AXIAL LOADING!!!!

[Botcowa]

Hi all.

As we head into football camp season with 2-a-days just around the corner it is time to focus on an important issue. Most teams will be wearing their helmet starting soon and will me making contact in combines and camps too. Hopefully all athletes are educated by thier coaches about AXIAL LOADING. Simply put..that's tackling with your head down. This can cause undo strain on the spinal chord and press the vertabre to cause paralysis. So with safety coming first here are a few tips for players and coaches alike.

1. Always keep your eyes and head up. "Your eyes are the bullet and your opponent is your prey"
2. Get low while tacking with your face mask up.
3. Players that continually have "stingers" should be outfitted with proper neck and shoulder protection.
4. Never lead with your head down, never make contact with the top of your helmet.
5. Do not close your eyes before tackling, not only can you miss the tackle, but you can also put your head in odd positions.

I realize some of these items may say the same thing. Just trying to get the point across. If you need more info on Axial Loading this is a good place to start. ajs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/19/1/6

Good Luck to all!

GO CAVS ... ROLL BIG BLUE..... HERE COMES THE WAVE!!!!!!

[Botcowa]

IF anyone has anything to add..like a help reminder or spiffy saying let's here it

[JohnKnight]

http://www.ohsaa.org/medicine/braininjuries.htm

http://www.nata.org/newsrelease/archives/000179.htm

http://www.mhsaa.com/services/seewhat.html

[Frank Reagan]

I would like to add: Don't lead with your head, period. Leading with the head, either the top of the head or the facemask are fouls and potentially dangerous to both the runner and tackler. Keep the head out of football. 95% of coaches are doing the right thing and keep the head out. The worst offenders are pee-wee coaches that are trying to re-live their days through their children and have seen a rule book and teach like they were taught 20+ years ago. I cringe every time I still hear a coach scream, "Drive your facemask through the numbers!"

[Botcowa]

The whole idea by putting your facemask on the numbers is to bend the neck back to negate axial loading. I would have to argue that. The neck in any downward position (chin tucked down) is what you must avoid. Teaching even pee-wee's to put their facemask on the numbers is good coaching. Younger children tend to be shy and put their head down. You should applaud those coaches that teach it.

And if you don't put your face mask on the numbers or the ball carrier, just what do you want then to tackle with? Point to argue. 95% of coaches teach to keep your head out of it??? What planet did this come from? Tackling with JUST your arms will get your shoulder broke... so without using your head, neck, shoulders and arms the right way...how do you want them to tackle? Trip the ball carrier?? I'm lost on that thoery.

[Botcowa]

GOOD INFO JOHNKNIGHTS THANKS!!!

[JohnKnight]

We teach, head up lead with your chest!

http://www.injuryprevention.org/states/ ... otball.htm

[Botcowa]

Lead with your chest...I can understand that but doesnt the head usually naturaly stick out farther than the chest during the body movement of a tackle. Good point though knights.

[JohnKnight]

Not if you are in a good football position and head up and neck bulled!

http://origin.denverpost.com/ci_7307826

[boogerred]

Hat on the ball tackling baby!!!

[JChipwood]

I coach a youth team and we spend the first couple weeks of practice teaching kids form tackling in a very slow step by step drill before we allow the to attemtp to make a tackle in motion much less at full speed. We teah facemask in the belly button but stress head up and look for closed eyes. Stressing a straight back and wrapping arms at contact. I have unfortunately seen kids get hurt with incorrect posture but have also seen kids in our league that were taught the correct way but do not carry over their practice motions into game situations. I see a huge problem, specifically at GA, when they get up into the upper levels they do not wrap up and lead with their head sometimes. In talking to alot of the parents and seeing practices I would say this reflects on the lack of reps in practice and would even say that as a whole i think teams stress less on hitting in practice and do more technical type stuff. It is easy to tell the teams that beat each other up in practice by the way they tackle and even evade tackles during games. A good example would be Ironton and Logan, they always seem to use good fundamentals and cooincidentally they don't miss alot of one on one tackles in the open field.

