High School Summer Conditioning programs?

[Tammany Tom]

I've read several interesting threads on this board about the state of high school football in Arkansas.

As I was working out at my health club this morning, I was watching Fontainbleau High School go through their conditioning workouts. (Mandeville Fontainbleau HS is a 5A school with 2200 students and lost in the state semi's to West Monroe last year). I talked to a father of one of the boys going through the conditioning drills. He told me that they begin summer workouts the Monday after the last day of school. They do 1 ½ hours of weight lifting and 1 ½ hours of conditioning drills 5 days a week up until 5 days prior to the beginning of football practice in August. All workouts are mandatory for every player on the team and are supervised by the assistant coaches. 

The program is designed by Kirk Hester, who runs the Speed & Strength Center at my health Club. Kirk is a consultant to a number of professional athletes in the New Orleans area. St. Paul High School runs the same program at my health club. I am friends with several Curtis High School graduates and they tell me that Curtis, as well as a number of NO area high schools, run the same type of conditioning program in the summer as well.

Do any of your high schools have summer conditioning programs like Louisiana high schools?

[PorcineSublime]

This is how you get championship teams. I would think that the better teams in AR do this, but not enough. Have to be careful though, too much muscle can be a problem. Can slow you down and make you tire more easily(extra weight). Need lean strength at the skilll positions and muscle up the linemen/backers.

[rricha]

let the kids enjoy summer

[Tammany Tom]

let the kids enjoy summer

I agree, but only a little. When I was playing high school football 25 years ago, there were no mandatory summer work-outs, but we received a conditioning program from our coach that had to be adhered to during the summer. We had strength and conditioning tests at the start of football practice and if you didn't pass them, then you were disciplined and demoted and had to work your way back up the depth chart.

In order to compete with football factories like West Monroe, Evangel, St. Aug, Curtis, and Barbe you have to be at your very best. Like it or not, football is a year round sport even at the high school level. There is a reason why kids from Texas and Louisiana are highly recruited and it's not just talent. Kids in TX and LA work out on weights and work on speed drills all year round to develop themselves into outstanding football players.

[rricha]

25years ago we just lined up and played football.   We worked out on our own and did not have a conditioning program to go by we were ball players.  Hail to the old gold hail to the black Little Rock Central.

[WilsonHog]

We've had the same summer conditioning program at Rivercrest for about 35 years.  The last week of school the players are given a running workout that they're expected to complete. The weight room is opened up the first week in July for three nights a week, but the workouts are voluntary. As far back as I can remember, though, attendance has been good.

[HornetHog]

25years ago we just lined up and played football. We worked out on our own and did not have a conditioning program to go by we were ball players. Hail to the old gold hail to the black Little Rock Central.

Donut,

You have to admit....times have changed.  The kids today are much bigger and faster.  Society as a whole has gotten bigger.  Hell, the HS girls today have more 6'+  athletes than ever before and very developed compared to our day in the late 70's early 80's.  Who was the largest OL back in the day?  O Weams...Korte....I can't honestly remember any 300+ ponders. The parents of today were .."us" from the 80's, and are very  competitive and so many kids are guided by their parents to take part in camps, private coaches and athletic enhancing clinics.  I remember going to the Lou Holtz All sports Camps in the summers back then.  Today there is half a dozen passing 7 on 7 pass scale camps that really advance the HS QB's and receivers today.

So when does Central play Bryant this year..?

[Chief Mac]

We've had the same summer conditioning program at Rivercrest for about 35 years. The last week of school the players are given a running workout that they're expected to complete. The weight room is opened up the first week in July for three nights a week, but the workouts are voluntary. As far back as I can remember, though, attendance has been good.

At Vilonia back in the late eighties/early nineties, Coach Bangs gave us a summer workout plan, plus we had "voluntary" workouts on tuesday and thursday nights during the summer.

WPS

Chris

[rricha]

EVEN NOW AT LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL THEY OPEN THE WEIGHT ROOM AFTER JULY 4TH.  THE KIDS ARE INCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE BUT IT IS NOT MANDATORY AND THE KIDS ARE NOT PENILIZED IF THEY DON'T PARTICIPATE. 

[HogInMemphis]

let the kids enjoy summer

Amen. That is [CENSORED] ridiculous. I would not let my son participate in any 5 day a week drilling/practice that starts the day after school ends and runs the entire summer. Some people are nuts. No, most people are nuts. Fall and spring are plenty of time spent on football.

