Football Season Needs To Start Earlier!!!

F

Fan4life!

Member
Anyone else agree that football needs to start earlier?
I think they should play their first game during the first week of August. Not sure why OHSAA decided to have the first playoff game during the first official day for basketball.

This hurts small schools, especially when football controls the entire summer as well.
 
 
I share some of that thought as a basketball fan who enjoys following small schools, but at least it’s not as if basketball game start within a couple weeks of their first practice. Basketball has a long season so for most teams an early football playoff exit won’t make a huge impact. Teams that go to state on the other hand would definitely have a disadvantage and even need to reschedule games to later in the year (often offset having really good athletes capable of going to state in another sport).

One small school conference I follow is in central Ohio. These schools are so small that they don’t have football, but many have the same issue on the girls side with volleyball. Girls basketball starts a week before the boys and they are in a similar spot. It actually impacts the boys side too in that conference because most of those schools only have one gym for MS and HS, so if a volleyball team advances past Sectionals, they would share gym time for MS girls/boys, HS girls/boys, and vball.

All that to say that I don’t disagree with your thought, but everyone has some overlap. By the end of the year most teams wouldn’t say that their season was ruined because they started practices a bit late.
 
I agree. But it could hurt seeding a for basketball come tournament time. For small schools that have to schedule tougher non-conference schools, that are typically played earlier in the season can hurt them. Especially if their conference games are outside of their district. Smaller schools take the hit from these situations.

We also have football programs that’ll dress all freshman and JV players (that don’t practice or will never see the field for that season) for playoffs games, when they could be going out for that winter sport (like basketball).

This year just doesn’t make sense on the start date of playoffs and the start date for basketball?! Plus football has total control with the athletes from end of their season all the way to the start of the season. It‘s how it’s always been and will always be.
 
Fan4life! said:
I agree. But it could hurt seeding a for basketball come tournament time. For small schools that have to schedule tougher non-conference schools, that are typically played earlier in the season can hurt them. Especially if their conference games are outside of their district. Smaller schools take the hit from these situations.

We also have football programs that’ll dress all freshman and JV players (that don’t practice or will never see the field for that season) for playoffs games, when they could be going out for that winter sport (like basketball).

This year just doesn’t make sense on the start date of playoffs and the start date for basketball?! Plus football has total control with the athletes from end of their season all the way to the start of the season. It‘s how it’s always been and will always be.
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Basketball, everyone gets to dance. I don't see seeding as an issue, they're in! Play ball!
 
Then you might as well let everyone in football get in. Half the state gets in based on the number of teams in certain regions. Move the season up. Imagine moving football to springtime. OHSAA would change rules and dates to allow football to start in January/February. Half your players wouldn’t play a winter sport.

There’s also an issue with some sports in ohio having 2 dead periods (no contact), but other sports don’t?! That doesn’t make sense.


The small group workouts (4 to 3 person per group), also doesn’t make sense.
 
LELL said:
Basketball, everyone gets to dance. I don't see seeding as an issue, they're in! Play ball!
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Again, football seeding is based on points. Coaches have no say on seeding

Basketball, coaches vote based on who they know, who they like and who’ve they seen play. When you lose games early on because you’ve had half your roster for 2 weeks (to implement everything you need to implement), that hurts. Football implements starting in December.
 
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Fan4life! said:
Again, football seeding is based on points. Coaches have no say on seeding

Basketball, coaches vote based on who they know, who they like and who’ve they seen play. When you lose games earlier on because you’ve had half your roster for 2 weeks (to implement everything you need to implement), that hurts. Football implements starting in December.
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Who cares about seeding. When the tourney comes, the football legs have gone and you're rolling. Again, everyone dances in basketball. Too hot to start earlier.
 
So spending 2 hours in the evenings, outside, is too hot?

How on earth do they practice 2x a day in July during the day, where it’s the hottest.
 
Fan4life! said:
So spending 2 hours in the evenings, outside, is too hot?

How on earth do they practice 2x a day in July during the day, where it’s the hottest.
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It’s all about Player Safety. Some Schools and States don’t even allow Practice when above a certain temperature and heat index. Remember some days in July and August that Turf can reach 120+ degrees. I have seen the Turf melt the bottom of an Umpires Shoes right off in summer Baseball.
 
During August, they have shade. Take breaks and drink plenty of water. If kids will never play a second on the field during playoffs, they should not be required to dress just to miss 2-3 weeks of basketball just because the football coach ‘wants’ them out there. That’s the same as a basketball coach telling freshman and JV players they can’t do track or baseball because they want them their for practices during their tournament time.

Doesn’t make sense
 
Smarty2022 said:
It’s all about Player Safety. Some Schools and States don’t even allow Practice when above a certain temperature and heat index. Remember some days in July and August that Turf can reach 120+ degrees. I have seen the Turf melt the bottom of an Umpires Shoes right off in summer Baseball.
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If it were about player safety, football should have May & June as ‘no contact’ month.

This allows basketball to at least have a summer since July is football and AAU season.
 
