The mandatory summer dead period for all TSSAA sports nears the halfway point for 2019 The Dead Period began at 12:01 AM on Sunday, June 23rd and ends at midnight on Saturday, July 6. During this time there is to be no activity in high school sports or any middle school sports sanctioned by the TSSAA.
Coaches and players can’t hold workouts and all school facilities are to be closed. To quote the definition from the TSSAA bylaws, Dead Period-No coaching, observing, or contact between coach and players in sport involved. There is no practice, no open facilities, and no weight training/conditioning.
The TSSAA instituted this period 21 years ago to ensure that high school athletes had some form of summer break allowing for family vacations. With the dead period families are given the chance to plan vacations together and not worry about summer camps and workouts.
TSSAA regulations forbid coach-led practices, weightlifting or conditioning during the two-week, all-sports dead period that annually covers the last week in June and the first week in July. Coaches are not allowed to have contact with athletes during this period or to mandate any type of practice-related activities.
The dead period was implemented at the request of school administrators who wanted to give coaches and athletes an across-the-board break in addition to sport-specific dead times. Mandating the dead period in the summer levels the playing field and gives everyone a break, according to TSSAA executive director Bernard Childress.
For more information on TSSAA rules visit their website at : www.tssaa.org
