It may be a cooler week than normal in our region, but the official start to the 2015 football season got underway on Monday due to the PIAA's rule change for heat acclimatization.

In recent years, schools had three days to adapt to the heat, this year schools had the option to use five days to acclimate to the heat, starting on Monday.

At Freedom, head coach Jason Roeder and his staff took advantage of the opportunity to get a week of work in before the official start of practices get underway on August 17.

Teams are allowed to get five days in, with three hour sessions allowed per practice.

The Patriots were a part of that process, working in Monday's cool rain.

"This really is just a continuation of our whole off-season," said Roeder of camp starting this week. "We've been in helmets and shoulder pads since May. With all the work we've done in the spring and summer, this is just another phase in that process."

Teams are allowed to work in helmets and shoulder pads this week, before progressing to full pads next week, which is when teams will run double sessions. That's when full contact can begin.

"This week we have limited contact, but the intensity always picks up when we're ready to hit in full pads," Roeder said. "We've seen our guys working for months now, so we know what to expect from most of them, but next week can give guys an opportunity to prove themselves a little more with the pads on."

What Freedom has to prove next season can also be telling, coming off of last year's 9-3 campaign that ended in a 28-0 defeat to Easton in the District 2/4/11 subregional 4A playoffs.

"Last year's success has created enthusiasm for the program," Roeder said. "We're not done and we still have steps we need to take. I just tell the guys we need to win the day. I know it sounds boring, but we need to focus on getting better everyday."