New program teaches youth players 'heads-up' tackling

• 'Safety coaches' out to change the culture in football, teach players to keep heads up.
• With football participation down, league hopes program will win over parents of potential players.
• USA Football expects to expand program, help coaches with expenses at seminars.

CLIFTON, Va. -- Tom Healy, a 51-year-old veteran of youth football coaching, patrols fields this season with a new title: "Player Safety Coach." One coach in his clubkiddingly calls him "Maximus Tackle-us."

Instead of calling plays, one of Healy's tasks is to make sure players ages 7 to 16 keep their heads out of the play to maximize safety -- and minimize concussions and neck injuries. He's coaching the coaches, too, and he'll tell you keeping the head up also maximizes tackling and blocking success.

"I'm a huge football guy," says Healy, owner of a home construction firm."You cannot be as aware and involved in football as I am and not know that we need to change the culture and philosophy of this game."

The effort in northern Virginia is one of three Heads Up Football pilot programs launched this season by USA Football, a non-profit youth organization endowed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association. Pilots programs in clubs in Santa Monica, Calif., and Noblesville, Ind., also have specially trained safety coaches and regimens aimed at educating coaches,parents and kids.

"I think it's important to teach the right fundamentals at the earliest ages because that stays with them throughout their careers, whether it ends in the NFL or ends in college or high school," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said after visiting Wednesday to watch the Southwestern Youth Association (SYA) Wildcats run through drills.

But there is another side to football.

The NFL's New Orleans Saints have been disciplined by the league for an alleged bounty system that rewarded players for knocking foes out of games. In youth football, the Pop Warner organization is investigating allegations that a team in southern California had a bounty system in 2011.

"That's all the more reason to do what we're doing on the NFL level properly, because when they see that we're not going to tolerate bounties at the NFL level, every other level will understand that's not going to be tolerated in our game either," said Goodell, who this week issued revised disciplinary measures against the Saints.

Taking it to the field

Football entities at all levels can install rules and preach safety. Putting that into practice is another matter, especially at the youth level, where coaches are volunteers. That prompted USA Football to come up with the program for safety coaches and Heads Up Football.

For more than five years, USA Football has provided certification for youth football coaches via online testing, which includes a safety component.

"But how do we really know that the coach is transferring that knowledge tothe field?'' says Scott Hallenbeck, executive director of USA Football. "These guys are volunteers. They have one (or) two jobs. How do I make their life as simple as possible but more importantly make sure they're prepared to teach that kid and now more than ever make it a better, safer game?"

Hallenbeck came up with the idea of safety coaches as the "eyes and ears" to monitor what's going on.

"I stopped coaching because this came along," says Healy, who's had 19 yearswith the Wildcats.

Last summer, Healy and the other two safety coaches went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, for a four-day training program. They visited with Goodell in New York.

In Virginia, Healy conducted clinics for coaches, parents and players. Healy said the focus was on proper fitting of equipment, the steps in heads-up tackling and concussion awareness.

"What happens if little Johnny comes home and says, 'Hey, I got hit today. I saw lights,' " Healy says. Answer: get medical attention before he returns to practice or games.

During the week, Healy monitors practices. The Heads Up Football system stresses striking with the top of the chest while keeping the head up and out of the way. Instead of wrapping the arms around a ball carrier, it teaches an upward thrust of the arms under the ball carrier's arms. It's called the "rip."

The idea is that wrapping the arms around causes the head to naturally go down. Healy and the coaches preach "rip don't wrap."

Hallenbeck says USA Football plans to roll out regional programs next year that would provide safety coaches for other youth clubs. He said the idea is to set up training centers within 3-5 driving hours from concentrations of coaches. The coaches would be responsible for getting to the centers, but USA Football would pay for hotels and other training expenses.

That's where NFL/NFLPA funding comes in. Hallenbeck acknowledges that some might be wary of the pro game being involved in youth football. About 3,000 former NFL players currently are suing the league, alleging it knowingly failed to protect them from concussions and potential long-term effects.

"People sometimes take shots, but the fact of the matter is we can't do what I think is a very positive, innovative approach to making this game better and safer without that support," Hallenbeck says."The NFL and the NFL Players Association endowed USA Football as non-profit, independent organization so they could in fact stay out. They fund us so we're in fact the ones in. I think that's genuine and fair.''

'Changing the culture'

The Southwestern Youth Association is affiliated with the Fairfax County Youth Football League, which has 23 clubs, 310 teams, about 1,200 coaches and 6,000 players in several counties, according to league chairman Mark Meana. Meana says the goal is to encourage Heads Up Football throughout his northern Virginia league next season.

"We're confident it's going to go," he says.

Meana says the size of the league has declined in the past three years. It's gone from 370 teams to 309 and player participation has dropped from 6,500 to 6,000. He attributes declines in the past two years to concerns about safety and concussions.

"You're changing the culture, investing in the future, so it's going to take a lot of time," Meana says. "But this could morph and build into something that's certainly warranted."

One challenge is to get the coaches to buy in. Healy says some have been more responsive than others. For example, he said some are reluctant to get away from having tacklers put their heads in front of ball carriers when tackling from an angle.

"If the old dinosaurs don't want to change the way they coach, sooner or later a mother in her right mind isn't going to let her kid go out and play football," Healy says.

Healy says there have been about 8-10 concussions among about 400 injuries in the SYA club this season.

"We probably have more reported because we're much more aware," he says. "I haven't have anybody yet that's been out for an extended period.''

Damian Caracciolo, football commissioner of the Wildcats, says coaches have generally embraced the techniques, many of which they already had been using.

Caracciolo says he had seven concussions playing high school and small college football.

"Our goal is to make sure that no child has seven concussions, that we're smarter in how we treat it, how we respond to it, how we identify it, how we prevent it,'' says Caracciolo.

Two mothers who were at practice Wednesday night are buying in.

"It makes me feel a lot better," says Melissa Davis. Her son, David, 12, plays in the 85-pound division. What has he learned in practices?

"Keep your head up,'' he says.

Debbie Dailey has twin boys, Logan and Caden, playing for the first time.

"I love this program. I sleep better at night," she says. "They've never played before, so I'm very happy that they're learning how to play the right way and play safe."

Healy looks forward to helping train more safety coaches next season.

"We've got a long way to go," he says. "But I do think we'll get there."