ELKMONT—In past years, the only thing prep football teams would do in the summer was work out. Some football programs opted not to even do that.

But now, in order to be competitive, teams have to not only work out but take advantage of other ways the Alabama High School Athletic Association allows them to get in summertime work. Ever since the AHSAA passed its new rule allowing seven days of competition, some new workout fads have emerged, such has passing leagues, better known as 7-on-7 camps.

Camps like the one held Tuesday night at Elkmont bring in an array of different playing styles. They also allow teams to get several different looks on both sides of the ball. The camp featured Elkmont, Athens, West Limestone, Ardmore and East Limestone.

“We want to use these passing leagues as a way to get some good work in on our passing game and also get our defense some different looks,” Elkmont coach Chad McGehee said. “It is a good way for us to find out if we are doing things right.”

The camp at Elkmont had a different format than most 7-on-7 camps. It was set up to work on real football situations and gave the coaches an opportunity to get in some real work.

“At most passing camps, you run plays that only work in 7-on-7, but the way this camp was set up allowed us to get in some good work,” said Athens coach Allen Creasy. “We got some good work in on both sides of the ball today.”

What about the schools that don’t throw the ball every down? Are 7-on-7 camps still effective for them? Passing leagues not only get work in for the quarterbacks and receivers, but also for the linebackers and secondary. So, teams get several different looks on both sides of the ball, the coaches said.

“We’re not going to throw the ball a whole lot, but camps like this still allow our guys to get some reps in,” said West Limestone coach Jeff Prince. “We are gaining a couple of schools into our region this year that line up in a spread offense, so it gives our guys something new to look at. We want to teach fundamentals in a competitive nature when we go to 7-on-7 camps.”

Not only do players get in some competitive work, but they also get conditioning they may not know about.

“The way we have set up our camp, everybody should be tired afterward,” McGehee said. “Everybody gets equal work on both sides of the ball, and they are moving constantly so they get worn down. It’s just a good overall workout.”

The best thing about 7-on-7 camps is that everybody wants to win. But, the most important thing is that the players get the work in. They are also competing against players from other schools, which makes the practice format more enjoyable for them. It gives coaches a chance to get looks they normally can’t get in practice due to lack of numbers.

“The guys love going up against the players from other schools,” McGehee said. “And we get to do a whole lot more stuff here than we can do in practice. We don’t carry enough depth to scrimmage like this within the team because we don’t have enough players. We really enjoy them.”

Every school that attended the Elkmont 7-on-7 camp plans on attending another later this year. Ardmore is hosting a camp in July and Tanner is attending a camp at the University of North Alabama in the next couple of weeks.