There&8217;s nothing quite like some 7-on-7 summer passing camps to get you excited for the upcoming high school football season.

There are a large number of coaches in Shelby County, I&8217;m sure, that our grateful to the AHSAA for allowing their teams to compete in more passing camps this off-season.

In the past, schools could only compete in one.

As I attended a passing camp at Briarwood Christian school last week, I was able to get some feedback from coaches on just how helpful it was to have three and even four opportunities to see a large group of their kids playing at full speed in the middle of the summer.

Briarwood head coach Fred Yancey and Oak Mountain head coach Jerry Hood were excited about the extra practice time and agreed that the AHSAA relaxed restriction will help them better decide who to play and who not to.

The camps help coaches

see just how much work their squads need prior to the season starting and can help them pinpoint problem areas.

But these camps are only 50 percent for the coaches.

The players are definitely getting something out of it as well.

Players have more time to learn complicated routes and sets.

Quarterbacks can gauge their receivers&8217; speed off the line and, in return, receivers have an opportunity to work on their timing and learn how fast their quarterback throws the ball.

The one qualm I have with the AHSAA allowing players to compete in more off-season camps is the higher chance those players have of getting injured.

I&8217;m not so much worried about 7-on-7 passing camps. it&8217;s the competition camps that scare me.

A number of county teams, including Pelham and Spain Park, will travel to Troy University for a 7-on-7 state tournament at the end of July.

In a competition situation, there is always a heightened chance that a player will push themselves to the point of injury.

I would hope that coaches with squads going to these camps will take great precautions in making sure that their players play smart and safe and avoid jeopardizing their real football seasons in the coming months