groups of eight,” said Anderson. “That’s been eliminated.”

Anderson explained classes 7A and 8A will be seeded 1-32, again without consideration of miles traveled.  He said most of the schools in those classes are in the Chicago suburban area, so travel time will usually not be an issue.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].