By Zach Zook
NORMAL – As the Illinois State football teams begins preseason camp this week, coach Brock Spack is facing the challenge of navigating the NCAA’s new practice rules which include a ban on two-a-day practice.
Starting this season, the NCAA is implementing several changes including the new two-a-day ban, that will effect the preseason routines of all college football programs. One of the key changes is a limit on padded practices per week as well as the total number of practices per week. The NCAA will allow no more than six practices per week, and no more than three padded practices in a preseason week. The fallout from this is some teams are now starting their training camps a little bit earlier in the summer to account for the lack of practice time.
“I would rather give them one day off, the mandatory day off and bring them in a little later to give them a little bit more summer,” Spack said. “That will give them a little more rest between summer school training and training camp.”
Every school is handling these changes differently, and it’s creating a challenge for programs around the nation to perfect their preseason routine. However, there may be more changes still to come as the NCAA continues to evaluate the safest and best way to approach the football season.
The NCAA’s Sport Science Institute reports a majority of the football practice concussions happen during the preseason.
“I’d like to see us give a little more time back to the players’ summers because they have no summer now,” the Illinois State head man said. “They have very little time for themselves so I think that will be looked at.”
In addition to the practice changes, the NCAA has also made changes to how a “padded practice” will be perceived. Previously, a “thud” practice and a “live” practice were considered different. In other words, if you were limited in your live tackling practices, you could still put on shoulder pads and have “thud” practices in which you still made contact, but the ball carrier was never taken to the ground.
“Your first four weeks of training camp you can only have three days like that (padded),” said Spack. “Tackling and thud is the same now where they never used to do that. Live used to be different than thud and I think that’s the best thing they’ve done.”
The Redbirds have five weeks to get ready for their Sept. 2 season opener when the Butler Bulldogs come to Hancock Stadium.
Zach Zook can be reached at [email protected].
