Sure, there were contact days in July. There were 7-on-7 camps, sweltering weight room sessions, all the things that gave a football-like feel to the dog days of summer.

But the calendar flipped almost two weeks ago, and as of Wednesday, it's official: high school football is back.

This season will have the same rivalries, the same showdowns, the same playoff pushes that have provided drama to past football seasons. Most notably, however, it will feature new coaches in new places, new coaches in old places, and new coaches at their alma maters.

In all, seven coaches are debuting with new teams. Tim Nolen left Mount Zion to return to his hometown, Robinson, and Dave Smith replaced Nolen. Rick Austin came back to Eisenhower to take over a program he's familiar with.

Rick Reinhart returned home to Tuscola. Al Stupek takes over Pana after a long stint as an assistant and freshman coach. Mattoon's Nat Zunkel and Sullivan's Nate Lorton, meanwhile, are making fresh starts with their respective teams.

For some, the butterflies still remain.

"I'm getting up at 6 a.m. for practice. The last time I got up for 6 a.m. practice in Tuscola was 1969," Reinhart said with a laugh. "I was nervous then and I was nervous (Wednesday). I guess it means I'm enjoying what I'm doing."

But that nervous feeling isn't going away anytime soon.

"After seeing how much we've got to do, (the butterflies) are still there," Reinhart said. "It's a great town, a great community, and it's an honor to be here. We've just got our work cut out for us."

Austin, meanwhile, makes a kid waking up on Christmas morning seem lethargic by comparison.

"I didn't sleep (Tuesday) night. I was up at 4:30 in the morning, out here at 6, and we didn't practice until 9," Austin said. "I was just making sure we were prepared. I could coach for 80 years, and I think opening practice would always be like that."

Most coaches had the first workout behind them by the time Wednesday afternoon rolled around. Zunkel, who came to Mattoon from Elmhurst York, was instead stuck in teacher workshops all morning.

"I'm not so much nervous. I just can't wait for it to come. I'm sitting around in meetings, and all I can think about is getting into that first practice," Zunkel said.

Football coaches can be perfectionists, and perfectionists are rarely satisfied. Yet Nolen was perfectly content with the year's first workout.

"There's so much paperwork you have to go through to get a football team on the field, and every school has a different way of handling it. That part was a little bit different. It was very efficient, but a little bit different," Nolen said. "Getting all of that stuff done was the only part that was nerve wracking. Our team worked so hard during the summer we hit the field this morning, and had a fantastic first day of practice."

If the start of practice jumped up fast, then the first week of football season will be here in a blink. It kicks off on Aug. 29, two weeks and a day away.

"It's very clich©, but the sense of urgency that builds as the month of August rolls around, and the weeks in august just fly by," Zunkel said. "It's an incredible feeling. The kids love it, they know it. It's football season."

tengle@herald-review.com|421-7970