Same for any sport - those who let/make their boys play spring, summer and fall baseball are insane. This year round stuff is not good, physically or mentally, for kids. I think any sports doctor will agree 100% with me on this.

[HornetHog]

Hog In Memphis & Donut,

I agree 1000% with you.


School Superintendants say what the Head Coach......Win!..........Boosters say what....Win!  coaches themselves want to move on and move up, and to do that he has to do what....Win!

How does the coach improve his odds to win........train his kids as much as possible.  Our society has forgotten some of the important key elements of being a kid.   Society  is evolving ...and not in favor of our kids.

HH

[Pigster]

Hog in Memphis

Is that a Batesville Pioneer logo?  I think they have a pretty rigorous summer program from what i have heard.  Seems to pay some benefits - are you for or against summer workouts?  Or is this just referring to making your own children participate?

[hogsanity]

Football is a little different than the other sports.  It starts right at the beginning of school, so they dont have a ton of time to get ready, but to start MANDATORY workouts the day after school is out?  Come on.  What if the kids family want to take a trip?  Or he wants to take a summer job ( or NEEDS to take a summer job ).  Basketball players have AAU, and baseball has American Legion, but now with 7-7 football players have options also. 

Plus, all the elite kids are going to some camp every week.

A kid who cares is going to stay in shape during th summer, and those who dont will just quit.  They want to play football for their HS, but it isnt their job. 

This kind of goes along with the HS coach mentality of " Im gonna run you til you puke, and if you dont puke Ill run you for that ". 

[Hogtopia]

Football is a little different than the other sports. It starts right at the beginning of school, so they dont have a ton of time to get ready, but to start MANDATORY workouts the day after school is out? Come on. What if the kids family want to take a trip? Or he wants to take a summer job ( or NEEDS to take a summer job ). Basketball players have AAU, and baseball has American Legion, but now with 7-7 football players have options also.

Plus, all the elite kids are going to some camp every week.

A kid who cares is going to stay in shape during th summer, and those who dont will just quit. They want to play football for their HS, but it isnt their job.

This kind of goes along with the HS coach mentality of " Im gonna run you til you puke, and if you dont puke Ill run you for that ".

If I'm not mistaken, there can not be any "mandatory" practices, workouts, etc. until some time in August in the state of Arkansas.

[hogsanity]

let the kids enjoy summer

Amen. That is farging ridiculous. I would not let my son participate in any 5 day a week drilling/practice that starts the day after school ends and runs the entire summer. Some people are nuts. No, most people are nuts. Fall and spring are plenty of time spent on football.

Same for any sport - those who let/make their boys play spring, summer and fall baseball are insane. This year round stuff is not good, physically or mentally, for kids. I think any sports doctor will agree 100% with me on this.

Man, my kid is an absolute stud at T-ball.  Maybe since we only play 2 games a week, we should be out practicing the other 5 days for 3 no 5 hrs a day.  One of my friends is pregnant with a boy, be born in Sept.  When should he start bloddy ally practice to be a RB in 16 years.

[arthurhawgerelli]

Football is a little different than the other sports. It starts right at the beginning of school, so they dont have a ton of time to get ready, but to start MANDATORY workouts the day after school is out? Come on. What if the kids family want to take a trip? Or he wants to take a summer job ( or NEEDS to take a summer job ). Basketball players have AAU, and baseball has American Legion, but now with 7-7 football players have options also.

Plus, all the elite kids are going to some camp every week.

A kid who cares is going to stay in shape during th summer, and those who dont will just quit. They want to play football for their HS, but it isnt their job.

This kind of goes along with the HS coach mentality of " Im gonna run you til you puke, and if you dont puke Ill run you for that ".

If I'm not mistaken, there can not be any "mandatory" practices, workouts, etc. until some time in August in the state of Arkansas.

No, times have changed.  The only regulation is that the high schools cannot put on full pads before the second Thursday in August (or Week 6 of the AAA calander).  They can wear helmets and use hand held pads, year round.

Some schools have mandatory summer workouts, some don't.  I'm not sure a true study has been done, but most of the successful programs I can think of have the mandatory summer workouts.  Everybody is trying to keep up with the Joneses.

Funny, how on this very board (and this is not a Hogville versus any other board swipe) people have pointed out how inferior Arkansas high school football is to surrounding states (especially Texass, spit, and Louisiana) yet this thread shows some support to just show up in August and expect to be competitive. 

Such is life, I guess.

