In the fall, when Oceanside High tries to repeat as a state football champion, senior quarterback Jordan Wynn knows he will need his offensive line, his running game and his helmet and pads.

But for now, Wynn doesn't need much.

His linemen are at home, his receivers are running routes five at a time, there is no pass rush, and everyone is playing in shorts.

In the summer, Wynn needs only to throw. And he's enjoying every bit of it.

“It's a lot easier, I'll tell you that,” Wynn said at a recent passing tournament at San Diego State University. “And they give you four seconds to throw it, so you see everything. It's a lot of fun. I love passing league.”

South County Passing Tournament What: Seven-on-seven touch football in which a passing offense competes against a passing defense Who: Thirty high school teams Tomorrow: 8 a.m. at Southwestern College, 900 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista Saturday: 9 a.m. at Olympian High, 1925 Magdalena Ave. Chula Vista Information: (619) 421-6700, ext. 5868

Passing league is a seven-on-seven version of touch football in which offenses work on throwing the ball against passing defenses. The league varies by school in structure and schedule. Most teams play once or twice a week and participate in tournaments over the summer, such as the one at SDSU.

The South County Passing Tournament is scheduled this weekend in Chula Vista, involving 30 teams.

“They call it a league. It's not really a league,” Steele Canyon defensive coordinator Scott Longerbone said. “There are no standings. There is no winner or loser when we play. It's more like 'passing practice.'”

Tuesday is the most active day for passing league in San Diego County, although Valley Center head coach Rob Gilster defines it as “seven-on-seven, any place, any time.”

Most coaches schedule the passing sessions by contacting their coaching friends. Others join a structured group that draws up a weekly schedule.

Teams in the latter category are less likely to become the casualty of a scheduling mix-up, something Serra High players found out the hard way this summer.

“No one showed up,” Conquistadors defensive coordinator Rick Roxas said. “We were out at Santana (High in Santee), and we called around, and I guess we had the wrong place. I don't know. We still haven't gotten the right story.”

As many as four teams will meet at a site to scrimmage, allowing each to compete against up to three opponents in a day.

For coaches, competition is the primary benefit of passing league and its tournaments.

“While it's not real football, it is real competition, and that's what you look for out of the kids,” Oceanside head coach John Carroll said. “When something bad happens, how do they handle it? All coaches are looking for those kids who swell up, who rise to the occasion, who play at their best when the chips are on the line. While it's not real football, you can definitely see who's a competitor and, unfortunately, who folds sometimes.”

Still, coaches can only put so much stock in passing league when evaluating a player.

“It's a false evaluation,” Longerbone said. “They look real good. They may be a passing league All-American. But once they get into gear, they (stink). All the sudden they can't tackle a lamb, and you're like, 'Aw, great.'”

Perhaps no passing league critic is more adamant than Tom Karlo, who is starting his fourth year as Mount Miguel head coach.

In his first season, Karlo signed up with a group that played every Tuesday and Thursday for six weeks. Karlo said he has curtailed his involvement since, though he still attends two tournaments every summer. He cited fear of burnout as a reason.

“I try to balance it with our kids so that they're still getting their summer and we're still getting our work done,” Karlo said. “They need to get out there and enjoy their summer a little bit so we're refreshed and ready to go when the season starts.”

Longerbone agreed that player burnout is a serious concern for coaches when it comes to passing league.

“Kids should have a chance to be kids in their summer,” Longerbone said. “Some of the coaches are over the top on (passing league). I think other coaches do a good job of making it a lot of fun. And if it's fun and the kids are enjoying themselves, then why not?”

Somewhere in Oceanside there is a quarterback named Wynn who's loving passing league and couldn't agree more.

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