Several Georgia high school football players were out past midnight last weekend. Saturday marked the first day that Georgia teams could practice in pads, and many head coaches scheduled the big event as early as possible. That meant 12:01 a.m. workouts.
"When those lights came on, you start to get chill bumps. It's really here. It's time," Adairsville coach Eric Bishop told the Cartersville Daily Tribune News .
Grayson coach Mickey Conn scheduled midnight preseason practice for the first time. Conn has coached at the Gwinnett County school since 2000 but decided it was time for something new. "We're going to be the first team practicing and the last team playing - all the way to the [Georgia] Dome," Conn explained to players and fans on the team's Web site. The Dome would be the site of the Class AAAAAA championship game on Dec. 13.
The "midnight madness" practices are credited to Thomas County Central and its former head coach Ed Pilcher in 1991, just before TCC would begin its dynasty of five state titles in seven seasons. Bill Shaver, who took over for Pilcher in 2008, continued the tradition.
"It's kind of like one of the big lures of Thomas County Central football," Shaver told WFXL Fox 31 of Albany. "I mean it is a big tradition. A lot of fans like to come out. It's kind of a social event. And it's always been a big deal. Our kids always look forward to it. It's almost like another ballgame as far as they're concerned."
Several newly hired head coaches initiated midnight practices this season as a way to energize the players and fan base. Those include Larry Harold of Brunswick, Sid Maxwell of Dawson County, Eric McNair at Long County, Rick Hurst of Pepperell and Steve DeVoursney of Cairo.
"Just try to get some excitement going in the community," DeVoursney told the Thomasville Times-Enterprise . "Just trying to get a buzz going, something different."
At Brunswick, Harold planned an itinerary that had the team practicing from midnight to 2 a.m. on Saturday, up at 7 a.m. for breakfast and back on the field at 8 a.m. with helmets only. The players were scheduled for fun in the pool from 1 to 4 p.m. but were on the practice field again from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Hurst had been doing midnight practices at Eastside. He wasn't planning to make a big deal of it at Pepperell except for the players, but a group of boosters called the Dragon Moms made it a community event, according to the Rome News-Tribune . There were food trucks and pre-game tailgating.
"Coach Hurst told us about the game," Dragon Moms member Stephanie Pearson told the newspaper. "When we asked him about making it an event, he told us to run with it and we did."
The exact number of teams conducting midnight practices is unknown, but others that held them this season included Sprayberry, Harris County, Rabun County, Johnson of Gainesville, Lamar County, Newton and West Laurens.
West Laurens coach Buddy Nobles told the Macon Telegraph that he got the idea from former Bleckley County coach Sam Barrs.
"It was electric at the beginning," Nobles said. "The kids were screaming and hollering."
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