The [Dallas Cowboys](https://www.sportingnews.com/uk/nfl/dallas-cowboys) ended mandatory minicamp a day early, but Brian Schottenheimer is already focused on a much more demanding phase of the offseason.
After canceling the team's final minicamp practice, the Cowboys' head coach revealed that training camp in Oxnard, California, will likely feature more padded practices than the team held last year.
“I think we’ll have more padded practices,” Schottenheimer [told reporters](https://atozsports.com/nfl/dallas-cowboys-news/brian-schottenheimer-training-camp-decision-padded-practices/). “I do think that one thing I learned last year with the way we have our schedule and the short weeks and stuff, that we get tasked with playing with primetime games, and things like that.”
The planned increase is tied to feedback from the organization's sports science staff rather than a coaching preference alone.
Schottenheimer said those discussions highlighted the importance of building physical endurance earlier in the year. The goal is to better prepare players for the demands that come later in the season.
“It’s a little harder to carry the pads later into the season,” Schottenheimer explained. “I do think talking with our sports science people that there’s a different way to really build some callouses during training camp.”
The Cowboys are not viewing training camp as a separate phase from the regular season. Instead, Schottenheimer described it as the starting point for a broader workload plan that will continue once games begin.
According to the coach, Dallas intends to vary practice intensity throughout the season rather than maintaining the same workload every week.
“And then when the season starts we’re going to have a hard type of week, a medium type of week, and a light type of week,” Schottenheimer said. “But I think it’s important that you go from hard to medium to light. But you got to comeback to medium as you’re getting ready for the playoffs. But you have to explain that to the players so they understand it’s not a punishment.”
Those comments offer an early look at Schottenheimer's approach as he prepares for another season leading the Cowboys. While minicamp has concluded, the foundation of Dallas' training plan appears set to begin when players report to Oxnard later this summer.
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