Jan 29, 2015Tackling Safety
By Eddie Canales
I am constantly asked how we can make the game of football safer. The core of all preventable catastrophic injuries has been leading with the head to make tackles, so I think it is time to create a National Tackling Certification program starting with youth coaches, junior high coaches and also involve high school coaching associations and the sports medicine community.
By now, we know that just saying, “Keep Your Head Up,” or “See What You Hit,” is not working. That’s why one of the largest school districts in the nation is taking a new approach.
On June 9, 2012, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is conducting a Coaches Clinic for all LAUSD Football Head Coaches at the Pasadena City College. We encourage athletic trainers and strength and conditioning coaches to spread the word about this important learning opportunity.
The goal of the event is to make coaches Helmet-Free-Tackle Safety & Performance Certified utilizing Bobby Hosea’s tackling teaching methods. This tackling technique proven by science (ETScience, LLC, June 2011) to lower helmet first impact by 43 percent while in the act of making a tackle when compared to that of the “traditional” tackling technique. That 43 percent reduction in helmet first impact represents 100 percent of the crown of the helmet. Removing the crown from the tackle eliminates helmet related injuries from the sport.
To learn more, visit Bobby Hosea’s Web site. The videos he created were made with some of our Gridiron Heroes and the families we have helped. In the future, Gridiron Heroes hopes to take this program nationwide. Eddie Canales is Founder/Director of Gridiron Heroes Spinal Cord Injury Foundation. He was also a 2011 Top Ten CNN Hero award winner.
