By Illinois Radio Network

BLOOMINGTON – Moms and dads and fans are getting ready for Friday night lights or Thursday on the volleyball courts across Illinois.

The start of school is also the start of high school sports. As always, says safety is the top priority, said Sam Knox of the Illinois High School Association.

“There’s talk as we go forward as to whether we should have an acclimatization period for other outdoor sports in the fall. Like we do for football,” Knox said. “Where you have to go through a certain number of days, where you build-up to full-speed football. Should we have something like that in place for other outdoor sports?”

Knox said this is also the year that coaches and high school referees need to get re-certified in concussion-protocol training.

“The Illinois state law that requires them to pass a concussion exam was first enacted in the summer of 2016,” Knox said. “That exam is good for two years.”

As for new sports, Knox said there is some talk of maybe looking at eight-person football for smaller high schools in the state. And of course, Knox said, there’s always E-Sports sitting out there.