Football, like other high school sports, is a year-round commitment for head coaches.
While prep football teams’ level of play has generally improved in Washington since the mid-1990s, when the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association reduced restrictions on summer activities, several local coaches said they want to go back to the days when summer was a true break — not a time to cram in multiple camps, scrimmages and 7-on-7 passing tournaments.
“Personally, I feel kids need to have time off and enjoy the summer,” Mariner High School head football coach John Ondriezek said.
“I think we’re overdoing it a little bit,” said Edmonds-Woodway High football coach John Gradwohl, who worries players don’t get enough physical recovery time before the start of each season and therefore are at risk of suffering over-use injuries.
What do you think? Should the WIAA reduce the time student-athletes are allowed to practice football in the summer? Or is everything fine how it is? Vote in this Herald reader poll and share your thoughts in the COMMENTS section.
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