New London — Many of their childhood memories are Saturday mornings, watching their big brothers. That was the deal in Ledyard. Saturday morning, hallowed time. When the clock struck 10:30, foot met pigskin. Kickoff. High school football. Friday night lights? Nah. Saturday morning sun. Always sun. As Bill Mignault, the program patriarch always said, "it never rains in Ledyard."

River and Phyllip Thomas have seen Ledyard football through every prism: little kids watching the wonder of it all, rooting on brothers Miguel and Angelo (otherwise known as Bubba). All-state players who led the Colonels to the state championship game this past season. And now ... coaches.

The busiest guys in Ledyard, Riv and Phil are. Their last summer before college — both are headed to prep school at Bridgton Academy — could be spent on the beach every day admiring, you know, the scenery. Instead, they are coaching Ledyard kids in summer league basketball every Monday and Wednesday and 7-on-7 football every Tuesday. The beach, surely, has its advantages. But it's not part of who they are, not like the town and school they love.

"I love Ledyard football. I can't leave it. I'll probably be back after college, too," River said Tuesday night.

"They listen to us," Phyllip said. "I think they realize we were decent athletes and we halfway know what we're talking about. Sometimes, they'd look at us during games last year as much as the assistant coaches. I like the idea of giving back, especially if it's coming back here after college. I mean, coach (Jim) Buonocore will probably never leave till he's old. But you see the development in the kids and it brings a joy to you."

"The Thomas brothers exemplify the Ledyard football family," Buonocore said. "I remember them when they were knee high. They are Ledyard in many ways.

"It's kind of ironic that as we get ready to celebrate 50 years of football in Ledyard, 50 years of tradition and excellence, these two guys are preparing our kids for the season. They have the ultimate respect of their former teammates and understand what we're trying to accomplish. This is the definition of people giving back to a program. The ultimate thank you. I hope we gave them what they're giving back. They're giving up their summer for no pay."

Basketball isn't exactly a diversion in Ledyard either. Dave Cornish took a 1-19 program and has earned statewide respect in the last five years. The keys to his kingdom belong to the Thomas brothers, too.

"Riv and Phil know exactly what we want. They're perfect for the job," said Cornish, who runs an eight-team summer league for high school kids at Gales Ferry School. "The kids respect them. They were captains. A great fit."

The Thomas brothers typify many recent high school graduates thrust into coaching duty this summer as part of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference's newfound desire to flex its muscles about out-of-season coaching. Suddenly, Montville grads Tyler Girard-Floyd and Nick Clemons have the Indians in the passing league. Khaleed Fields has New London. Danny Martin and Donny Craig have Waterford basketball.

It's all because the CIAC issued a missive during the school year suggesting that potential violations would trail high school coaches who partake in out-of-season, sports-specific instruction. The rules have always been there, yet rarely enforced. A more cynical fellow might wonder how the CIAC and its limited resources could ever thoroughly canvas the entire state. Nobody's taking the chance, at least locally.

Coaches are able to work with their players through strength and conditioning only. They may attend summer league events and speak to their kids before and after the games. But there is to be no instruction that, for lack of a better term, would be construed as Xs and Os.

The coaches, as you may imagine, aren't thrilled.

"I understand the spirit of the law. They don't want any coaches to take advantage of things where you're in full pads 365 days a year," Montville football coach Tanner Grove said. "So now I get to stand here and spectate. When you see something that's not right, I can't say anything, because it's a violation."

New London defensive coordinator Juan Roman said, "I have to stand here and not say anything. So our kids can do things wrong over and over and I can't correct it. That's how bad habits develop."

More Grove: "It's like taking your kid to get extra help in algebra in the summer but you can't have the algebra teacher do it. It's got to be the lunch lady. The algebra teacher can't do it because that would be cheating. Because when those kids take tests later, their scores might be better as a result of cheating. No one in their right mind would think that. But we do it in sports because we don't want to create an unequal playing field."

(Funny how the CIAC doesn't mind unequal playing fields with choice schools playing public schools in state tournaments, though).

There's no denying that it's really hard for kids to be kids anymore in the summer. They have summer football, summer basketball, summer baseball, summer soccer, summer lacrosse. Camps, AAU, tournaments, jobs. Not long till "summer vacation" is an oxymoron.

Still, Grove and Roman, among others, make valid points. Coaches spend beaucoup time building programs and learning safety measures and techniques. Then for two months ... it's somebody else's job.

Sounds very much like the CIAC is handcuffing every high school coach in Connecticut because there have been a few, shall we say, overzealous sorts out there.

For now, though, at least the Thomas brothers and many of their brethren can see sports through a different spectrum.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.

Twitter: @BCgenius