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Valley may be ahead of game when it comes to safety
Limited contact in practice already top priority for coaches
In the constant battle to stay ahead of the curve with precautionary measures for concussions and head injuries, the Ohio High School Athletic Association took another step on Monday to try to ensure its student-athletes’ safety.
The board of directors voted unanimously to limit full-contact drills during practices, in response to recommended changes by the National Federation of High School Associations’ concussion task force.
“The reality is the OHSAA is just trying to get ahead from a legal standpoint so people can’t say the association didn’t do enough,” said Struthers High School head coach Curt Kuntz.
“Then it comes down to terminology of what full-contact is.”
Under the new guidelines, full-contact is allowed after a five-day adjustment period during preseason practice and is permitted only during one session of two-a-day preseason practices to give players recovery time. The changes also limit players to 30 minutes of full-contact practice per day and 60 minutes per week during the regular season.
Kuntz said he’s shocked changes to the two-a-day practices didn’t come faster.
“We probably have the least amount of contact during our practices of anyone in the country,” Kuntz said. “I’m fortunate to already have tough kids. I don’t have to have kids bang into each for an hour a day to toughen them up. My kids are already naturally tough.
“I feel like we’re way ahead of the curve. Just because of the numbers that we have, we can’t afford to have kids getting dinged up at practice.”
According the OHSAA, soft-contact drills using bags, shields, sleds, etc., do not count toward full-contact limitations. Ohio already outlaws contact and wearing pads at any time except during the season.
OHSAA Commissioner Dan Ross believes these changes “bring Ohio up to a place as a national leader in this area.”
“There will always be a risk for concussions, but football is safer now than it has ever been, and these guidelines will make it even safer,” Ross said.
Austintown Fitch head coach Phil Annarella has the benefit of being at a bigger school with enough kids on a roster to field practice scout teams. The daily and weekly contact limitations for each player aren’t something he’s too concerned about.
“My coaching staff makes a point to rotate in different kids on the scout teams to help everybody stay fresh, not just the starters,” Annarella said.
He believes most football coaches in the area already run limited-contact practices during the season to cut down on injuries and kids getting worn down.
“We don’t do a lot of full-contact anyway,” Annarella said. “You still have to teach technique with contact and that’s one thing that will have to be monitored closely.
“We’ll be a little bit more wary of the rules, but whatever guidelines are set up we as coaches are going to have to follow.”
The measures are effective immediately, but Ross said it’s the coaches’ responsibility to make sure their practices keep in line with the changes.
“These regulations are being put into place for the safety of our student-athletes, and it is incumbent on coaches to monitor the contact in their practices,” Ross said. “Our coaches are educators and leaders. They want what’s best for kids, and these regulations are in line with these safety recommendations.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.