Once again, Lawrence High football coach Dirk Wedd has nothing to show for the valuable empty days just before school starts.

Classes began Wednesday, but Wedd isn’t allowed to gather his troops and start preparing for their Sept. 5 opener against Leavenworth just yet. The Kansas State High School Activities Assn. won’t let him.

Because of a new rule that went into effect last year, no fall sports in the state can start practice until 14 weeks before Thanksgiving, which is Monday. Last year, fall sports coaches — especially football –had to improvise and this year they’re a little more prepared.

“I’ve been doing this for too long,” Wedd said. “I know what needs to be done to get a team ready in three weeks.”

And no matter what, it requires either extended practices or two-a-days for the first week of the preseason. Like last year, the Lions will practice for two hours after school, until about 5:30 p.m., resting for 90 minutes and returning at 7 for two more hours of work.

It can be an overwhelming load for teen-agers, when you factor in the seven hours spent in the classroom on top of it.

But the football coaches have to do it.

“I wish the state would see fit to let us practice this week,” Wedd said. “Even if it was without pads.”

Neighboring states already are under way, with Missouri starting Monday and Oklahoma now in its second week. Coaches in both those states will have school-less days to set a foundation. But not those in Kansas.

“Football takes a little more time to get kids acclimated to the heat,” said Free State’s Bob Lisher, another coach who doesn’t care for the rule. “To get 11 kids to do the same thing, it takes a lot to learn. It would be nice if the state would allow you to start practice a week before school starts.”

The Firebirds will practice after school until about 7 p.m. all next week. Last year, Free State practiced until 8, but it was just too grueling a schedule to do again this season.

“Even though we had 15-minute water breaks each hour, it was too long,” Lisher said, “We had to cut it back an hour.”

The rule isn’t unfair, Wedd noted, but it really makes things difficult.

“As far as the state’s concerned,” he said, “I guess everyone’s in the same boat.”