It’s still summer for a little while longer, but the fall high school sports seasons officially began Aug. 11 as local football teams opened their organized team activities.
Over the coming weeks, football teams will start hitting, other teams will kick off practice, and the season will be in full swing. Here are some of the key dates for the upcoming fall season.
Aug. 11-13: Football teams participate in OTAs during which they can hold team meetings, distribute equipment, analyze film, and perform other non-physical activities. Conditioning workouts begin Aug. 15.
Aug. 20: Football teams begin full-contact practice, and scrimmages may begin after three full-contact practices.
Aug. 25: Practices begin for soccer, cross country, girls volleyball and girls swimming, and scrimmages may begin after three full days of practice.
Sept. 8: Competitions begin for all sports. Here are the first scheduled competitions for each local team:
• Football: Naugatuck vs. Gilbert-Northwestern-Housatonic, Sept. 9; Woodland at Oxford, Sept. 9
• Boys soccer: Naugatuck at St. Paul, Sept. 9; Woodland at Watertown, Sept. 10
• Girls soccer: Naugatuck vs. Brookfield, Sept. 8; Woodland vs. Watertown, Sept. 10
• Girls volleyball: Naugatuck vs. Pomperaug, Sept. 12; Woodland vs. Brookfield, Sept. 8
• Girls swimming: Naugatuck vs. Watertown, Sept. 16; Woodland at Jonathan Law, Sept. 8
• Cross country: Naugatuck vs. Oxford, Seymour, St. Paul, Sept. 13; Woodland at Wolcott, Sept. 13
Oct. 29: Naugatuck Valley League tournaments in soccer and girls volleyball begin with quarterfinals, followed by semifinals and finals the following week. Cross country state championships will run at Wickham Park in Manchester.
Nov. 7: First-round games in soccer and girls volleyball state tournaments begin. Tournaments will continue until the finals, which are set for Nov. 19 in volleyball and Nov. 19-20 in soccer.
Nov. 15-16: Girls swimming state finals will be held after the diving meets (Nov. 9-10) and swim trials (Nov. 12).
Nov. 29: Football state quarterfinals begin; eight teams will qualify in each of six classes. Semifinals are set for Dec. 4 and the finals will be Dec. 10.
– Kyle Brennan
