The casual football fan likely views the football season beginning with two-a-day practices in August and ending with the state championships in December.

However, for the players and coaches that make high school football in Ohio so competitive and entertaining, it is, in some ways, a sport that demands focus and dedication for a much greater portion of the year.

During the offseason, coaches attend clinics and attempt to fine-tune their offensive and defensive schemes to better prepare their teams for the next season.

As for the players, they partake in other sports and engage in weightlifting, conditioning and strength-training to further mature their bodies and attempt to stay in good, physical condition.

Genoa coach Mike Vicars notes that it is also important for other football players to partake in a number of sports to stay in shape for the duration of the year and get a needed break from the gridiron.

“The best players that we have are usually multi-sport guys,” he said. “All three of my sons who were All-Ohio football players were multi-sport guys. It makes them well-rounded and better overall players. It also gives them a chance to breathe from the grind of football, and most importantly, it gives them a chance to work with other adults who have excellent values. Our other sport coaches here do a fine a job.”

While football may be king in Ohio, Vicars has no problem recognizing other sports that deserve the attention and effort of these athletes.

“I like the training they get from the other coaches. We've never and will never will emphasize to kids to just play football. That to me would be a disservice to the player and our other programs here. Kids need to be with other coaches and do other sports,” Vicars said. 

“There is nothing like training for another sport every day, then getting into the competition with opposing schools. The weight room can't do that. Having said that, the guys that are idle know that we have a weight room and they do a great job for us. We have a basic expectation, but many go above and beyond that. When you have a bunch of guys do that on their own, you have something special.”

Oak Harbor coach Mike May, who has seen improvement in his program’s record in four years at the helm, agrees that the athletes should play a variety of sports. He also spoke of the workout regimen that he oversees in the weight room during the winter.

“We suggest the kids play as many sports as they can,” he said. “We have weightlifting three times a week during the winter sports season. Then, at the end of February, some of those kids play spring sports and some new kids (from the winter sports) come in (to lift).”

Eastwood coach Jerry Rutherford credits his school’s track program, which won the Division II state championship in 2009 and ’10, as well as the coaches who coordinate the weightlifting programs, as doing a superb job of training and conditioning the athletes in the lead-up to the summer when the football team begins to lift weights together.

“I feel that our coaches do a great job in our offseason program. Head track coach Brian Sabo and D.J. Michael (assistant track coach), they’ve done a good job (with the athletes). We know how important speed is; they’re always working on that and getting our guys faster and that pays off. Andy Friess, our defensive line coach, who has been with us for a long time, works with our guys in the weight room.

“The majority of them are two-sport athletes, some are three-sport athletes,” he said. “We like them to be involved — a lot of them work out during strength-training class and many of them put in a lot of time to get stronger and faster.”

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