Randy wants to play 8th grade football next year. Training for it started today. Yep, January 12th for a season that won't start until August. Yep, we're talking about 7th graders that won't be 8th graders until August. For now it's every Saturday from 8am-9am (weight training). I guess in May or June they'll start training twice a week and then in July it'll be 3 times a week. That doesn't include any football camps they do over the summer (I think they have a 2 or 4 week camp in June or July). Randy's all for it because he wants to play. I talked to another mom this morning when I dropped him off that said her son (G) wasn't sure he wanted to play next year because of the time commitment (especially in the summer--he likes his video games! lol). She also said he's quite a follower and was thrilled when I pulled up with Randy. The thing is G was one of the 7th grade star players and he's really good!!! Apparently to be able to play 8th grade ball they have to do this training. I guess we don't really have an issue because Randy really wants to do it. What about the other kids? What about the ones that have other commitments? Last year Randy wouldn't have been able to do this because we had another commitment every Saturday morning (training for our karate seminar). I think it's kind of insane. We're talking about middle school here, not college or the pros! Maybe I'm just not with it...

By Kaye on Saturday, January 12, 2008 - 10:52 am:

I am amazed at how much goes into school sports here. I do not believe that our fall football program starts until fall though. I am not sure though. I do know there are some UIL rules that they have to follow, like only so many days before school starts can they practice. I am guess officially these weight lifting days aren't quite considered football in the paperwork. Which means if you had a committment you could probably get out of them, but who knows.

My dd plays jr high golf. It was made very clear to them that in the summer they could get to gether to play, but their coach could not be there, due to uil rules.

By Melanie on Saturday, January 12, 2008 - 12:11 pm:

Having been involved with football at a younger level for four years, I can't say I am surprised. Being a contact sport, you want those kids at their peak conditioning level when they put the pads on. That means if they start weight training over the summer, it won't be enough. My biggest concern with the weight training is that it is done under the supervision of a trained professional. These are young boys with developing bodies...over-training or exerting can cause long-term damage. I would want to know that these boys are being taught how to do it correctly, and not just put in a room with a bunch of weights. Beyond that, if any of my kids were willing to put in the time and energy and make that kind of commitment, I would absolutely be supportive and get them where they need to be. Good for Randy for being willing to work that hard and that long for something he wants.