Nashua North, Granite State football teams get to work on 2013 puzzle

For football coaches, the first day of school in New Hampshire comes about three weeks earlier than everyone else.

The anxiety sets in in early August, and on a Tuesday night before the practices start, there are likely to be many who have a hard time sleeping.

"Having done this all my life, as a player and coach, I always feel the same way," Nashua High School North coach Jason Robie said Tuesday night. "I'm excited for it. Everybody is a little anxious, a little nervous. It's a new group, a new year, with new opportunities."

Wednesday is the first official day of high school football in the Granite State, when all 57 teams can finally get to work on the season that will begin the first Friday of September. Some teams will wait until the afternoon to begin practice, while others - like Robie's Titans - got things started early Wednesday morning.

For Robie, the preseason is like working on a jigsaw puzzle, but this year, it will take a lot longer into the year to figure out where all the pieces go, thanks to the NHIAA's realignment. As of now, just the 2013 season will be played under a three-division format, with each division featuring four conferences. North will be in Division I's West Conference with Nashua South, Bishop Guerin, Alvirne and Keene.

"The realignment is going to spark interest and debate," Robie said. "People are excited to see what this year is going to bring. Some of the matchups are going to be interesting. You're not playing the same folks, so there's different preparation. It's an exciting time."

This summer, the Titans coaching staff tested 70 kids in the weight room, but according to Robie, closer to a hundred have signed up to play.

"That means there are a number of kids we're going to see who maybe we haven't seen a lot of this summer," the coach said. "You kind of have an idea of what you have, but it's a big puzzle."