[Botcowa]

Good Post chipwood.

[Frank Reagan]

Teaching even pee-wee's to put their facemask on the numbers is good coaching. You should applaud those coaches that teach it.

So, teaching players to break rules is good coaching and that they should be applauded. Scary.

And if you don't put your face mask on the numbers or the ball carrier, just what do you want then to tackle with? ...how do you want them to tackle? Trip the ball carrier?? I'm lost on that thoery.

I don't care how you teach them to tackle, just teach them within the rules.

What rule am I talking about? Sorry, I don't have my 2008 National Federation rule book yet and cannot find my 2007, but the 2006 book says in rule 9-4-3 i. No player or non-player shall: butt block, face tackle or spear, j. no player or non-player shall: use his helmet to butt or ram an opponent.

Coaches like John Knight have it correct. Don't use the helmet but be prepared and protect yourself in case the contact with the head is unavoidable. No, I am not naive enough to believe that the head will be taken out of football 100%, but as a 24 year football official, I still cringe when discussions come up like this where coaches and officials alike do not know or apply the rules correctly or blatantly refuse to adhere to the rules, especially when safety is concerned. I didn't write or adopt these rules, but I try my best to make the players and coaches adhere in my games.

[Botcowa]

I think someone sorta missed the point. I agree with chest to chest, however the eyes up on your target, face mask first and bull necked etc. I may have missed the point too. But I am glad this discussion came up.

Overall, The players should keep their head up at all time, eyes on your target will do this or saying facemask first will also keep the player "bull necked". This will expose more of the chest by doing so. I don't believe that any coach would purposely put a player in danger. But. I do believe their are many ways of teaching correct form tackling and be ready for when the head is going to make contact, by keeping it up, no matter what words you use to teach it.

Thank-you all for the sites and conversation I am glad to see people concerned in doing so. That was the reason for starting this thread. Good Luck all! Stay safe!

[JohnKnight]

Xand O, this is not a knock on you but I have seen a lot more spearing and face tackling than I have seen called! Many officials are reluctant to call spearing especially in playoff games.

[Frank Reagan]

Xand O, this is not a knock on you but I have seen a lot more spearing and face tackling than I have seen called! Many officials are reluctant to call spearing especially in playoff games.

I agree, many officials are hesitant to make spearing and face tackling calls. Why? I wish I knew. Heck, many times, it seems, officials are reluctant to call any fouls in the playoffs.

As for missing the point, I don't know 100%. Maybe, I misinterpreted bull-neck face up with face tackling, but how about facemask in the belly button as mentioned by one poster? Doesn't that conjure up visions of face tackling? It does to me.

[JohnKnight]

3. Athletes must be given proper conditioning exercises which will strengthen their neck muscles in order for them to be able to hold their head firmly erect when making contact. Strong neck muscles may help prevent neck injuries.

4. Coaches should drill the athletes in the proper execution of the fundamentals of the football skills, particularly blocking and tackling. KEEP THE HEAD OUT OF FOOTBALL.


The only way to keep your head out of contact is chest out, eyes up, neck bulled. Shoulder blocks and tackles encourage kids to drop their head so I don't teach them. If we use a shoulder block it is really a pectoral block, half your chest.

http://www.ohsaa.org/medicine/braininjuries.htm

[boogerred]

I know you are supposed to avoid helmet contact, but as many have already stated, it is going to happen. Train the neck muscles and teach the kids how to use hit with their heads properly.

I know that earholing someone is technically illegal, but come on, doesn't it just get you pumped when you see one of those. (Just gave myself chills thinking about earholing someone.)

[Buckeyes98]

I have seen axial loading in person only a few feet away. It was an athlete's first game, first shift of his NCAA DI college career. 11 seconds into the game he went to check an opponent against the boards his head was down, chin to his chest, head right into the boards. He was an instant quadripegic. Very tragic. Axial loading leads to paralysis and even death. Please teach proper techniques!