OIA adopts changes
for spring football
Spring football in the Oahu Interscholastic Association is going to be a bit different this year. Players can wear helmets, but no other pads.
The league's athletic directors approved the change at the football evaluation meeting in December after the conclusion of last season.
"The schools' trainers were really pulling for this," Leilehua athletic director and OIA football coordinator Richard Townsend said. "The players have a lack of real training prior to spring football and many injuries were occurring because of it. So the ADs decided to just cut down on pads. That cuts down on contact and it should cut down on injuries."
This year, teams can pick any two weeks out of the three-week period from May 24 to June 12 to hold spring drills, Townsend said. Some teams won't be affected.
"We haven't gone full pads in spring practice for at least five years," Aiea coach Wendell Say said. "Spring for us is when players learn the basics. It's just not intense and we don't do a lot of hitting."
Other teams must change their ways.
"It will have a huge impact on us," Castle coach Nelson Maeda said. "For us, it's two weeks of evaluation to find out if football is a good fit for a player. Some kids are great in shorts and a T-shirt and not so great in full pads. It means we'll keep a lot more players for when we start summer camp."
Maeda said Castle's injuries have been minimal during spring football.
"We have a good conditioning program that led right into spring practice," he added. "And when we get around to hitting during the last week, it's in a very controlled manner."
Teams who normally hold an intrasquad game during the spring won't be able to do so this year.
New postseason format: At a league meeting this month, the OIA adopted a new playoff format for the Red Conference, Townsend said.
This year, five East and five West teams qualify for the playoffs instead of four from each division. The East's No. 4 plays the West's No. 5 and the West's No. 4 plays the East's No. 5, with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals.
"I think adding a fifth team in each division is a good decision," Maeda said. "I'm ecstatic."
The Knights finished fifth in the OIA East -- and out of the playoffs --last season.
The White Conference playoffs haven't changed, with four teams trying to advance from the semifinals to the title game.
