Two-a-days (football)
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Two-A-Days is a term mainly used in American football, but applicable across all sports, that describes when a team or individual trains on two separate occasions during the same day.
Two-A-Days are used primarily to get in shape for the season, and learn new strategies.
In the National Football League, two-a-days were eliminated in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement.[1] Previously, teams ran double sessions and sometimes triple sessions for several weeks during the pre-season. Those practices are called training camp, and most teams travel to distant locations to hold their preparations.
In the media
MTV featured a show entitled Two-A-Days from 2006 to 2007 which featured the football team of Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama. The show chronicled the team's players' social lives as well as their involvement in the football team.[2]
Criticisms
Recent years have marked an increase in player injury and death being brought about by heat-related causes. Heat stroke has become a major concern to football and "two-a-days" are being red-flagged as a risky practice in places that experience traditionally hot weather in the summer. To address heat concerns, the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 2003 prohibited two-a-days on consecutive days and during the first five days of practice. The National Athletic Trainer's Association suggested similar guidelines in June. Guidelines for high school football vary by state.[3] Players in the National Football League have also called for the end of two-a-days as part of their collective bargaining.[4] Two-a-days are also not common at the college level of football; despite this, lots of high schools still continue to run two-a-days, especially in the southern part of the United States. In recent years, Two-a-days have become less common due to controversy surrounding them.[5]
See also
References
- ^ King, Peter (August 1, 2011). "Cornerbacks making out well in this wild free agency period". SI.com. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ "MTV "Two-A-Days" show information". MTV.com. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
- ^ Park, Madison (August 21, 2009). "Heat deaths put pressure on football tradition". CNN.com. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ Biggs, Brad (July 16, 2011). "Players banging the drum for reduced practice load". NationalFootballPost.com. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ Ambrogi, Mark (August 3, 2014). "Two-a-days becoming rare in high school football". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved August 18, 2015.