Virginia high school football teams make the most of added practice time The Virginia High School League softened its out-of-season practice rule for all sports this year, and its impact might be felt more in football than in any other sport. Prior to the change, football team offseason activities, other than passing leagues for some and weightlifting for all, were mostly limited to paid camps away from school. "Technically, in the past, we couldn't do anything football-related outside of the season time," Robinson Coach Trey Taylor said. Now to be able to do it here on your own campus and not have parents driving and kids driving themselves, it doesn't get any better. The National Federation of State High School Associations does not keep track of how many states allow out-of-season practices. But in a 2009 football survey, 10 states said they allow contact practices outside of the regular season. The VHSL allows teams to practice out of season any time other than during 10-day "dead periods" that coincide with sports tryout dates in the fall, winter and spring seasons, an attempt to encourage students to play multiple sports and not feel pressured to specialize in one. Local school jurisdictions can stiffen the VHSL guidelines, which is what the Virginia AAA Northern Region has done by capping the number of "green days" at 12 in each of the offseasons and 10 in the summer. Coaches are not paid for the offseason instruction. The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association does not permit out-of-season practices and has no plans to allow them, although the issue has been discussed at various times, MPSSAA Executive Director Ned Sparks said, citing liability reasons, possible competitive imbalance and other factors. Non-school groups sponsor and oversee offseason programs. In Northern Virginia, the newly allowed football practices are geared toward individual skills and fundamentals, not 11-on-11 play. At Robinson, five upturned garbage cans stood in for linemen during some drills. Asked if they liked having an offseason football outlet, three rising Robinson seniors erupted in are-you-kidding-me chuckles. "When you love it, you like the lifting," quarterback Michael Hugney said, "but you love playing football. There's a huge difference between going out with a couple of receivers and running some routes [as in the past] and taking snaps from linemen and actually going through game situations. Count college football recruiters as fans of the out-of-season workouts, too. Unlike coaches in many sports, who can watch young athletes compete in AAU and club and travel competitions, football recruiters could watch athletes in action only during the season, or at camps on college campuses.