In preparation for a typical fall sports season, most high school teams start practicing by the second week of August. This summer, even though the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association gave squads the option for workout sessions, teams couldn’t go full tilt as a full squad until the beginning of last week.

Now, normally, by Sept. 14, most teams already have competed a handful of games – the exceptions usually being football, cross-country and gymnastics, which have much more…