by Jon Little #29
#7 Two-A-Days
It’s been a crazy busy week. My kids started back at school this week in Allen. For the record I don’t agree with starting school prior to the last or at the very least next to last week in August. I do like how Allen ISD eases them back though by starting in the middle of the week on a Wednesday. Otherwise that first week back can seem like a month instead of a week.
Anyway, I don’t think Pilot Point ISD starts back to school until next Monday. So, since school hasn’t started yet in Pilot Point that makes me think back to Two-A-Days. I’m not sure if it’s even a thing anymore, but 25 years ago Two-A-Days were certainly alive and well in Texas Football. Two-A-Days is when a team trained on two occasions in the same day. Mainly it was to get in shape for the Football season, but also to implement the basis for the offense/defense/special teams.
In my first installment I touched on the importance of a good off-season program and how I was focused on lifting weights and working out leading into my Senior year in the summer of 1993. Another main reason I was working out on my own during the off season was because I knew that Two-A-Days were looming on the horizon. I remember that I wanted to be in great shape going
into Two-A-Days because if you weren’t in shape going into it then it would be a very difficult couple of weeks. I was also conscious
that I was going to be a Senior and that meant more responsibility and a greater leadership role within the team. I couldn’t be go
into my Senior year and set a bad example for the younger guys.
There are a few things I still vividly remember about Two-A-Days in August of 1993. First it was hot. Yes, Texas in August…some things never change. I remember that during one practice session it was extremely hot. We were doing an offensive line blocking drill and sweat got into my eyes. It made me really dizzy and I came extremely close to passing out. I can still remember Coach Gray yelling at me because I lined up wrong and missed my block during the drill…I was trained to be tough, so I’m sure I didn’t say anything back other than “Yes Sir” or “Sorry Coach”, but I was confused because I couldn’t see and felt like I was about to pass out. Finally, I made it to the water break and was able to cool off and get the sweat out of my eyes. It was the closest call I probably ever had to getting heat exhaustion. Some guys weren’t so lucky. I can remember a couple of guys getting heat exhaustion during Two-A-Days in 1993. Coaches would rush to get them cooled off and then they would be out for that day of practice. Nothing too major they always made it back in a day or so. The Texas heat can be a brutal thing. Combine it with wearing a bunch of football pads and Two-A-Day practices and it can be a recipe for disaster.
I also remember our water breaks. We had make shift watering troughs made from PVC pipe with small holes in it. We would rush over to those watering stations and take full advantage of the high-quality Pp H2O. I remember how key hydration was even 25 years ago. We were all very aware that we needed to be drinking water and replenishing electrolytes. My mom was a genius in this regard. I remember her freezing a couple of bottles of Gatorade the night before Two-A-Day practices. I would take the bottles with me to practice and put them in my locker. Once practice was over I’d return to a half-frozen Gatorade slushy that tasted like the best thing on earth at the time. It’s the little things that you look back on and appreciate the most.
Well that’s all I’ve got in my bag for this week. As the football season officially starts in the next couple of weeks I plan to share my thoughts about how we were feeling 25 years ago on those exact weeks. Plus recap the game from the previous week, from 25 years back, in relation to the current Bearcat Football season.
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