For 30 years I have worked in schools and athletics. Not sure much can be changed about summer events and season timelines when it comes to football and basketball

Football in August cannot be move it up, then game #1 just be way to hot to feel like football

Possible changes that could be good for both sports

Football goes back to 8 teams in playoffs, epically in D1 football as some regions only have 17, 18, 19 teams or go with 12 teams and top 4 get a bye. As we know this is all about OHSAA getting money.


June could basketball month for 10 coaching days or make it June 1 - June 28 and July could be football month for 10 coaching days and 5 acclimatization days or June 28 - July 31 to work around July 4. Both sports can still do weights, small groups workouts that OHSAA rules allow for the whole summer
 
I'd be shocked if they ever start sooner. Some schools don't start until after Labor Day, you're not going to start a high school sports season a full month before school starts. I'd cut back to the old 8 teams per region, that saves a week and those teams 9-16 are not playoff teams.
Basketball season is the longest of all high school seasons. I'd compact the season another week and really encourage schools to play 2-3 games per week. Some schools milk out the schedule, playing one game a week sometimes. There's no need for that.
 
Fan4life! said:
Anyone else agree that football needs to start earlier?
I think they should play their first game during the first week of August. Not sure why OHSAA decided to have the first playoff game during the first official day for basketball.

This hurts small schools, especially when football controls the entire summer as well.
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I totally agree with this. This is hard not only on the basketball teams but on the individual player. It takes time for an athlete to adjust from football to basketball. The conditioning is totally different and it just takes time to get acclimated to playing basketball fresh off of a football season. I went to Barberton in the mid and late 2000s. The only year we qualified for playoffs in football was in 05 (But we had to forfeit all of our games due to an ineligible player) -- so I never had a deep run in the playoffs and it was still a hard transition -- Starting earlier gives the football athletes a chance to let their body rest before they start basketball. I totally agree with this.
 
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Fan4life! said:
Anyone else agree that football needs to start earlier?
I think they should play their first game during the first week of August. Not sure why OHSAA decided to have the first playoff game during the first official day for basketball.

This hurts small schools, especially when football controls the entire summer as well.
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Start basketball later......

Too hot that early for football.....
 
Fan4life! said:
Anyone else agree that football needs to start earlier?
I think they should play their first game during the first week of August. Not sure why OHSAA decided to have the first playoff game during the first official day for basketball.

This hurts small schools, especially when football controls the entire summer as well.
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In my experience the smaller schools who have successful football also have successful basketball. Winning breeds winning. Growing up in NW Ohio back in the 80s and 90s it was not unusual to see those Delphos St. Johns or St. Henry bball who had dominant football teams also have pretty good basketball.

FWIW Columbus Grove football team went 10-1 in the fall of 2020 and then their bball team played in the D4 state finals. Grant it they lost to a school that does not have football but still.

Convoy Crestview went 11-2 in the fall of 2018 and then went on to win a state title in basketball.

New Madison Tr-Village went 11-2 in football last fall and then lost in the D4 state finals this past bball season.

Marion Local won a state title in D7 in 2017 and then won a state title in bball that same school year. I would ask the folks in Maria Stein what they think on the subject.
 
IMO, basketball (both boys and girls) should never start before October 30th. Between October 30th-November 5th would be a great start time.

It gives girl soccer/volleyball athletes some time off unless you are in the regionals or beyond - which if you make it that far, that should be celebrated and there will always be the inevitable overlap (just like if you make it to regionals in basketball you are overlapping into the spring season - which I do believe the Spring sports should start no earlier than March 1st as well).

It gives football guys some time off as well. You could play 2 rounds of playoffs games and not miss any basketball practice.
 
Fan4life! said:
During August, they have shade. Take breaks and drink plenty of water. If kids will never play a second on the field during playoffs, they should not be required to dress just to miss 2-3 weeks of basketball just because the football coach ‘wants’ them out there. That’s the same as a basketball coach telling freshman and JV players they can’t do track or baseball because they want them their for practices during their tournament time.

Doesn’t make sense
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If you ask the kids, I think they would want to experience a playoff game even on the sidelines. Seems like you have a grudge to grind.
 
Fan4life! said:
Anyone else agree that football needs to start earlier?
I think they should play their first game during the first week of August. Not sure why OHSAA decided to have the first playoff game during the first official day for basketball.

This hurts small schools, especially when football controls the entire summer as well.
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It is all based on when Easter falls. I worked at OHSAA and I know this is always a hot topic. Unfortunately nothing we can do about it.
 
Move Basketball later in the year. How about they start in December or even January? Football is starting earlier now than ever. Most schools have their first game before school starts.
There isn't the preparation needed for basketball that there is for Football, that's why they can play 3 games a week. Football can only play 1 per week.
 
For most schools there really isn't too much conflict between basketball and football. Week 10 was complete 10/22 I believe. Even with the expanded playoffs that week was over 10/29. First day of coaching in basketball was 10/28.

They could shorten the basketball season by a few games though. And I don't know that the expanded playoffs in football is really needed. But there are only so many days and months in a year. The teams making runs in football will always overlap into basketball season. But at this point...we are 8 per division, right? So only 56 teams are having real issues with the overlap.
 
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