A Coach's Argument Against Spring Football
Across the country, more high school programs are beginning spring football practices. Coaches argue that it builds fundamentals, fosters team chemistry, and gives players an early start on the fall season. But is it really the best thing for athletes — or even for the game itself?
I will admit, my reasons for writing this are mostly selfish. My biggest coaching unpopular opinion is that I hate spring football. By this time of year, I have already completed a long football season and a long track season. Spring football is like coaching a third sport on top of teaching my science class. Getting myself mentally ready to coach football each day of spring ball is an exhausting process that I believe could be handled differently and still benefit every person involved.
Here are some reasons to bypass Spring Ball:
1. Multi-Sport Athletes Can Focus Completely on Each Sport
One of the greatest strengths of high school athletics is the multi-sport athlete. Kids who play football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball or track in the spring are more well-rounded, better conditioned, and, according to studies, less prone to injury than sport specialists.
When football programs start spring practices, they usually overlap with other ongoing sports, or they wait until the regular seasons are over and end up going late into the school year. Doing this can be distracting to those athletes involved in spring sports, depending on which sport they consider more important to them.
It also allows the coaches to give their second sport their full attention, which those athletes most certainly deserve.
2. Burnout Is Real
Football is an intense, physical, and emotionally demanding game. It requires toughness, yes — but it also requires time away. Spring practices chip away at the offseason, the mental and physical recovery period that young athletes need.
Coaches also experience mental and physical burnout. Just because we are older and chose this profession, it does not mean we are immune to the impacts of longer days and extra weeks of practice in the spring.
The risk of burnout is higher than we like to admit. Football already demands a long fall season, plus summer workouts and 7-on-7 tournaments. Adding organized spring practices piles on more stress without guaranteeing better performance or development.
3. Risk Without Reward
At the high school level, the cost-benefit analysis of spring football simply doesn’t add up. Players can — and do — suffer injuries in non-contact spring sessions. Even in shells and helmets, it’s impossible to remove all risks.
Worse, the benefit of installing plays or building chemistry in April or May often fades by August. Teenagers change dramatically over a summer. Teams that look sharp in May are often re-learning everything when they return after break. The "early start" is mostly a mirage.
4. The Game Isn’t the Only Thing That Matters
Part of the beauty of high school sports is that they are supposed to serve the kids, not the other way around. It's easy for adults to fall into the trap of treating high school football like college football — or worse, the NFL — with endless cycles of practice, film, and "voluntary" (but mandatory) workouts.
High school football shouldn’t be a year-round grind. It should be a powerful, memorable part of a young athlete’s life — not the only thing they do. Players should have time to be in the school play, run track, get a summer job, or just be a kid for a little while.
When we add spring practices, we shift the center of gravity.
What can you do instead? If you are fortunate to have an athletic period, work football skills during the athletic period ONLY. Everything that is positive about spring football can be accomplished within the athletic period. Players can be taught and practiced in the fundamentals, systems can be installed, and college coaches can see them in action for recruiting.
Final Thoughts
Great football teams aren’t built on spring practices. They’re built on relationships, fundamentals, accountability, and passion — none of which require a full spring football schedule.
Besides, who likes practicing just to practice? No spring ball means you can start earlier in the fall AND get an extra scrimmage!
By protecting the offseason, we protect players. We protect the sport. And ultimately, we protect what makes high school football so special in the first place.
In Texas there is so much you can do around the school period, and with additional skill development and weight training times it begins to look pretty close to a practice if you want it to.
Not doing spring gives you an additional scrimmage and the ability to start a week earlier than those that do spring, which if you are in an inner city school can be beneficial to getting everyone eligible in time.
With so much recruiting and moving around, it’s been my experience that the starting lineup is never the same come August, so I built chemistry into a nonexistent team. A lot of work for little reward.
Even if you have a new OC/DC coming into the program you can still do a lot of the instal during the summer.
The first three days we tailor to each phase. One day for offense, one for defense, one for specials. Each day has little built in competitions, for example day three we'll do a little punt pass and kick competition. We don't really focus on installing anything, as really, what good is four days in June going to do for our season that starts at the end of August? The final day is one big 7v7 tournament with everyone, including the linemen. This year, at the end of the last practice, we're going to include our 8th grade signing day, just to make it a little more special for everyone