Coaches,

 

I would like to open some discussion on 2 of these new guidelines.

 

1. No helmets in June does not make our game safer. It makes it more dangerous. Even the act of catching the football in a drill becomes more dangerous. We will have broken noses and guys getting hit in the face by footballs.

 

2. Section 3 Part 4 Listed below (In Bold)

 

Weight training, conditioning, meetings, film study, and teaching period/walk through simulations without equipment shall count against 5-hour limit and may not be conducted during the three-hour required break.

 

I understand that conditioning and lifting weights is not a break and will not allow the body to cool, but how does watching film of practice or having a meeting affect player safety?

 

Since the rules are currently “proposed”, what do we need to do to get some things fixed or changed?

 

Thanks,

Stephen M. Lickert

Business Teacher/Cooperative Education

Head Football Coach

Campbell County High School

[email protected]

https://twitter.com/CoachLickert

Coaches/Everyone, agree, disagree, why?

Agree 1000%, especially about not wearing helmets, it's definitely a safety issue to NOT wear helmets, this is common sense.

Agree I have seen kids get their nose broke while catching a football without a helmet.

Its all about insurance.

These guidelines do nothing for safety. And, secondly...they do nothing for making the game more attractive to kids.

 

Football already practices more w/ less games than any of the "big 3 sports". The off-season grind in comparison isn't even close (advantage football). Being able to wear helmets in June and July, to do actual football specific drills and even intersquad 7v7 stuff was the only thing to break up the monotony of all things 'off season'.

 

After all, in regards to the multi-sport kids, I can't understand why in the world they would ever choose to actually play (against outside competition at that) baseball and basketball than to come to football so they can lift and run a little more. Blaphemy, I know...admitting that lifting and running for 7-8 straight months, without any real type of outside competition gets a little (a lot) boring. How dare anybody say such a thing.

 

Allow helmets in June/July 10-21 or just go back to the old days of coaches telling the boys on the last day of school, "Have a good summer. See everybody on the last Monday of July."

Its all about insurance.

 

Plantmanky, help us civilians (non staff/coach) understand the insurance used for football. Is it private, KHSAA ? I think this would help us better understand the rules put forward.

Am I reading this correctly? No helmets for June practice, but "equipment" is necessary for watching film?

Its all about insurance.

 

And Lawsuits. The real problem is that there are coaches in every sport that like to bend the rules just a little to attempt to gain what they feel is some sort of advantage. If coaches used "common sense" then we would not be in the situations that we are today.

 

With that being said, kids should be wearing helmets from the first June practice after school gets out until the last game of the year. Too many situations where kids can get hit in face or worse collide and hit heads and end up being out with a concussion. Also, the most important piece of equipment these kids will wear is the helmet. I would much rather my kid have one that he is comfortable with and broken in sufficiently before going to full contact.

 

The 5 hour rule is geared to those coaches that feel the rules can be twisted. Sometimes a mental break from football and all aspects of it are necessary whereas we all know that some coaches like to monopolize the entire day of a kid whether it be football or some other sport. This is why we have so many kids feeling they need to specialize in a particular sport.

 

Just my two cents.

Plantmanky, help us civilians (non staff/coach) understand the insurance used for football. Is it private, KHSAA ? I think this would help us better understand the rules put forward.

 

KHSAA buys catastrophic insurance coverage for all member schools, it is cheaper for them to buy it for a group, than for each school to buy it separately (in 2012 the cost of the HS plan was $425,000 per year.) However, with said insurance, comes policy requirements, (ie dates) of when what activities can take place.

 

In other words, to keep the insurance cost down, modifications of what can be allowed and what cant are being made.

 

 

 

Likewise there are these same issues with Middle School sports as well currently. Currently Middle School sports are not covered under any catastrophic insurance coverage plan, (unless the schools are self insured, and then it still varies.) Each school district is left with the responsibility to provide insurance for their sports activities. Some do, some dont, its all a local district decision.

 

 

KHSAA can not get catastrophic insurance to cover middle school athletics (in 2012 the current carrier at that time of the KHSAA HS Catastrophic Insurance plan estimated it would cost in excess of $2million per year to cover MS athletics in KY.)

Even doing individual drills without a helmet can get a kid hurt. Say a receiver goes up for a pass (with no one going against him) lands awkwardly, and hits his head on the ground, resulting in a concussion. How does practicing without a helmet make any sense at all. Not only that, but you also limit coaches on the type of drills they can do. You are basically eliminating any type of one on one drill (even of the non contact variety). Makes no sense. If they are going to limit the sport that much, have the kids show up two weeks before games start and throw them in full pads.

... and just to think, these "rules" are being implemented by people who've never played the game.

Get better insurance then, the insurance should not dictate our sport. Find a way to make more money, cut a few of the talking heads who do nothing at the KHSAA, raise championship ticket costs, get more sponsors, etc... etc.... Meet with the companies tell them your concerns and shop around to get a better fit.

Do we know who is "proposing the rule" changes?

As a coach this is completely ridiculous. How are players supposed to be "acclimated" to wearing helmets in such a short amount of time. The injury possibilities in June are one thing but what about the injury possibilities or being able to hit 2 weeks after we start wearing helmets for the first time and a player not comfortably able to move his head around on a swivel and getting clocked.