During his days as an offensive lineman at Virginia (1978-80), Georgia Tech’s offensive line coach Mike Sewak went through a preseason that looked a bit different than it does now.
For starters, the regimen to get ready for the season included three practices in a single day.
“And I think two-a-days was a blessing compared to three-a-days,” he said.
Coach Paul Johnson was not to be outdone.
“My first job in college, we went four a day,” he said. “We went 5:30 in the morning, 9:30, 2:30 and back at 7:30. Killed the coaches, too. But it’s just changed. Times have changed.”
The Yellow Jackets have been witness to the change in their preseason camp, which concludes Saturday morning with a scrimmage at Bobby Dodd Stadium. They will finish the 17-day stretch without a single two-a-day. It’s the first time that Johnson has conducted a camp without practicing twice in a day, and it’s likely the first in a long time at Tech.
Duke is the only other team in the ACC that won’t have a single two-a-day practice. Others will finish with between two and four. Tech had one two-a-day last year, Johnson said. In 2008, Johnson’s first season, the Jackets had five two-a-days. The Jackets are part of the trend moving away from double sessions, once a staple of preseason training.
The NFL put an end to two-a-days after the 2011 preseason. Since 2003, NCAA rules have prohibited two-a-days (or three-a-days) on consecutive days. Player safety has been the driver in the changes. In 2014, the NCAA created guidelines (as opposed to rules) for preseason practice, one of them being that teams who practice twice a day conduct live hitting in only one of them.
Rather than practice twice in a day, coaches have supplemented the single practice by putting the players on the field for walkthroughs — a non-contact teaching session in which players rehearse plays at walking pace — or having more meetings.
“I think you get a better quality, a better level of practice when you’re not out there twice,” Johnson said.
Asked again about the matter at a later date, Johnson provided a different rationale. He said that the lack of two-a-days was a function of the NCAA rule regarding when a team can begin practice, the start of school and spacing out the 29 practices permitted before the first game.
“If I went two-a-day, then I would run out of practice opportunities a week before we played,” he said.
Whatever the reason, it has changed the nature of preseason camp. Sewak said that “it doesn’t seem like camp” to not have double practices. The second practice, he said, provides an opportunity for same-day reinforcement of techniques.
“The ability to teach blocking, to go ahead and go step by step and (teach) landmarks and eyes and hips and shoulders and pad level and body balance at the point of attack — sometimes when you don’t get two-a-days, you don’t get that opportunity to get the extra work,” Sewak said.
Some of the reason for two-a-day practices was to develop players’ conditioning and build camaraderie and toughness through that crucible. However, because players take part in on-campus summer workouts, they start the preseason in better condition than they once did. And a second (or third) practice in a day likely exposes them to greater risk for injury. It’s conceivable that the reduced wear in August will enable players to be fresher and healthier when the season arrives.
“This schedule’s wonderful,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “It gives you so much more meeting time, walkthrough time, video time. It’s a wonderful schedule as far as teaching, the time to do that.”
What do players think? You might be surprised at defensive tackle Patrick Gamble’s reaction.
“Two-a-days aren’t too bad,” he said. “We get to practice in the morning, go back to the hotel, go to sleep, practice in the afternoon. Actually, shoot, days in camp go by faster because you get more practices out of the way. It’s pretty good.”
About the Author
