TAYLORSVILLE, Utah – More Americans watch football than any other sport, and youth coaches gathered Saturday to ensure the threat of concussions doesn’t ruin the sport’s reputation.
About 30 youth football coaches were in Taylorsville working with a national expert in order to learn how to coach Heads Up Football.
The program is sponsored by the NFL and the Centers for Disease Control, and it is put on by USA Football. The program aims to teach young players how to move and tackle without risking a concussion.
Any Ryland, manager of football development for USA Football, said their goal is give athletes the tools they need to stay safe.
“I think with the Heads Up Football program and the Heads Up Tackling program does specifically is to try to teach tackling in a manner that allows youth players, specifically the young, undeveloped guys, to get in body position that allows them to keep their head up… So not just say it, not just tell them, ‘Keep your head up,’ but give them a plan and give them some of the physical tools to be able to keep their head up,” he said.
The 30 coaches who attended the program will then teach what they learned to other coaches and thousands of young football players.
