[Ed. Note - The original article is here.]
Coaches speak out on "Helmet-to-Helmet" Tackling Drill - Thanks to all of you who took the time to offer your opinion for the parent faced with seeing his son involved in "Helmet to Helmet" tackling drills. The following are a few of the comments we received.
Coach Miller Writes;
Coach,
I do a drill which involves using the face mask to "see" where the player is tackling. At 1/2 speed the players place their face mask on the shoulder pads and slide it to a called side. Typically this is even broken down to step-by-step, freezing at each step. The purpose of this drill is to keep the players eyes up to see where they are tackling and avoid "helmet-to-helmet" contact. If the player can see the numbers or shoulder pads, they have a target.
Helmet-to-helmet contact should never be coached, I have never even seen such a drill, even to teach aggression.
Coach Campos had this comment;
Coach Bass,
I believe the coach running this type of a drill has missed an important rule "The Safety of the Players." Not only is he compromising their safety, he is taking a chance on losing some players interest using some ridiculous training method to develop confidence. I have been coaching quite some time and would never use this type of technique. Matter of fact, I left the Middle School due to my youngest son wanting to play Pop Warner. I wanted to ensure that he and the boys he is playing with, would learn the correct techniques and safety, so I left a paid position to be a volunteer, to prevent something of this nature happening to my son.
Coach Frauli Writes:
Coach Bass-
I would like to comment on the helmet-to-helmet issue. First off, this is something that should not only be discouraged, it should be banned. The coach should be reprimanded by the league and if this drill continues, he should be removed from coaching all together. As a coach of 5 years and a former firefighter/EMT, my main concern has always been for the safety of the kids. As a youth coach, it is our responsibility to teach the kids the fundamentals of the game, make it fun, and encourage them to keep playing this great American sport!
Coach DeMasi Jr. Wrote:
I have never in 15 years of coaching instructed players to use their head for any type of contact.
A fellow coach from Texas added these thoughts;
Coach Bass I spend 2 hrs a night yelling at kids not to lead with their heads. I coach 7-9 year olds and it is very important at this age to teach the kids proper hitting technique. I know that drill and it is one that was run back in the 70s and 80s. My question would be: Is this an older coach that might be coaching his grandson? Has he been out of the game for awhile, and does he have some pull because the board seems to be turning their head? I would talk to other head coaches inthe town and see what they say. They are more likely to talk to the coach and get through to him. In most towns the high school football coach would be the right one to talk to. The last thing he wants is to have to lose his football players because of bad coaching experience.
Thank you very much to all of the above coaches and all the others who voiced their deep concern over the use of this type of drill. In this day and age, with all we are learning about head injuries, the greater the need is for each of us to eliminate any helmet- to-helmet activity and always make the safety of the player our first concern, Coach Tom Bass.
Coach Tom Bass, the technical writer and advisor for USA Football is a thirty-year NFL coach who has also authored several books, including "Play Football the NFL Way" - the first "how to" book ever authorized and published by the NFL, "Football Skills and Drills" (Human Kinetics) position-by-position techniques and drills designed for high school coaches, "The New Coaches Guide to Youth Football Skills and Drills" (McGraw Hill) - designed specifically for youth coaches
Coach Bass is happy to personally autograph his books to you. Book ordering information can be found on www.coachbass.com