SHIELDS: Athletes and the dead period
The TSSAA's two-week dead period begins Monday
SHIELDS: Athletes and the dead period The TSSAA's two-week dead period begins Monday Check out this story on jacksonsun.com: http://www.jacksonsun.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2015/06/21/shields-athletes-stay-busy-dead-period/29082739/
Brandon Shields, bjshields@jacksonsun.com Published 5:35 p.m. CT June 21, 2015 | Updated 7:05 p.m. CT June 21, 2015
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Monday officially starts the TSSAA's two-week dead period.
There are differing opinions on this among local football coaches, but the consistent opinion is two weeks off in the middle of summer is too long for coaches and players to not have contact and not be able to get work in.
Chester County head coach Michael Hodum and Crockett County coach Kevin Ward have a couple of ideas.
"If we have to have two weeks off, I think we should get the first week out of school off and then have the second week around the fourth," Hodum said. "I'm OK with having that week of July 4 off because a lot of families go out of town then anyway. That week is almost a wash."
Ward is OK with no break in the middle of summer.
"If the TSSAA thinks we need two weeks off, give them to us at the beginning of summer and then let us have the rest of the summer to get the kids conditioned and acclimated to the heat as it gets hotter," Ward said. "I don't see the point of forcing us to have two weeks off, then having strict guidelines when it comes to dealing with the heat when they get back."
No matter your opinion on when or how long the dead period should be, the current system is what it is. Players and coaches get two weeks away from each other. Coaches encourage their players to stay active outside during the break so no one is in serious health risk when they start conditioning on July 6.
I have a band director friend who posted the same thing on Facebook to his band kids, so local band members should heed the same warning.
Super Seniors Readers' Choice
Later this summer, we'll run a series of stories highlighting 12 senior football players going into the season based on what they've accomplished in their high school careers up to this point and also on potential past this season.
Those selections are ours and as objective as possible, and we're adding a new feature this year with a 13th Super Senior.
We're letting our readers vote on that 13th Super Senior, and here's how that works. We're using social media, e-mail and phone messages for local football fans to let us know your favorite senior football player.
If you want to vote via e-mail, simply send an e-mail to bjshields@jacksonsun.com with your nomination and a few words of why he should be a Super Senior. You can do the same with a phone message to 731-425-9751. Or you can use social media. Post a nomination of Jackson Sun Sports Facebook page or send a tweet with #JSSuperSeniors with the name and team he's on.
One question you may be asking is who is eligible. This is strictly a reader-voted story, so the only requirement is the athlete must be a senior football player in 2015. The deadline to vote is July 5, the end of the dead period. That way we have time to determine the winner and put the story together. The winner will be announced Aug. 1 when the story runs to kick off the Super Seniors series.
Brandon Shields is the high school sports columnist for The Jackson Sun. Contact him at 425-9751 or atbjshields@jacksonsun.com. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or on Instagram at jacksonsunsports.