I was at a Men’s Prayer Breakfast this morning and naturally the topic turned to sports and, in particular, HS football. One guy asked what time we work out during the summer.
I might have written about this a while back but it’s worth repeating NOW because those of you responsible for planning summer workouts and preseason practice are probably making your plans now. I want to quickly share something that revolutionized my coaching career!!! Why I didn’t do it years ago is beyond me. My point is:
workout and/or pratice EARLY… EARRRRRRRLY IN THE MORNING!!! Unless you’re in Maine reading this and there’s frost on the ground at 6am in August!!!! LOL
Why I waited till the last year of my coaching career to switch to mornings is something I’ve kicked myself in the tail about since 2015!!! Prior to that season (my last as a HC!) I’d always scheduled practice for afternoons to evening. yep! the hottest part of the day. And… around here, the most likely time for thunderstorms.
In 2015, I had them hit the field at 6:30 AM!, practiced for 2 hours, took a 50 minute break… then back out for another 2 hours. After that we either lifted weights (inside) or wenthome! I can’t emphasize how much more refreshed I was at the end of preseason practice that year. It didn’t really start getting “steamy” until the last 30 minutes of the 2nd practice. We did our conditioning early when it was still cool. So we were to the Team period on our practice schedule by the time it started to really heat up.
You’ll feel better. Your coaches won’t be as worn out. And… your players may grumble a bit about getting up so early but, when they see how much cooler (and less humid) it is at 7am as opposed to 4 PM!!!, they’ll appreciate it too.
