Some states allow their high school football programs to have workouts in the latter part of the school year, similar to a collegiate spring football format. Several southern states currently have such programs. Some states, like Ohio, are considering it.
Spring football basically gives schools options to have practices toward the end of a school year going into the summer.
Currently, there doesn’t appear to be a major push toward such a proposal in Michigan. There are some coaches, however, who don’t think it’s a bad idea.
“I don’t know of anyone in our association who views spring football as a remote possibility in Michigan, given the current policies of the MHSAA,” said Larry Merx, executive director of the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association.
“That’s not something that that we’ve been approached at all for,” said Geoff Kimmerly, MHSAA media and content coordinator. “I don’t really necessarily know the reason for it. I think a lot of our football coaches are involved in track. I don’t know if that’s the reason. There hasn’t been a push for that.”
Carson City-Crystal football coach Devin Pringle opposes spring football. “Kids are pulled in enough directions already,” he said. “It would interfere with spring sports. I would rather see a dead month in the summer so families can vacation and kids can recharge. I would be in favor of less ‘on time,’ not more.”
Ithaca football coach and athletic director Terry Hessbrook agrees. “I would be opposed to something like this happening here in Michigan. I feel that the spring sport teams would suffer a great deal. Our players need to have some time off. Most of our players are not college football players. We are a small school, and we need our athletes to participate in other sports.”
Chad Klopf of Coleman favors spring football, but he has some mixed thoughts.
“On one hand, I’m a football coach; of course I want as many chances as I can to work with my football players,” he said. “On the other hand, I coach at a small school and wouldn’t want to jeopardize the chances of any of the spring sports from missing out on my athlete because he is so focused on spring football, gets hurt during spring football, or just doesn’t go out for a team because of the chance for spring football.
“What do I think a small spring football session could do for me? No. 1, it would allow me to see 100 percent who is committed for the fall. Small-school football has so many ups and downs when it comes to putting a roster together. This would make a more mandatory time period that the coaches could see who they have to count on in the fall. Second, it would give the players a good sense of where they stand leading into the summer. Have they put the work in as much as the guy next to them? Do they need to focus more on their off-season conditioning? Is coach right that I’m not ready for varsity yet?
“Third, for me personally, being a softball coach as well, I don’t have a lot of connection to my football team in the spring. So, if I could have a short session with them in the spring, we could benefit greatly.”
Clark Huntey, Morley Stanwood coach and athletic director, doesn’t like the idea. “There’s no way the smaller schools could participate in a spring football camp/practice,” he said. “ I will not pull kids out of baseball or track to run a spring football camp/practice, and I’m not going to interfere with their spring sport season they are participating in. Kids get pulled in too many directions already – let them play a sport in a season without interference from other sports.”
Marty James, Central Montcalm football coach, feels there’s merit to spring football. “In my 20-plus years of coaching high school football, I have been told numerous times by coaches at all levels of college football that kids who live in Michigan are not on a level playing field when it comes to gaining the attention of college coaches,” he said. “Coaches do most of their recruiting during the spring and at summer camps, and college coaches have the luxury in the spring of hitting the road to see recruits in action.
“Most lower level colleges do not have the resources to send coaches to watch games in the fall, and they are also wrapped up in their own season. Therefore, a coach can see a recruit ‘in-action’ in spring ball. . .something they can’t even do at summer camps.”
But James acknowledged that spring football in Michigan is a long shot right now.
“I guess it is going to take a lawsuit, like the one that it took to get the volleyball season changed, in order for the MHSAA to look at it,” he said.