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Show fciliftll UiOlGUGG By DAVE WIGHAM I don't know how many of you have been reading the articles in Sports Illustrated about the violence in football foot-ball but for those of you who are Involved in football coaching on any level those articles are well worth reading. IT TALKED about a survey they ran on incoming freshmen at a college and it was discovered that about 90 percent of them had some sort of neck injury. True some of them were minor but all 90 percent showed some sort of injury. It went on to note that much of the problem had been related to the technique or method of tackling that the players had been subject to. Many of them noted they had been taught to use the helmet as an attacking weapon, it pointed out the helmet was made to be a defensive or protective device but has been turned into a weapon. IN MOST leagues the use of a helmet in tackling Is prohibited, at least the rdles say it is. But the enforcement en-forcement has been weak and the practice of such things as "spearing" still goes on. In high school the coaches are very selective in their techniques of tackling, they like the shoulder first approach. The real problem as I see it though, Is on the little league level where these coaches are all volunteer people who really don't have the training to be coaches like those on the high school or college level. ONE SUCH coach, although he is probably one of the best in little league, is Terry Orchard. In talking to Terry, he had read the articles, he noted that it really scared him to read about those statistics. Not only in the tackling aspect of the game but in other facets of ! coaching. Terry, who has been highly successful on the WFFL level, said he had learned from the articles. Just as an observation on the little league level I watched some workouts and while for the most part they were good, there were some things going on that to be honest, I wouldn't want my kid involved in. One coach i had three lines, a ball carrier, a tackier and a blocker. He threw the ball to the runner who had to run around the coach, while the blocker had to show how to block the opponent. True the tackier was only using the two hands below the waist technique. What could be wrong with this. Nothing except that none of the kids were in uniform. I hated to block in full gear, but without anything to me is dangerous. THESE LITTLE league coaches are doing a good job. They donate their time and efforts. I only hope that if I they need professional help, they ask someone who j knows. |