Local Youth Football Coaches Get Training On Safer Tackling Techniques
ELK GROVE (CBS13) - Football season is coming soon, and on Saturday coaches in Elk Grove learned new techniques to help prevent concussions. The goal is to get their teams to tackle with less helmet-to-helmet contact.
Coaches are getting coached on new safety tips. Heads-up tackling and concussion awareness are part of this youth football safety clinic for coaches.
"This is my first year coaching so everything is brand new to me," said Michael Brusuelas, a youth football coach.
USA Football is a certified coaching program endorsed by the NFL.
Former USC and NFL player Thomas Williams is the master trainer in this group
"It's just trying to get everybody underneath the same umbrella as far as terminology, verbiage, communication," said Williams.
With an NFL class-action lawsuit filed by former pro players who say the league concealed head injury risks, the NFL is now promoting prevention of head injuries at all levels of the sport -- including youth.
"In a lot of senses the game has changed dramatically, but not necessarily all the coaches," said Tim May, a youth football coach. "So it's a great program getting us moving in the right direction."
It's a new era in one of the country's beloved contact sports. The certification program is called "heads up" football. USA Football says 70,000 coaches across the country have signed on to be certified.
