FHSAA to limit live contact in football practices starting this fall

GAINESVILLE – In what has become a growing trend around the nation, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) announced today that they would be implementing procedures that limits live contact and improves player safety during practices, starting with the upcoming season on August 1.

The FHSAA defines live contact as drills with game-like conditions where players are taken to the ground.

The new rules would limit how many consecutive days teams can have live contact practices as well as much time can be spent to having live contact in practices during the total week.

Team will start the first five days of practice of the season, or start of spring football practices, going through an acclimatization period which incorporates what kind contact or non-contact can be had by a player with select practice equipment. Live full body contact can start on the sixth day as stated in the guidelines. However, the live contact is only limited to 40 minutes each day during the preseason with no more than two consecutive days being allowed in which live contact can be allowed at practice.

During the regular season and post season, live contact during practice will only be allowed for up to three practice days per week with no more than two consecutive days being allowed to have live contact practice. Live contact practices during this time can only be a maximum of 30 minutes per day and a total of 80 minutes for the entire week.

The FHSAA will also require schools to keep a written practice plan in compliance with Administrative procedures which shall be prepared in advance and be maintained by the school for at least 12 months and should be made available upon request.

“Player safety has and will always be the number one goal of the FHSAA,” FHSAA Executive Director Roger Dearing said in a media release from the FHSAA. “Protecting our student-athletes is paramount in growing the game of football and this administrative procedure is a step in the right direction.”

And that direction was echoed by FHSAA Football Administrator Frank Beasley.

“The game of football will always come with some inherent risk, but we will never stop working to try and make one of the greatest team sports on earth safer,” Beasley said. “We will continue our efforts to educate and teach coaches on the Drive to December about how to run effective practices while using the limited-contact procedures.”

The FHSAA worked Practice Like Pros founder Terry O’Neill to develop the procedures the FHSAA will implement.

To view the full handout on the FHSAA Football Contact Procedures, click here.