Licking County football teams get physical thanks to acclimation days

PATASKALA — A few days off earlier this week were a reward for Licking Heights football players with perfect summer attendance.

The pads, however, began popping Thursday morning on football practice fields across Ohio.

It is a change the Ohio High School Athletic Association made two seasons ago. When the calendar flipped to August, teams were turned loose.

“If we still couldn’t hit, it would drive me crazy,” Heights coach Austin Drewyor said.

In addition to the 13 allotted coaching days, which began May 15 and could be used at any time through July, teams now can use five acclimation days to build up to full-contact practice. The acclimation period is particularly valuable this week as temperatures were well over 80 degrees combined with high humidity.

“It’s been fantastic being able to have those extra days to get the fundamentals and techniques and keep on grinding and making sure we do everything the right way,” Johnstown coach Mike Carter said.

While practice days are added to the summer, it slows the schedule down in August.

Teams previously were unable to hit until a few days before the first scrimmage. This season, combined with opening night not falling until Aug. 23 because of a late Thanksgiving, teams will have more than a week to pace themselves.

“If you can get a lot of things taught before, when it’s time to get physical and they are comfortable with technique, comfortable with assignment, you set yourself up to be more successful with your execution,” Northridge coach Dustin Calhoun said. “You also stay away from injuries, I hope, because kids aren’t thinking as they are hitting. They are able to play more free.”

The acclimation days are particularly useful for a run-heavy offenses. Limited to passing scrimmages throughout the summer’s first two months, offensive coaches were working against the clock to install their running games.

“We have the opportunity to spread things out, break things down, making sure we are hitting all of the little finer points of those fundamentals and techniques so we can become masters of them,” Carter said.

A familiar theme this month will be coaches stressing the importance of physical play, particularly from their offensive lines.

The rubber now meets the road as teams look ahead to Week 1.

“We know Aug. 1 is the hitting day basically every year,” Utica coach Charlie Rowley said. “I like the planning of it. Prior to that, there were a few years we had our first day of contact, and there was a scrimmage. That was so fast, so quick and maybe didn’t feel like we were prepared. It’s flowing smoothly. I like the setup. I like that Aug. 1 is the day we are ready to rock and roll.”

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking County football teams get physical thanks to acclimation days