Published: Jan. 9, 2014
Changes imminent for preseason practice
Move hopes to reduce injuries
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
Wisconsin appears to be on its way to being the model for
how to protect young football players in the heat of the summer.
Dan Brunner, former Hartford Union football coach and the
director of the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, said Wednesday a proposal
by the coaches association is ready to be implemented by the WIAA and be in
place in time for the 2014 season.
The plan?
To implement only helmets and shoulder pads to be worn in
practice after three days of participation and full pads after five days.
Under the old rule, players could have full contact in full
pads in practice after three days of participation.
In addition, teams will not be allowed to practice for more
than two consecutive hours without a break.
“It’s got wholesale support from the (WIAA) board of
directors and the majority of our membership that we polled,” Brunner said.
“It’s a positive step in preventing heatborne illnesses.
“The offshoot of this is less injuries which occur early in
the season. ... What’s really going to happen is what used to be the
traditional two-adays is now gone.”
The length of the break after the two hours of practice on
the field must be at least 30 minutes. Then teams can practice for up to an
hour.
Also, every other day, teams can do an evening walkthrough
practice after the allotted three hours of practice in one day, helmets only,
after a three-hour break.
Some states also have similar rules in place, but were
enforced by the governing association.
The WFCA is taking the initiative to putting these rules
into effect, before that happens which, according to Brunner, puts Wisconsin in
a class by itself.
“We wanted to get ahead of the curve,” Brunner said.
The proposal was presented to the WIAA in November and after
a long meeting between the WFCA and the WIAA, the groups decided it was
necessary to move forward with the plan.
It is waiting for a vote by the WIAA’s Board of Control. If
OK’d, the proposal will go before the state’s athletic directors at the WIAA
Annual Meeting in April.
Brunner is confident the proposal will pass without
resistance.
“We’ve been assured this is going to pass,” Brunner said.
“Anything we can do to put a positive in football is good
for us,” Hartford coach Tom Noennig said. “There’s so much negativity, especially
about concussions. I know parents are struggling with their kids playing youth
football.
“The more we can do to ensure their sons will be safe the
better.”
Noennig, along with Slinger coach Bill Jacklin, said this
move is a prime example of what’s on the minds of the coaches in the state
association, which has more than 3,000 members.
“Our coaches association is one of the best ones in the
country,” Jacklin said. “We have a lot of coaches that care about kids. ...
Ultimately the goal is you teaching football, life lessons and protecting the
kids. That says something about the state coaches association.”
“It’s important to tell everybody that we’re looking out for
the safety of kids,” Noennig said. “We want them to know we’re doing things the
right way.”
Preventing or minimizing injuries was a motivator for this
step. Another motive was to help programs that might struggle with its
participation numbers, especially if teams have depth issues and are hit by
injuries before the season even starts.
“It’s harder every year to keep kids out for football,”
Noennig said. “In August, there’s more kids on the sideline than there are in
September and October.”
These changes only apply to the preseason practices in
August before school starts. Brunner said there are discussions about the rules
after school has started or in the week of a team’s first game, if school
hasn’t started.
“We think this will improve numbers,” Brunner said of the
changes, which he added have been discussed for the last two or three years.
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