Top educators look to combine services
Local coaches and parents are joining the statewide outcry against proposed legislation banning tackle football until high school. The “Safe Youth Football Act,” announced by Assembly members Kevin Mccarty, D-sacramento, and Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-san Diego, would eliminate tackling from youth football with the intention of protecting children from brain injuries related to concussions. “It is absolutely ridiculous and ludicrous,” said Ryan Reynolds, head coach for the Sutter High varsity football team. “It is not the government’s business to regulate youth sports, it should be the parent’s job. If this passes, it will have a monumental effect on the sport.”
Neil Stinson, athletic director at East Nicolaus High and a longtime area football coach, said with the improvements to helmets and safer techniques for tackling, the sport is the safest it has ever been, and he feels a ban goes too far.
Like Reynolds, Stinson agrees a ban would have a drastic effect at the prep level.
“If you take those youth programs away, is that the end of high school football?” Stinson said. “If we are teaching the right technique at the youth level, it adds more experience and muscle memory when they reach high school.”
Reynolds said the foundation of Sutter’s recent success, which includes winning its fourth consecutive Northern Section Division III championship this past fall, has to do with the fact that most of his players were brought up from the Jr. Huskies program.
With specific language expected this week, according to Mccarty’s chief of staff, Terry Schanz, the basis of the legislation is meant to address concerns over chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the progressive degenerative disease first discovered in former NFL players’ brains after their deaths. community is and how critical it is to the success of students.
“Your students end up here, and we have a vested interest in this relationship – it matters,” Javaheripour said. “We’re all working to help our students achieve the maximum of their potential.”
Assemblyman James Gallagher said there are some great programs in place but more focus on the core issues will produce solutions.
“We know we can do more,” Gallagher said. “So often, we’re treating the symptoms, and we need to get back to treating the cause.” Calendar ....... Classifieds ..... Comics .......... Crossword ..... Dear Abby ..... Forum ........... Nation ..... DAILY
In a press release, the legislators argue that “Children who play contact sports during their most critical years of brain development are at a significantly greater risk for neurological impairments and CTE later in life.”
Local Assemblyman James Gallagher said he thinks the legislation is unnecessary.
“I’m familiar with a lot of our youth programs in the area,” he said. “We’ve got some very caring parents and coaches who do a lot to make sure kids are safe.”
He said the long-standing youth programs teach teamwork, sportsmanship and prepare children for their futures.
The legislation seems a bit knee-jerk, he said, and there are other far more important issues deserving the Legislature’s attention.
Dave Gothrow, a captain with the Linda Fire Department and a certified EMT on the field for Wheatland football games, said in his personal and professional opinion, safety is an issue for all sports that children play and not just football.
“I see where people are concerned,” Gothrow said. “Whether it is one child getting seriously hurt on the (football) field or worse, I understand the desire to do something. However, it feels like they are targeting football. This is not just about football, but other sports as well. If we are going to ban someone from one sport, then we are going to end up banning all sports.”
Gothrow said a softball hit off the side of an infielder’s head was the most serious injury he has ever responded to, while football is relatively free of freak incidents.
Reynolds said he could count on his hand the number of players who suffered a concussion in his 21 years of coaching at Sutter, while Stinson said the most serious head injuries are from athletes banging their head on a basketball court floor or a soccer player heading the ball too hard.
Reynolds added that the fear of long-term brain damage is overblown and points to his career and other colleagues who played more than a decade of football and show zero signs of mental deterioration.
Stinson said though the game may not be perfect and more can be done in the form of concussion recognition, the proposed legislation is misguided and that throwing children into tackle football their freshman year will lead to more on-field injuries, including concussions.
With current state law limiting the amount of contact in practice, Stinson said a freshman football player has about six padded practices in training camp before he hits the field. He argues it is far too little time to acclimate to the speed of the game.
Gothrow argues education on the symptoms of concussions and injuries are the most necessary improvements going forward and that a ban undermines coaches, parents and medical professionals who strive to make the game safe.
At the local youth football level, an official with the Plumas Lake Jr. Spartans Youth Football and Cheerleading said Sacramento Youth Football, its parent organization, has told coaches and representatives to not publicly comment on the proposed legislation.