Fall Football Practice Regulations

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Pre-Season Dates

In Conferences 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A and all 9th graders in 5A and 6A, practice shall begin no earlier than the date set forth by the UIL calendar. In Conferences 5A and 6A, practice shall begin no earlier than the date set forth by the UIL calendar. Exception: If Conference 5A or 6A schools forego the 18 days of spring training, they may begin workout days on the date set forth by the UIL calendar as delineated for Conferences 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A and all 5A and 6A 9th graders. Interschool scrimmages shall be allowed on the date set forth by the UIL calendar.

Acclimatization Period

The first five days of practice shall be an acclimatization period for all student-athletes in accordance with the below regulations. All student-athletes who arrive after the first day of practice are required to go through the 5-day acclimatization period.

• First 2-Days
  • ONE Practice allowed.
  • Only t-shirts, shorts, and helmets may be worn, and no contact activities are permitted.
  • Practice: 3-hour time limit with up to a 1-hour break. The 1-hour break is not included as a part of the practice time limit. Total time shall not exceed 4 hours.
  • 1-hour walkthrough allowed in addition to the practice with at least a 2-hour break between the practice and walkthrough.
  • Non-restricted equipment is allowed.
• Days 3 & 4
  • ONE Practice allowed.
  • Only helmets, shoulders pads, and girdles (shell) allowed, and no person-to-person contact is permitted.
  • Practice: 3-hour time limit with up to a 1-hour break. The 1-hour break is not included as a part of the practice time limit. Total time shall not exceed 4 hours.
  • 1-hour walkthrough allowed in addition to the practice with at least a 2-hour break between the practice and walkthrough.
  • Restricted and non-restricted equipment is allowed.
• Day 5
  • ONE Practice allowed.
  • Only helmets, shoulders pads, and girdles (shell) allowed.
  • Person-to-person contact is allowed, but full contact is not allowed.
  • Practice: 3-hour time limit with up to a 1-hour break. The 1-hour break is not included as a part of the practice time limit. Total time shall not exceed 4 hours.
  • 1-hour walkthrough allowed in addition to the practice with at least a 2-hour break between the practice and walkthrough.

Full Equipment & Full Contact Period

Following the 5-day acclimatization period, full pads and full contact are permitted in accordance with the following regulations:

• Practice regulations outside the school year (prior to school starting)
  • 1 Practice - Student-athletes shall not engage in more than three hours of practice activities with up to a 1-hour break. The 1- hour break is not included within the practice time limit on those days during which one practice is conducted.
  • 2 Practices - Student-athletes shall not engage in more than five hours of practice activities on those days during which more than one practice is conducted. On days when more than one practice is conducted, there shall be, at a minimum, two hours of rest/recovery time between the end of one practice and the beginning of the next practice. On those days where more than one practice occurs, full contact is allowed in only one of the two practices. Schools shall not schedule more than one practice on consecutive days and student-athletes shall not participate in multiple practices on consecutive days.
  • The maximum length of any single practice session shall be three hours.
  • During the pre-season, regular season and post season, football players are not allowed to participate in more than ninety (90) minutes of full contact practice per week. See the Football Manual for explanations of full contact.
• Practice regulations during the school year (once school has started)
  • State law limits schools to no more than eight hours of practice outside of the school day during the school week, per activity. School week is defined as Monday (12:01 AM) to the end of school on the last instructional day of the week (usually Friday). This does not include the athletic period.
  • During the pre-season, regular season and post season, football players are not allowed to participate in more than ninety (90) minutes of full contact practice per week. See the Football Manual for explanations of full contact.

*Full Contact – Any football drill or live game simulation where players are at a “competitive” full-speed pace, and players are taken to the ground.