Preseason Football Practice Limitations FAQ

4 day acclimatization period

During the 4 day acclimatization period, are schools allowed to have more than one practice per day?

No. During the 4 day acclimatization period, schools are limited to no more than one practice per day.

During the 4 day acclimatization period, are schools allowed to have a walk through in addition to their allowed one practice?

Yes. During the 4 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 is no requirement in this regard. Students should be allowed some time to rest between the two activities, but there is not a required amount of rest time between a practice and a walk through during the 4 day acclimatization period.

Am I allowed to schedule the walk through during the 4 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 4 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 4 day acclimatization period.

Practice

After the 4 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 30 minutes. Any practice review meeting/film session stoppage of practice for longer than 30 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 4 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.

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.