OSAA HS Football Practice Model

Schools and students are required to adhere to the following practice model.

A.       Football

1)       All practices shall allow for water breaks and general acclimatization to hot and/or humid weather.  Ample amounts of water should always be available and a student’s access to water should not be restricted.  In addition, all practices shall follow the fundamentals set forth in the NFHS’s Heat Acclimatization and Heat Illness Prevention Position Statement.  While the risk of heat illness is greatly dependent upon weather conditions, the fundamentals in the NFHS’s Heat Acclimatization and Heat Illness Prevention Position Statement promote safety and diminish injury risk in any setting.

2)       Teams shall have not less than nine days of on-field practice prior to playing in a jamboree or playing in an interscholastic contest.

3)       Students may participate in multiple practice sessions per day, but not on consecutive days.

a)       Single Practice Session.  No single practice session shall be longer than three hours, including warm-up and cool down.  On days with a single practice session, students are limited to a maximum of one hour of weight training either before or after practice but not both.

b)       Multiple Practice Sessions.  On days with multiple practice sessions, students shall not engage in more than five hours of total practice, including warm-up and cool down.  No single practice session shall be longer than three hours, including warm-up and cool down.  There must be at least three hours of recovery time between the end of one practice session and the beginning of the next practice session on a day with multiple practice sessions.  During this recovery time, students may not engage in other physical activities (e.g. weight training, etc.)

4)       Days in which multiple practice sessions are conducted are subject to the following restrictions:

a)       One practice session of the first two multiple practice session days shall be a teaching session only.  Conditioning drills (gassers, timed runs or sprints) shall not be conducted.

b)       Only one practice of a multiple practice session day may include Full contact (defined below as Thud and Live Action).

5)       At the beginning of football practice each year, every student shall be required to have two days of helmet only practices.  During this period, the only optional pieces of protective equipment that may be worn by individuals are shoes and helmets.  No other pads (e.g. shoulder, knee, thigh, hip and rib) are to be worn.  During helmet only practice, no full contact drills or any other activity may occur which would result in a player completing a tackle, or being blocked or tackled to the ground.  This policy does not preclude light contact with blocking sleds and tackling dummies.  However, it is strongly recommended that any such contact be carefully controlled.  

6)       Following two days of helmet only practices, students may wear helmets and shoulder pads on Day 3.  On this day, the only optional pieces of protective equipment that may be worn by individuals are shoes, shoulder pads and helmets.  No other pads (e.g. knee, thigh, hip and rib) are to be worn.  During helmet/shoulder pad practice, no full contact drills or any other activity may occur which would result in a player completing a tackle, or being blocked or tackled to the ground.  This policy does not preclude light contact with blocking sleds and tackling dummies.  However, it is strongly recommended that any such contact be carefully controlled.  

7)       After completing the first three days, a student may participate in a contact practice.  During a contact practice the remainder of the football gear as described in the NFHS Football Rules Book may be worn and activity is not restricted with regard to contact as defined by USA Football Levels of Contact.  A school shall not permit an individual to participate in a contact practice unless that individual has had at least two days of helmet only practice and one day of helmet/shoulder pad practice.  Contact with another person on the fourth and fifth days should be controlled.

  1. Beginning the third week of Football practice (Week 9 on NFHS Standardized Calendar) students may participate in three days of full contact each week, excluding games.  A maximum of 90 minutes of Full Contact combined is allowed during these three days.  Full contact is defined as follows:
    1. Thud – Drill is run at assigned speed through the moment of contact, no predetermined “winner.”  Contact remains above the waist, players stay on their feet and a quick whistle ends the drill.  This applies to simulations and drills involving any number of players.
    2. Live Action – Drill is run in game-like conditions and is the only time that players are taken to the ground.  This applies to simulations and drills involving any number of players.

9)       A student may not practice or participate in a contest for more than six consecutive days without a rest day.  A rest day must be complete rest – no organized team physical activity is allowed.  Travel is allowed on a rest day.

10)   A student shall become eligible to participate in a jamboree or interscholastic contest after completing a minimum of nine days of actual on-field practice.