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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The NCAA announced several rule changes on Friday, and one of them was its decision to eliminate preseason two-a-day practices for all Division I football teams.
Alabama held three two-a-day practice sessions during its fall camp in 2016, and following the second of three scrimmages this spring, Nick Saban reacted to the decision that was made.
āI think that player safety was the reason that this was discussed and a decision got made by medical folks that two-a-days were a time when there were more injuries because we condensed the number of practices,ā Saban said Friday evening. āI guess there was some feeling that by spreading the practices out more, that would be beneficial to players safety.
āI personally think that our season is way too long and making the season longer is not a good thing for the players. I cannot see bringing our guys in in July to start practice and have four or five weeks of practice before we play our first game when summer schoolās still going on and all that. I donāt disagree with the day off. I think if we thought two-a-days was too much, we should have not made it longer.ā)
Saban is of course correct in pointing to player safety as the reason for this ruling.
In the NCAAās release, Division I Council chair Jim Phillips, who is also the athletics director at Northwestern, said they continue to follow the recommendations from medical professionals and āthe strong support for discontinuing two contact practices in the same day.ā
This ruling comes a few months after the Division I Committee for Legislative Relief issued a waiver to allow the football preseason to start up to a week earlier. That allows schools to decide how to manage their practice schedules, while also retaining the regulated 29 preseason practices.
A single day, however, may include one three-hour practice session and a walk-through. During walk-throughs, helmets and shoulder pads canāt be worn and contact and conditioning arenāt allowed. Three hours of recovery are also required between on-field practices and walk-throughs, and meetings, film review, medical treatment and meals are allowed during that recovery time.
āWe should have just eliminated two-a-days and just kept the practices a little less, because itās a long season. Itās a long season for these players,ā Saban said. āI mean, weāve played 15 games two years in a row. Itās a long season. Itās tough to get them back and get them ready for the offseason program, spring practice. Itās a lot of ball.
āOur format for how we do playoffs, where youāve got a month between games, then youāve got another game in 10-12 days, thatās tough on players, too, because they have to keep practicing all that time. Our season is not just the equivalent of 15 games, itās probably the equivalent from a practice standpoint, to 17 or 18 games.ā
Most teams canāt boast the same number of games as Alabama over the last three seasons since the start of the College Football Playoff, but in order to keep his players healthy and fresh for the season, Saban doesnāt plan on making many changes to his teamās fall camp practice schedule.
Even though a new rule has been passed that will allow the Crimson Tide and other programs to begin fall practices earlier this upcoming season, Saban doesnāt plan to take advantage of it.
āIām not for making it longer, and I probably wonāt make ours longer,ā Saban said. āI think what weāre going to do is just come in one day earlier to make up for the one Sunday we have to have a day off. So we may have a few less practices. But weāll do walk-throughs or something instead of having practices and try to learn that way.
āBut I donāt have a good feeling about making the season longer for the players.ā
How the elimination of two-a-days affects Alabama Crimson Tide Football's fall camp Nick Saban
Alabama held three two-a-day practice sessions during its fall camp in 2016, and following the second of three scrimmages this spring, Nick Saban reacted to the decision that was made.
āI think that player safety was the reason that this was discussed and a decision got made by medical folks that two-a-days were a time when there were more injuries because we condensed the number of practices,ā Saban said Friday evening. āI guess there was some feeling that by spreading the practices out more, that would be beneficial to players safety.
āI personally think that our season is way too long and making the season longer is not a good thing for the players. I cannot see bringing our guys in in July to start practice and have four or five weeks of practice before we play our first game when summer schoolās still going on and all that. I donāt disagree with the day off. I think if we thought two-a-days was too much, we should have not made it longer.ā)
Saban is of course correct in pointing to player safety as the reason for this ruling.
In the NCAAās release, Division I Council chair Jim Phillips, who is also the athletics director at Northwestern, said they continue to follow the recommendations from medical professionals and āthe strong support for discontinuing two contact practices in the same day.ā
This ruling comes a few months after the Division I Committee for Legislative Relief issued a waiver to allow the football preseason to start up to a week earlier. That allows schools to decide how to manage their practice schedules, while also retaining the regulated 29 preseason practices.
A single day, however, may include one three-hour practice session and a walk-through. During walk-throughs, helmets and shoulder pads canāt be worn and contact and conditioning arenāt allowed. Three hours of recovery are also required between on-field practices and walk-throughs, and meetings, film review, medical treatment and meals are allowed during that recovery time.
āWe should have just eliminated two-a-days and just kept the practices a little less, because itās a long season. Itās a long season for these players,ā Saban said. āI mean, weāve played 15 games two years in a row. Itās a long season. Itās tough to get them back and get them ready for the offseason program, spring practice. Itās a lot of ball.
āOur format for how we do playoffs, where youāve got a month between games, then youāve got another game in 10-12 days, thatās tough on players, too, because they have to keep practicing all that time. Our season is not just the equivalent of 15 games, itās probably the equivalent from a practice standpoint, to 17 or 18 games.ā
Most teams canāt boast the same number of games as Alabama over the last three seasons since the start of the College Football Playoff, but in order to keep his players healthy and fresh for the season, Saban doesnāt plan on making many changes to his teamās fall camp practice schedule.
Even though a new rule has been passed that will allow the Crimson Tide and other programs to begin fall practices earlier this upcoming season, Saban doesnāt plan to take advantage of it.
āIām not for making it longer, and I probably wonāt make ours longer,ā Saban said. āI think what weāre going to do is just come in one day earlier to make up for the one Sunday we have to have a day off. So we may have a few less practices. But weāll do walk-throughs or something instead of having practices and try to learn that way.
āBut I donāt have a good feeling about making the season longer for the players.ā
How the elimination of two-a-days affects Alabama Crimson Tide Football's fall camp Nick Saban
