Modern Day Football Coach

Modern Day Football Coaching

November 2, 2017

Football has changed so much since the days of leather helmets. Many new rules and new technologies have made the game so much safer than it has been in the past,  New ways to practice, new ways to coach there’s so much.

Not too long ago there was a time where coaches wanted their players to tackle everyday at practice. They thought this made their players tough. They thought their players didn’t need water, that water was a privilege. Players used to be dying on the field from dehydration

Helmet to helmet hits used to be encouraged, taking people out of the game was a good thing. Referees didn’t throw flags for blindside hits on defenseless player hits. The rules have changed drastically. There’s no more two a day practices for high school, there’s no more practicing for hours or practicing in the off season.

Dartmouth University has even taken it a step further. A student there invented a tackling dummy named the “MVP”. It is a robotic remote control tackling dummy that weighs the same as an actual human. They have benefited from this greatly by being down tremendously in the number of concussions acquired over the season. Their players are less sore because they aren't tackling each other anymore and team morale is up, too.

In an interview with Southern Door Head Coach, Pat McCarty, he stated that concussions are down at Southern Door due to the new Riddell Helmets that were received in the off season and also due to the “Heads Up” tackling progression we’ve been implementing in the past seasons.

In another interview with Saint Norberts Head Coach, Dan McCarty. I was told that college football is even stricter than high school football when it comes to the rules and protocols you have to follow. He told me he’s never had a concussion but it’s scary seeing someone not remember their own name and other confusions like that.

With all that being said, football is gradually becoming a safer sport and has come a long way. Football is an amazing sport and I personally am glad to see the strides the sport is making. I’m also looking forward to seeing more gains in the safety of football in the future.