Countdown Now On to the Start of High School Sports Season

The IHSA “Dead Week” is now over which means the countdown is on to the start of fall sports practices and games. This year marked the first time that the “dead week” was moved to the beginning of July after previously being held later in the summer and it officially serves as a type of halfway point to the summer for athletes. With its season calendar shifted to begin one week earlier this year, football will be the first sport allowed to get underway with practices able to begin on August 5 before the first games may be held on August 20. The remaining fall sports in the area will all be allowed to begin their practices on August 10 but have varying start days for competition. Boys and girls golf may begin their matches on August 13 and girls tennis may begin matches on August 20. Boys soccer, volleyball and boys and girls cross country may all begin their games and meets on August 24. Fall baseball will also begin practices in about a month, but the fall season is not governed by the IHSA and therefore does not have a set calendar to go by for its fall start date and finish but area teams typically begin competition in mid-August and wrap up around the first week of October.