Collier County’s public high schools will begin fall sports practice Aug. 31. School district athletic director Mark Rosenbalm announced the start date Tuesday after meeting with schools’ athletic directors and principals.

Collier County Public Schools teams will start a week later than the first date allowed by the Florida High School Athletic Association. At a meeting last week, the FHSAA board of directors voted to start practices Monday, Aug. 24 – four weeks later than the original July 27 start date because of concerns over the coronavirus.

Lee County Schools has not announced a starting date for its fall practices.

Collier’s public programs will begin a week later than the private schools. The majority of private schools in Southwest Florida have said they intend to begin practice Monday, as allowed by the FHSAA.

“It can’t get here fast enough,” Barron Collier football coach Mark Jackson said of Aug. 31. “I didn’t care if (practice starts) this week, next week or October, as long as the kids get to play.

“If (the school district) needs an extra week to make sure we do everything in a safe manner, then I’m all for it.”

More: Lee, Collier private schools rejoice in Aug. 24 start; public schools’ return unclear

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Todd Nichols doesn’t mind waiting, either. He’s looking forward to getting on the field for his first official practice as Gulf Coast High School’s head football coach, especially since there’s been so much doubt surrounding the season.

“It’s a relief. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” Nichols said. “You’ve had to learn patience through this whole process. The starting date aside, I’m just happy I get to coach and be around these young people.”

The fall sports that can begin practicing Aug. 31 in Collier are boys and girls cross country, football, boys and girls golf, boys and girls swimming and volleyball.

Practices will begin the same day Collier County Public Schools begin classes. That means football teams won’t be able to have two-a-day practices that are common during the preseason.

Teams also won’t be able to hold morning sessions to avoid the afternoon storms that roll through Southwest Florida nearly every day this time of year. Practices likely will be after school.

The Collier school district has not determined when teams will start playing games in any sport. Under the new FHSAA schedule for the fall season, games can begin Sept. 4, which is a Friday and when many local private schools plan to play their first football games.

Rosenbalm said he doesn’t expect Collier public teams to play football on Sept. 4, which would give them only nine practices before their first games. Instead, Rosenbalm said games likely won’t start until Friday, Sept. 11, or Thursday, Sept. 17. Collier public schools typically do not play during the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah, which is Friday, Sept. 18.

Though they haven’t started practices, teams have been allowed to work out since June 15. First players could only do cardiovascular exercises and lift weights. Recently they’ve been able to use footballs in a limited capacity and do more sport-specific drills.

Nichols said Sharks coaches have been able to install schemes and teach plays over the past two months, hopefully making up for the loss of two-a-days. Gulf Coast coaches also have used online platforms to teach players.

“We’ll find a way,” Nichols said. “This season’s going to look different. The teams that are able to adjust and adapt are going to have an advantage.”

Before the global pandemic, the high school football regular season was supposed to start this Friday and last 11 weeks. Regional playoffs were to begin Nov. 6

Under the new FHSAA schedule, there will be a 10-week regular season with regionals beginning one week later, Nov. 13. In the larger classifications (5A-8A), there will be regional play-in games before the regional quarterfinals on Nov. 20. The extra round of postseason was added because all teams who opt into the FHSAA state tournament will automatically earn postseason bids, possibly resulting in more than the normal 16 playoff teams per region.

If Collier teams start contests Sept. 11, they could play nine regular-season games (if they don’t have bye weeks) before the play-in regional games.