Preseason Football Practice Limitations FAQ
5 day acclimatization period
During the 5 day acclimatization period, are schools allowed to have more than one practice per day?
No. During the 5 day acclimatization period, schools are limited to no more than one practice per day.
During the 5 day acclimatization period, are schools allowed to have a walk through in addition to their allowed one practice?
Yes. During the 5 day acclimatization period, schools are allowed to have a walk through in addition to their allowed one practice.
How much time must be allowed between the end of practice and the beginning of the walk through?
There must be at least a 2-hour break between the practice and the walk through.
Am I allowed to schedule the walk through during the 5 day acclimatization period before my practice?
Yes.
Are students allowed to wear helmets during the walk through?
No. During the walk through, no contact equipment, including the helmet, is allowed.
Does the walk through have to take place inside?
No, the walk through could take place either inside or outside.
Must all students go through the 5 day acclimatization period?
Yes. This would also apply to students who arrive to practice after the first day and to students who miss a day of practice during the 5 day acclimatization period.
On the third day of the 5 day acclimatization period may there be contact activities with dummies and sleds?
Yes. This would be the first day that shells are allowed, and contact with dummies and sleds are allowed. There is no player to player contact allowed during this time.
On the fifth day of the 5 day acclimatization period may there be player to player contact?
Yes. This would be the first day that player to player contact is allowed. No Full-Contact is allowed at this point. Full-Contact is defined as any football drill or live game simulation where players are at a “competitive” fullspeed pace, and players are taken to the ground.
Practice
After the 5 day acclimatization period, can I schedule more than one practice on the same day?
Yes, however, schools are not allowed to schedule more than one practice on consecutive days.
If I practice twice on the first day I am allowed to have contact practices, can I practice twice the next day?
No. Schools are not allowed to schedule multiple practices on consecutive days.
On days when more than one practice is allowed, how much time must be allowed between practices?
Two hours.
What can the students be required to do during the 2 hour rest period between practices on those days when more than one practice is allowed?
There can be no practice/conditioning activities at all during this time. This time is exclusively for students to rest/recover for the following practice session.
During the 2 hour rest period between practices on those days when more than one practice is allowed, can students watch film?
Yes.
I am having one practice a day and want to have a practice review meeting or film session during that practice. How long can the practice review meeting/film session be?
In order for that to still be considered as one practice, the practice review meeting/film session can be no longer than 60 minutes. Any practice review meeting/film session stoppage of practice for longer than 60 minutes will constitute the beginning of a second practice and subject said practices to the rules for multiple practice days. Any practice review meeting/film session shall be conducted indoors in a classroom/facility that is temperature controlled. Coaches are reminded that all water and rest breaks now count as part of practice time.
On days when only one practice is allowed (after the 5 day acclimatization period), am I allowed to have a walk through in addition to my one allowed practice?
No. However, remember to consult the list of activities that do not count as practice (as posted on the UIL web site) for information on what is allowed.
Do water breaks and other stoppages in practice count toward my total practice time of 3 hours for one practice and 5 hours of total practice (one days when more than one practice is allowed)?
Yes, water breaks and other stoppages count toward your total practice time. Exception: A 1-hour break may be given in the middle of a 3-hour practice and not count towards practice time.
If practices are staggered for JV and varsity players and the school has two practices for the varsity on Monday and one practice for the varsity on Tuesday, and has one practice for JV on Monday and two practices for the JV on Tuesday, is that ok?
Yes. The rule is not designed to dictate to coaches how they stagger their practices, as long as no player participates in multiple practices on consecutive days. The key factor is that no player is allowed to take part in more than one practice on consecutive days.