Official practices for the eight Cook Inlet Conference's high school football teams started Wednesday.
The work began months ago.
At Bartlett High, for instance, players six months ago were asked to commit to the 2015 season by lifting weights three times a week in organized workouts.
"We tell kids, 'You need to decide by the end of January if you're playing football next season,' '' said co-coach John Jessen.
At defending large-school state champion South, which has seized two of the last three titles, coach John Lewis last November, in the month after season's end, gathered his staff for a postseason meeting.
"We go over everything, everything that worked, didn't work, then we put jobs on people,'' Lewis recounted. " 'You study this, you go study that.' ''
Regular offseason weightlifting programs, conditioning and sprint work, coaching skill sessions, classroom playbook and video study, and minicamps – pretty much every team conducts at least one offseason camp, and some conduct several – are designed so teams hit the turf at the first official practice ready to roll.
"By the time we start (official practices) here, we're not teaching,'' Lewis said. "First day of practice, we didn't have to teach. We walked up and fast-paced everything.''
That was also the drill at West High, the large-school runner-up last season. That's why coach Tim Davis on just the second day of official practice last week was able to precisely practice his hurry-up, no-huddle offense. The Eagles already knew their elaborate playbook, so they focused on execution rather than education.
"Here we go! Here we go!'' Davis barked before calling a play from the sideline. "Red 11, Red 11.''
The players, dressed in shoulder pads, helmets and shorts, quickly ran a no-contact play, and Davis wanted another, fast.
"Back quick,'' he instructed. "Back quick. Here we go!''
The high school football season opens Aug. 14, with the large-school state championship game set for Oct. 23.
Jessen, Lewis and Davis all believe success in the CIC, and at the state level, demands teams put in work and study throughout the year, not just in summer and fall.
Toward that end, all three coaches also encourage their players to compete in other sports. They believe playing multiple sports delivers multiple benefits: Improved athleticism and fitness, enhanced team-building and prevention of football burnout.
"I don't think you can compete without weightlifting,'' Jessen said. "It builds esprit de corps. But the most important thing is it's about safety and health, injury prevention.
"And lifting weights, playing other sports, all that stuff develops you as an athlete. You can develop your athleticism big-time by playing other sports.''
At West, a cross-training class was offered three periods a week in the spring, which allowed Davis, a teacher at the school, to stay in contact with his players and also athletes from other sports.
To guard against football turnout, Jessen said, football players at Bartlett get occasional breaks. The Golden Bears, state semifinalists last fall, held a camp near the end of the school year, then took five weeks off from organized workouts before a four-week weightlifting program and another camp.
So far, Jessen reported, participation is huge – as of Friday, he said, 142 players had turned out at Bartlett.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr