Coaches prioritize player safety

By Bart Moss for the FCT

This week football players from Franklin County and the state of Alabama will be putting on the shoulder pads and helmets and preparing for full contact work leading up to the opening week of the season in late August.

Player safety is on the minds of coaches as their teams settle in for the grueling weeks ahead.

Heat is always a primary concern at this time of the year, but another issue has been in the forefront for the past few years: concussions. Coaches are focused on protecting players heads – and thus the brains – from severe injury.

The issue was brought back to life a few weeks ago when the Journal of the American Medical Association updated a study on football players and degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The study examined the donated brains of 111 deceased former NFL football players and found that 110 had CTE, which can only be determined after death and has been linked to repeated blows to the head.

It should be noted that the brains that were donated were from players suffering symptoms of the disease. It should also be noted that the brains were donated by former NFL players who had spent the better part of their lives playing football and taking hits.

One of the most severe cases of CTE has Alabama roots: former Prattville High School and University of Alabama star running back Kevin Turner, who died in March of last year at the age of 46. Turner had been diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease in 2010, but it wasn’t until after his death that doctors realized he had a severe case of CTE. Turner played professionally for the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.

Locally, high school coaches are cognizant of the issues because of the proactive steps taken by the Alabama High School Athletic Association. The AHSAA concussion policy states, “Any student-athlete who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion shall be removed from the contest and shall not return that day. Following the day the concussion symptoms occur, the student-athlete may return to practice or play only after a medical release has been issued by a medical doctor.”

The AHSAA policy also states that once concussion symptoms are identified, only a medical doctor can release the player to return to practice or play. The AHSAA also requires all coaches to take a mandatory concussion course and test, and a form must be signed by players and parents or guardians.

Russellville coach Mark Heaton said the AHSAA proactivity has been a good thing for the game of football and has helped coaches make improvements to player safety.

“As coaches, we are always looking for ways to make things better for our teams, and our players’ safety is one of those things we take very seriously,” said Heaton. “I believe kids are safer playing football today than at any other time. I also think kids are playing at a higher level than ever before because of the changes.

“You hear people say, ‘Well, this isn’t real football anymore.’ Yes, it is. The game changes. It has always changed. It is getting safer, and that is a good thing – especially if you are a parent,” said Heaton. “We’ve been able to win 30 games in three years, and we have full contact work about 20 minutes a week. You see very little full contact work in practice at any level of football, be it high school, college or professional.”

Phil Campbell coach Ryan Swinney has had some players experience pretty severe concussions in his tenure as the Bobcats coach. He said it’s important to balance the fact that football is a contact sport with the severity of a concussion.

“The AHSAA has been focused on concussion awareness for several years now,” said Swinney. “There have been several rule changes that limited plays where concussions usually occur – like hitting behind the play.”

“Football is a contact sport. Everyone understands that,” Swinney added. “With that said, we have to take concussion seriously. We’ve had a few bad concussions the last few years. We knew those were bad when we saw the hit. We took the right precautions and protocols.

“The ones you worry about are the ones you don’t see and you miss.”

Red Bay coach Michael Jackson has been a high school football coach for 16 years and played collegiately at UNA. He said he has seen the game change dramatically because of injury issues, especially injuries to the head.

“The equipment we use is much better,” said Jackson. “About 75 percent of our budget goes to helmets and pads and player safety. The way we practice has changed as far as limiting the way we practice contact and the amount time we have to practice full contact.”

Jackson has had two players miss a game because of concussions. Both returned to the field of play.

“Football is a tough sport. There are few sports left where physical toughness is required, and football is one of those sports.”