It would only make sense that the year the PIAA has instituted a three-day heat acclimatization period for football only, we'll probably see the coolest August summer camp in years.

Nevertheless, as the first official day of fall practice is slated for August 12, schools across the state have the option to complete their mandatory, three-day heat acclimatization program starting on August 7 through August 9.

The PIAA web site lists these core principles as staples of the program.

Ÿ Practices are limited to 5 hours of practice daily for the 3 days of heat acclimatization. Practice sessions may be no longer than 3 hours in length and teams must have 2 hours of rest (recovery period) between sessions.

Ÿ If starting the previous week by school option, these days are to be three consecutive days and are not to be earlier than Wednesday the previous week – August 7th. Helmets and shoulder pads with shorts the first 2 days and full gear on third day. No contact on third day (before start date).

Ÿ If more than 48 hours between the conclusion of the heat acclimatization program and first day of practice, the program will not have its intended affect medically. Therefore, these practices are limited to five hours per day with no contact on the third day since it is before the start of the stipulated fall season.

Ÿ If starting the previous week option is chosen, Monday's practice – August 12th – may be 5 hours with a 2 hours buffer between practices and contact may be included.

The one staple of this program that causing an issue, is its optional status. This gives schools the option to start their summer camp three days before the official August 12 date, or allows them to stick to the original date intended and theoretically have them playing catch up to schools who opt for an earlier start.

It's the optional status that Bethlehem Catholic head coach Joe Henrich has a problem with.

Becahi and Central Catholic have mandated shutdowns imposed by the diocese that prevents any sport related activities, as schools use this week as time for families to either relax or go on vacation before the start of the school year.

Liberty, Freedom, Whitehall, Northampton and Emmaus are among other LVC schools that will be starting practices this week.

Henrich has no problem with the guidelines of the program itself, he just doesn't appreciate the optional status of the program.

"I just don't think it's right for the PIAA to give an option to schools on when they can start," said Henrich. "They've [PIAA] created a competitive imbalance. Schools that start earlier are getting at least 10 hours of extra practice, that we can't get. That's a lot of time, especially for kids, where technique and repetition are so important."

Northampton head coach Jeff Brosky is excited about the opportunity to start this week and get his team prepared for the season. He understands the sentiments of Henrich's comments, but also doesn't mind the optional status.

"I think in order to cut down on any of the bickering or issues that coaches may have, the PIAA should provide an equal ruling," Brosky said. "On the other hand, every school's situation is different, so I kind of lean toward having this as optional. Some schools do so much in the spring and summer that they may feel they don't have to start before August 12."

If there's any school that may need a couple extra days to get acclimated, it's Northampton, since the Kids stadium and field house is under renovation.

Going through a daily regimen in new surroundings is its acclimation period, as Northampton's locker room and gym is in the basement of the high school.

Brosky plans to use this week's sessions to install plays and focus on conditioning, but what's even more important about this week is getting these extra practices in. Most of his coaching staff has teachers that go through in-service days starting the week of August 19, which means the Kids will lose those morning sessions all week.

"That's why it's even more important for us to have this week because we start school earlier this year," Brosky said. "If it wasn't for this week, we'd only have one week of double sessions."