A safety issue

The state senator who represents Jay County plans to sponsor a bill regarding safety in youth football, and those involved in the sport locally support his effort.
State Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, announced Friday he will sponsor a bill that would require all youth football coaches who use public fields to participate in training in an effort to help prevent players from suffering head injuries.
The proposed bill, which will be considered during the legislative session that begins in January, would require coaches using public facilities to be certified through USA Football’s “Heads Up Football” program. Holdman sponsored a similar, but more extensive, proposal during the session that ended in April.
“There have been a number of folks, players, who have brought it to my attention that we needed to do something,” said Holdman, who represents all of Jay, Blackford, Adams and Wells counties and parts of Huntington and Grant counties.
Jay County High School football coach Tim Millspaugh and Jay County Pee Wee Football commissioner Chet Franks both agreed such legislation would be a step in the right direction.
“Football has changed a lot in the time that I’ve coached,” said Millspaugh, who was an assistant at JCHS for 10 years before taking the head coaching job this season. “Obviously we’re seeing all the concern at the NFL level and even at the NCAA level with concussions. And we have entirely different concussion protocol now at the high school level. …
“Safety obviously is the most important thing. … I definitely think through proper teaching and training you can alleviate some of (the injury concerns).
“Things are changing. I do think it’s for the best.”
Holdman noted he’s heard from representatives of USA Football, the sports Indianapolis-based governing body, as well as many doctors within the state, former NFL players and high school coaches.
The issue of football safety was also in the news again this week when New York 16-year-old Damon W. James died following an injury he suffered in a game. James, a running back for the Westfield/Brocton football team, lost consciousness after a helmet-to-helmet hit Friday and died from his injuries Monday at Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo.
“It just shows the need to make sure our coaches are well-trained,” said Holdman, who announced plans for the legislation alongside former NFL and Purdue linebacker Rosevelt Colvin.
The USA Football training for coaches is done online, with 16 chapters each followed by quizzes. The program takes about two hours to complete, but can be broken into segments. Those participating must score at least an 80 percent on the quizzes in order to pass.
The cost is $25 for high school coaches and $5 for youth football coaches.
Jay County’s pee wee coaches are not currently required to go through such training, but Franks said the topic has been discussed.
“I think it would be beneficial to the league,” he said. “The coaches will have a better understanding of the game, plus they’ll know the safety requirements.”
The league, which includes three teams made up of third and fourth graders and three made up of fifth and sixth graders, has taken some steps to improve safety as it now uses licensed high school officials for its games. It has also added a third official this year after using two last year.
And Millspaugh has spent time with the youth coaches, talking to them about safe blocking and tackling.
“We want to be a feeder system for our high school, from third and fourth graders on up,” said Franks. “Coach Millspaugh has expressed a genuine concern about wanting to do that with us. The coaches have all been really receptive of that.”
Football safety is a constant topic of conversation at coaching clinics, Millspaugh said.
The Patriots have taken those lessons to the field, where they work on tackling technique every day they are in pads. They stress body positioning for both tackling and blocking, teaching players to keep their shoulders and knees aligned because “as soon as my shoulder is in front of my knee, my head goes down,” said Millspaugh.
“We constantly work on that. That’s a big deal,” he added. “You’ve got to tackle correctly. I do think that it’s helped quite a bit.”
The coach noted that it’s especially important for kids to learn the correct technique from the moment they put on pads, because it is difficult to break habits once they’ve formed.
“If a kid is learning poor technique. If he’s learning to drop his helmet, put his helmet right in the middle of a guy’s chest … it does make it really difficult to break that,” he said. “You’ve got to go through so many reps … You’re basically reprogramming the kid.”
Holdman introduced a similar football safety measure last year that called for specific protocol for handling concussion injuries and sudden cardiac arrest in addition to training for coaches. That bill passed through the Indiana House of Representatives by a 49-1 vote, but didn’t make it onto the calendar for a senate vote.
Instead it went to a summer study committee, and Holdman plans to introduce his new version of the bill when the legislature reconvenes Jan. 7.
“I think if we had more time we could have got the thing done last year,” said Holdman, noting that he plans to participate in the USA Football training before the next session begins. “I don’t know what opposition there would be to it. …
“It seems like when coaches understand what the program is about, there is little, if any, opposition to this.”[[In-content Ad]]