Health & Fitness
Safety First at Haverford Youth Football
All coaches this season will have completed the Football Coaching course designed by USA Football, the NFL, and the Centers for Disease Control. This course covers proper tackling technique, concussion awareness, and proper equipment fitting.
Jack Cunningham, the Player Safety Coach said, the biggest difference is that the thought process of all coaches will be to always think of the long term best interest of the youth player. If we spot something that does not seem right, we will immediately remove the player from either the game or practice for evaluation.
Cunningham has been with the youth football organization since its inception in 2005. He attended a Clinic at the Nova Care Center where he became the Player Safety Coach.
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Football is a great game, I learned at the clinic that football is under attack for head injuries. It is not the place where they occur most. Bike Riding, Soccer, and Girls Basketball rank higher in head injuries. I think a lot of parents have taken their kids away from football for fear of a concussion. The decision could have been one based on perception rather than fact.
Cunningham will be coaching at the 125 lb division this season. Although I will spend the majority of my time with those players, I will be walking around the practice facility to assure the proper teaching methods will be used.
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To learn more about football safety go to usafootball.com. To learn more about Haverford Youth football go to haverfordyouthfootball.assn.la