Favila: Banning of two-a-days a necessary move by UIL

Margarito Olvera was upset. No, maybe upset is not quite strong enough. Olvera was downright mad.

"How can they do this?" Olvera exclaimed. "Do they realize how unfair it is? Didn’t they think before they acted?"

The "they" Olvera was referring to was the University Interscholastic League and Olvera, a self-proclaimed Valley high school football fanatic, was furious that on Monday the state’s sports governing body had banned traditional two-a-day football practices starting next season.

"They’ve weakened the sport. They’ve taken the toughness away. Most importantly, they’ve made it harder for schools to get ready for the season," he said. "I miss the old days."

Olvera’s dislike of the UIL’s rule changes is not entirely surprising because at first glance it does seem to take away from the traditional work ethic many people have become accustomed to seeing during the preseason.

Also, since the rule will ban two-a-day practices during the first four days of training camp, smaller schools that are not able to participate in spring ball won’t be able to hit the ground running like they usually did come August.

However, Olvera’s views are shortsighted and his anger unnecessary.

Yes, the rule changes will force coaches and trainers to rethink their workouts and adjust their preseason schedules. And true, sub-4A schools won’t be able to get up to speed as quickly as they had in the past. However, walk-through workouts where players can wear helmets but not pads will be allowed under the rule changes and that should help out.

Regardless, the new rules apply to everyone, so it’s not like certain schools will be able to garner an unfair advantage. Every team in the state is in the same boat so the changes won’t weaken the competition or hamper any team’s progress.

The truth is, the UIL had the athletes’ best interests at heart when they approved the rule changes. The UIL did indeed "think before it acted," because it realized the dangers in allowing young men to practice in the blazing afternoon sun day after day.

It realized that the archaic practices that were once considered a rite of passage are long gone. It realized that unless a proactive measure was taken now, unnecessary deaths were bound to occur in the future.

Now that truly would be unfair, Mr. Olvera. That would definitely weaken the sport.

Dave Favila can be reached at davidf@valleystar.com or at 956-430-6214