Historic HS football proposal reduces contact in N.J. to lowest ever - anywhere

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Omega
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Historic HS football proposal reduces contact in N.J. to lowest ever - anywhere

Post by Omega »

Proposed rule change in New Jersey limiting contact in high school football practice to 15 minutes a week. I believe the rule in Ohio is/was no more than 30 minutes of contact practice per day:


A groundbreaking new football rule is on its way toward bringing fewer players to the ground.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association unanimously passed a historic mandate Wednesday at its monthly Executive Committee meeting regarding player-on-player practice contact -- i.e. tackling -- that will make New Jersey's year-round high school football regulations "the most restrictive" ever at any level of football.

The significant reduction includes limiting programs to just 15 minutes of full contact per week -- down from 90 minutes in 2018. That time, the NJSIAA said, does not include "thudding" periods - hitting without taking players to the ground.

Full contact will also be reduced to just six hours during the preseason -- down from an unlimited amount last year -- and does include scrimmages.

The proposal, which still must pass a second reading to be implemented for the 2019 season, has received mixed reviews.

"That's a joke," St. Joseph (Mont.) coach Augie Hoffmann said. "15 minutes of contact per week? You have to learn how to tackle on game days. This is an intricate part of the game and I'm not saying we need to hit or tackle every day. I just think 15 minutes is a little extreme.

"I would love to see who's been in on these decisions. How many people that have actually played and understand the game are making these decisions? Because they seem like arbitrary numbers."

The proposal came to the NJSIAA from Terry O'Neil, founder of Practice Like Pros -- a national movement dedicated to reducing needless injury in high school football. O'Neil said N.J. has "pioneered a model that is sure to be emulated across the country."

NJSIAA assistant director Jack Dubois said many coaches "didn't even come close to the 90 minutes" of allowed contact per week last season.

"We didn't tackle guys to the ground in practice all year," Ramapo coach Drew Gibbs said. "If you're coaching correctly, you don't really have to do that, aside from a little in training camp. As a guy who just had a season 13 games long, you get beat up. The last thing you need is being tackled to the ground during the week."

Piscataway coach Dan Higgins offered a similar sentiment, opting to "blow a quick whistle" to avoid unnecessary collisions in practices.

"We like to save our best contact for Friday night lights," Higgins said.

If adopted, the reduction would be the lowest contact-time limit in the history of football -- less than mandates by the NFL, NCAA, Ivy League, USA Football, Pop Warner or any other football jurisdiction.

"Coaches are starting to realize that you can't use kids if they're hurt in practice come game time," NJSIAA executive director Larry White said. "Remember, it's still just 15 minutes of contact. The key is you can still teach the skills of tackling. A lot of that is just 'thud.' Making sure you get the proper angles, the proper techniques and wrapping up."

While safety remains the primary concern for all, some coaches feel the new rule could have unintended consequences.

Learning to tackle on sleds or against dummies is one thing, but taking down an oncoming runner -- particularly for newer and younger players -- is a skill that must be taught and experienced first-hand.

"We're not dealing with college-level and pro-level athletes who already understand how to tackle," Bridgewater-Raritan coach Scott Bray said. "You may be bringing a kid into a situation where you've limited his understanding of how to handle different situations. ... I'd hate to see us put a kid in a vulnerable position just because he hasn't played before."

For smaller schools, this rule change, by design, could both help and hurt programs. It would potentially limit practice injuries, but it could increase them on game days if players aren't fully prepared with proper technique.

"We don’t do any unnecessary contact and have been fortunate to avoid injuries the last two years," Penns Grove coach John Emel said. "We’ll have to assess it and see how the new policy fits with what we’ve done in the past.

"One of the things that’s helped make our game safer the last few years is teaching technique. I hope we have the time to teach the proper techniques in the preseason. If not, you may see a rise in injuries."

http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news/art ... -anywhere/

What are your thoughts please.


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fortdawg
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Re: Historic HS football proposal reduces contact in N.J. to lowest ever - anywhere

Post by fortdawg »

I agree with the coach who questioned if you would have enough time to teach technique.

Lets say you are at a small school and you teach tackling in your position groups as well as team.

If a coach has 15 kids in his position that means he gets a whole minute per kid.

That means he has used up a kids week of tackling!

I understand the need to cut down on contact and many teams no longer take kids to the ground in a lot (or all) of tackling drills----but swinging the pendulum to far will put kids at risk.

What if during this minute you have a kid who lowers his head?

You now have a choice; do you run over to make sure he has a safe technique and take reps from another kid?

It seems unreasonable and unsafe me.


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