Unlimited Summer Football Contact Up For Debate In Oregon

As Lakeridge football coach Tom Smythe prepared for his season opener against North Medford, he was caught off-guard by what he perceived as an unusual request.

“Their coach wanted to exchange spring scrimmage film,” Smythe said of Black Tornado coach Nate Becksted. “I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Oh, yeah, we played Grants Pass and Eagle Point.’ And I’m going, ‘Are you kidding? What is going on?’”

Smythe, who has won three big-school state titles in a career that started in 1971, is among the coaches who don’t believe in contact during the summer. Becksted is among those who believe it has advantages.

The philosophical divide between coaches has become more apparent as the OSAA moves toward imposing restrictions on contact and the use of protective equipment during the summer.

Spurred by safety concerns, the OSAA’s medical aspects of sports committee drafted a proposal that would limit contact to five days during the OSAA-defined summer — the day after Memorial Day through the start of the moratorium week, which began July 31 this year. The current policy does not restrict contact during that period.

“It’s a step in the right direction, but the window ought to be zero,” Smythe said. “There’s no need to have pads on and do any contact in the summer. There’s no carryover. I wish they’d just close it down and say, ‘Football is a fall sport, let’s play it in the fall.’”

Sheldon coach Lane Johnson said summer football has gotten out of hand.

“It’s kind of a free-for-all right now, and I don’t like it,” Johnson said. “There’s a reason why you only play so many football games. You don’t want your kids to get banged up all the time. I’ve just never been a firm believer that you have to be in pads all the time to get better.”

Others, such as Sunset coach Faustin Riley, disagree about the merits of summer contact. But Riley said like-minded coaches might be too busy to mount an organized resistance to the proposal.

“I don’t know much about it yet, but I definitely don’t think it’s a good deal,” Riley said. “There are all kinds of different levels of what people are doing. There are a lot of things that I think enhance it. I don’t think very many of us are just out there banging away.”

Brad Garrett, OSAA assistant executive director who oversees football, said he would like to get more input from coaches about the proposal. The executive board tabled a vote on the proposal last week, to clarify its language, and is expected to vote on it Dec. 5.

“We’ve had very few people chime in on it,” Garrett said. “In some ways, this is one of those rules to help protect coaches from themselves. It gives them an opportunity to say no.”

Becksted, who left Heritage of Vancouver to take over North Medford this year, said there is pressure to match other programs in the summer. He said the Black Tornado had about 12 days of contact this summer, including scrimmages against other teams.

“For me, it’s kind of become a keeping up with the Joneses in the summertime,” Becksted said. “Up in Washington, spring football turned into a one-month event. For me, it’s a little much.”

In the proposal, teams’ use of protective equipment would be limited to one 10-consecutive-day period in the summer, during which they could complete eight days of practice or team camp.

Contact would be prohibited during the first three days of the period, giving players time to get acclimated to protective equipment before the five days of contact. The idea is that teams can get three days of non-contact practice on a Wednesday through Friday, have two days for travel, then begin a five-day team camp on a Monday.

Becksted likes the idea of a limit, but isn’t sure about five days.

“I think a dozen days is probably more appropriate,” he said. “But no more than 12 to 15 days. I like the idea that you get seven, eight practices with gear, then you go to a football camp, get a scrimmage or two, and that’s probably good.”

Beaverton coach Bob Boyer agrees that scrimmages with other teams are beneficial. For years, the Beavers have participated in scrimmages at Canby that have included as many as 10 teams. Junior varsity and freshman teams also participate.

“We love going out to Canby,” he said.

Boyer said he hadn’t heard about the proposal until a Metro League coaches meeting one week before the start of daily doubles. He doesn’t like it.

“It takes our spring training away,” he said. “Baseball and basketball can do whatever they want during the summer. I understand there’s a contact issue, but we are so regulated, almost overly regulated, in everything that happens, it’s frustrating.

“If it continues this way, they’re going to just get rid of football so they don’t have to deal with a contact sport.”

Some of the state’s most successful coaches have a different view, however. Lakeridge’s Smythe, Sheldon’s Johnson, Jesuit’s Ken Potter and Lake Oswego’s Steve Coury downplay the importance of contact in the summer.

“We do not do any contact at all during the spring or the summer, and I do not think it’s hurt us over the years,” Potter said. “I believe kids should be allowed to play as many sports as possible, and many times when you have contact camps and that kind of stuff, it limits kids playing basketball or baseball during the summer.”

Smythe said cutting down on contact is a good idea not only in the summer, but during the season.

“If Lakeridge loses a player to injury, it’s on game night,” said Smythe, whose team beat North Medford 64-14 in the opener. “We’re never having contact, and it doesn’t seem to hurt us much.”