[Smithers™]

I live in San Antonio and go to a *small* private high school.  Our offseason workouts started exactly 1 week after the last game of the season.  We lift Monday-Thursday at 7am for about an hour.  Its a pretty intense workout so an hour of it usually results in at least 1 person visiting the trash can in the hall.  While our coach has not said that these workouts are *mandatory*, he has said that if you plan on playing football next year, you are expected to be there.  He also mailed a football packet home which said in the cover letter "if you don't practice, you won't play".  During school our workouts started at 6am every morning before school.  It was pretty hard.  We also have 7-on-7 practice 2 days a week for two hours.  For a high school of just over 300 people, its a pretty rigorous routine.

[Dances With Hogs]

let the kids enjoy summer

I agree, but only a little. When I was playing high school football 25 years ago, there were no mandatory summer work-outs, but we received a conditioning program from our coach that had to be adhered to during the summer. We had strength and conditioning tests at the start of football practice and if you didn't pass them, then you were disciplined and demoted and had to work your way back up the depth chart.

In order to compete with football factories like West Monroe, Evangel, St. Aug, Curtis, and Barbe you have to be at your very best. Like it or not, football is a year round sport even at the high school level. There is a reason why kids from Texas and Louisiana are highly recruited and it's not just talent. Kids in TX and LA work out on weights and work on speed drills all year round to develop themselves into outstanding football players.

[Dances With Hogs]

Tom, where are you in Tammamy parish?
Iam on Brewster Rd, have been a hog since 1960.

[Tammany Tom]

Tom, where are you in Tammamy parish?
Iam on Brewster Rd, have been a hog since 1960.

I live in Mandeville in a subdivision on Lonesome Rd. 

I graduated from LSU in 1982.

I keep up with closely with Arkansas because my sister married a guy from Arkansas who is a big Razorback fan. We give each other a hard time and it's more fun if I'm somewhat knowledgeable about your program.

[HogInMemphis]

I live in San Antonio and go to a *small* private high school.  Our offseason workouts started exactly 1 week after the last game of the season.  We lift Monday-Thursday at 7am for about an hour.  Its a pretty intense workout so an hour of it usually results in at least 1 person visiting the trash can in the hall.  While our coach has not said that these workouts are *mandatory*, he has said that if you plan on playing football next year, you are expected to be there.  He also mailed a football packet home which said in the cover letter "if you don't practice, you won't play".  During school our workouts started at 6am every morning before school.  It was pretty hard.  We also have 7-on-7 practice 2 days a week for two hours.  For a high school of just over 300 people, its a pretty rigorous routine.

Unless you think you're good enough to play in the NFL, I'd quit that team or change schools. That's foolish to do all that.

[HogInMemphis]

Hog in Memphis

Is that a Batesville Pioneer logo?  I think they have a pretty rigorous summer program from what i have heard.  Seems to pay some benefits - are you for or against summer workouts?  Or is this just referring to making your own children participate?

Yes. I don't know about the Batesville summer program. I'm against summer workouts other than on your own.

[akp4105]

springdale does summer workouts, conditioning and weight lifting...and they have 5 d1 prospects..its almost like a stepping stone to college..thats why so many athletes come out of texas and go d1

[HOGLEG]

I live in San Antonio and go to a *small* private high school. Our offseason workouts started exactly 1 week after the last game of the season. We lift Monday-Thursday at 7am for about an hour. Its a pretty intense workout so an hour of it usually results in at least 1 person visiting the trash can in the hall. While our coach has not said that these workouts are *mandatory*, he has said that if you plan on playing football next year, you are expected to be there. He also mailed a football packet home which said in the cover letter "if you don't practice, you won't play". During school our workouts started at 6am every morning before school. It was pretty hard. We also have 7-on-7 practice 2 days a week for two hours. For a high school of just over 300 people, its a pretty rigorous routine.

Smithers, rather that "quit or change teams" you should be commended for your hard work. Be proud of your worth ethic. Quiting is exactly what a lot of kids would do. I would bet you play for a pretty good team. If the state of AR had more HS FB programs like that, (with this kid's mentality), the state would undoubtedly put out more than 10-15 high D1 prospects every year.

[rricha]

Does it really matter if a kid goes D1 D2 NAIA or what.  What is the precentage of them making it in the NFL.  It really boils down to who gets the degree, so much is emphisis is put on going D1. I tell kids that getting a scholorship is an honor no matter what level  it is.