Posted on 08/16/2010 7:07:16 AM PDT by Abin Sur
DEARBORN, Mich. -- A Michigan high school football team is holding preseason practices in the middle of the night to help its Muslim players practice both faith and football.
The predominantly Muslim squad from Dearborn says the nocturnal regimen is a way for players to eat and drink while observing the holy month of daytime fasting known as Ramadan that started last week. The August heat also played a factor in Fordson High coach Fouad Zaban's proposal to reverse the clock for a week of two-a-day practices.
Cutting practice wasn't an option at football-crazy Fordson, which is coming off a one-loss season and has won four state titles and three runner-up seasons since it was established in 1928.
But nobody wanted to lessen the significance of Ramadan in the Detroit suburb widely known as the capital of Arab-America.
The moonlight practice is tailored for Adnan Restum and fellow Muslim teammates.
Illuminated by the night lights on the football field, Restum recently joined a scrum of teammates at the end-zone water fountain, taking a break from a grueling preseason football workout to guzzle a drink.
In just a few hours, he wouldn't be able to take a sip. But the 17-year-old defensive tackle could rehydrate guilt-free during the 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. practice, and succumb to tempting boxes full of granola bars and chocolate milk, too.
"It feels really great," said Restum, who has been fasting since he was about 10. "If we're doing it during the day, we wouldn't have water and it would be really hot and everything."
Zaban proposed the late practices after realizing the rotating Ramadan would fall squarely during the start of a two-a-day practice schedule that launches football season.
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When working camps we would occasionally have very devout Mormons attend the 2 week intensive camp. If they asked they certainly got off on Sunday. And there was no morning session on Sunday so anyone who wanted to go to church could attend.
If the team is predominately muslim, this is probably the simplest way to do it. Really not a bad idea in general. Even with a “cold front” coming through now the heat index is still 89 here, and has been as high as 115 recently. You can’t drink enough to keep up with that while working out.
Ha-That’s what I said. I really loved how D backs flew into my exposed back after I had already wrapped up the back.
"Arab-America"? All Arabs are muslim? Arab-Americans don't look to Washington, DC as the capital?
Plenty of arabs in Houston. But they don't get to dictate the laws.
Heck, I would have loved to have late night practices when I ran cross country in high school. Summer practice started in mid-August (right around now), and the heat in upstate NY was sometimes pretty bad. Of course, there is the issue with lighting. It's easier to light a football field at night than a 5K running course that winds through the woods.
Agreed. Due to limitations we had to have some of the courses we ran on the pavement....at 3 p.m. in southern Oklahoma. It was pretty brutal.
We have a "capital of Arab-America" now? This is insanity...
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