Saturday, March 21, 2020

Vincent Romano Essays (1231 words) - Sports, Injuries, Neurotrauma

Vincent Romano Dr. Myers English 1301.4033 April 3, 2017 Concussions in Football American football is one of the most violent sports in the U.S. It is also the most popular. Every year, millions of Americans, either from home or in attendance at the stadium, spend enormous amounts of money to enjoy football. As viewer's watch the high impact hits delivered, the viewer's attention is focused on the present situation of the game and the players' future safety is far from the mind. Concussions in American football is a major problem. Concussion prevention and protocol are a couple of the most important factors to attempt to begin bringing the concussion rate down in all levels of American football. Another important factor is the teaching of proper football techniques starting at the youth level. Youth football players could benefit from a modified tackling process that would better protect them from the risk of a concussion (Johnson 183). With the speed and size of athletes increasing every year, improper tackling techniques being performed at such a fast pace c ontributes to the concussion problem in American football. USA Football should implement a mandatory concussion safety certification program to combat the issue of concussions and require coaches to complete this training prior to leading football requiring coaches to complete prior to teaching football to ensure the safety and future of American football athletes. The main problem is coaching practices for youth athletes is not utilizing safe tackling techniques to avoid concussive and other head injuries. A potential solution is USA Football should design and make mandatory a safety program that teaches coaches to enforce the use of proper tackling techniques, proper equipment fitting, the dangers of concussions, and the mandatory safety protocols for head collisions. A detailed and mandatory safety program could help decrease the concussion rate and eliminate serious injuries and deaths in the industry of American football, providing beneficial results. Problem- Professional football leagues, organizations, and trainers have an active interest in player health and safety. USA Football, a U.S. governing body for American Football, stands for the development, participation, safety, and value of the game for all players, coaches, officials, and parents that have love for the sport. USA Football is a non-profit organization that was established in 2002 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The mission was to lead coach and player development and connect the football communities that will hopefully advance and grow the sport. USA Football provides the best certifications, resources, and programs for millions of athletes around the world. USA Football serves everyone from youth leagues to middle school and high school. USA Football is dedicated to making the game safer and better so that nothing stands in the way of a player's excitement for the sport. USA Football's main goal, through the advancement of coach training, is to develop valuable leadership, g uidance, and practice skills. The training allows the coach to be the best mentor for the players resulting in the best path for the athlete's future. Though football training excellence exist, it lacks mandatory certification to insure proper tackling techniques are utilized to avoid severe head injuries. One main issue involved when dealing with concussions related to the game of football is not using the appropriate tackling technique. Football tackling and being tackled is the leading cause of concusiions and is 13% higher in football than any other sport (Meehan and Landry). In an attempt to reduce the instances of concussions, new rule changes in the NFL were implemented in 2012 to restrict a player from leading with the helmet to make a tackle. The rule change was created in the hope to avoid big head to head collisions and decrease the number of concussions (Baumgart and Wada). If players are guilty of this action, they are penalized in the game upon further review. The hit is reviewed later by the NFL to determine a fine for any player that made illegal hits. In the article, "The NFL's Tackling Dilemma", Mark Fainaru-Wada and Simon Baumgart writes, "that from the year 2012, when the rule was applied, to 2013, player's penalized for an illegal hit dropped from forty to twent y-five" (Baumgart Wada). However, penalties and fines may be decreasing the rate of concussions, but it

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