ORONO – Recalling that several vital positions on his team were thinned by injuries last year, University of Maine head football coach Kirk Ferentz has decided to try a new approach to practicing as the Black Bears move into the meat of preseason drills this week.

It’s an approach that can be summed up in four words:

Learn more. Hit less.

“We’ve spent a lot of time since last season re-evaluating what we did,” said Ferentz, noting injuries to several players in both the offensive line and secondary went a long way toward producing last fall’s disappointing 3-8 record. “We talked to a lot of people and we’ve made some changes. We’re not going to go in full gear every session. We’re forgetting the traditional approach and thinking more about what’s best for our team.”

Ferentz said he told the players at the end of spring practice that as long as they stayed in shape over the summer the August training camp’s emphasis would shift more toward Xs and Os and away from grunts and groans.

“We told them the focus would be on getting better as a football team, not conditioning,” said Ferentz, who has scheduled only one day out of 10 days of double sessions when full pads will be worn both in the morning and afternoon.

Anything that cuts back on the potential for injuries is welcome news to Maine’s players.

“I ended up playing three different positions (in the offensive line) last year because of injuries,” said senior guard Dick Donahue. “This year, I’m hoping to move to left guard and stay there. To do that, we’ve got to stay healthy.”

The idea of a football team cutting back on full-contact drills and scrimmaging is far from revolutionary. Ferentz, who recently spent time observing the New England Patriots camp run by head coach Dick MacPherson, said Maine is adopting an approach now used routinely by the NFL.

“The pros are a little ahead of the game. One thing that’s very noticeable at that level is how they approach practice. Because the players are involved in conditioning all year long, they don’t need to worry about it in training camp. Because they have so few numbers, they can’t afford to get a lot of people injured. We’re in a similar situation,” said Ferentz, noting depth is still lacking in Maine’s offensive and defensive lines.

There is a risk in adopting such an approach, Ferentz admits. If contact is witheld in practice, players can lose the desire to hit and be hit.

“That’s really a measure of maturity. I don’t think it will be a problem with us,” Ferentz said.

Maine’s scaled-back scrimmage schedule calls for live play this Thursday, Saturday, and a final scrimmage Aug. 28.

BEAR TRACKS… Maine will not elect permanent captains this season. Instead, game captains will be selected each Thursday during the season for the upcoming game on Saturday. Choosing the captains will be the job of a newly instituted “players committee.” Ferentz said team members will select five seniors, three juniors and sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and one true freshman to serve on the committee. “The players committee will act as a sounding board for the team and the coaches,” Ferentz explained. “The coaching staff will meet with them on a weekly basis. They’ll talk about any issue they want to talk about. We’ll use them for council like we would any member of the (coaching) staff.”