MCPS Football Parents: Does Your High School's Coach Teach Dangerous "Face Mask on the Football" Tackling?

Below is the text of an email sent to MCPS Athletic Director William Beattie, MoCo's Public Health Officer Ulder Tillman, MD MPH, and Joan Glick, the MoCo HHS staff in charge of school health at MCPS.  The name of the MCPS High School has been omitted.

Before the first full contact football practices takes place today, football parents should check with their son's head coach to see if they teach "face mask on the football" tackling.

Director Beattie, Dr. Tillman, and Ms. Glick,

Last week, [MCPS High School] football head coach told parents that, when teaching tackling, he teaches students to "put your face mask on the football," and "bite the football."   The [MCPS High School] head coach has been teaching this technique for several years.  As you can see in the email exchange below, I shared with the head coach my concerns that "face mask on the football" has long been viewed as a dangerous technique that conflicts with current best practices supported by the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations (NFHS) and currently being taught in Fairfax County, Virginia, and elsewhere across the country. 

"Face mask on the football" tackling is dangerous because it exposes the tackler to a great risk of a catastrophic cervical spine injury--with the possibility of the tackler being rendered a quadriplegic--every time the tackle is attempted.  Just over the weekend, a high school football defensive back in Georgia died from a neck injury after making a tackle. 
http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2013-08-18/high-school-player-dies-neck-injury-creekside-georgia-denatre-turman

The Head-Down tackling that the face mask on the football technique requires is also believed to increase the risk of the tackler sustaining a concussion. 

The long standing best practice for tackling in football has been a heads-up approach, with the tackler initiating contact with the shoulder or chest and keeping the head up.  

MCPS's 25 high school football head coaches are scheduled to begin full contact practices this afternoon.  They and their staffs of assistant coaches will begin teaching tackling techniques to incoming freshman and returning students. 

Given that MCPS does not require a football coach to take a class in teaching football fundamentals, such as the course offered by NFHS ( http://www.nfhslearn.com/sportDetail.aspx?sport=football ), it is prudent to assume that the [MCPS] High School's head football coach's outdated and dangerous tackling technique may be shared by some other MCPS football head coaches and assistant coaches.  And that the technique will be taught, practices, reinforced, and executed in practices and games. 

So, Director Beattie, I request that you take steps today to keep MCPS students safe when they play football for their high school.  It may be reasonable to instruct MCPS head football coaches to postpone teaching tackling until they are able to do so in accordance with current best practices to reduce the risk of cervical spine injury.

It may also be prudent to survey MCPS's 25 high school football coaches and their assistant coaches to determine which coaches, if any, have had formal training for teaching current football fundamentals such as tackling.  At a minimum, please ensure that no other MCPS high school football coach is teaching face mask on the football tackling.  

Also, game referees should be advised to issue penalties when such dangerous practices occur during games.  Rules require that face tackling be called regardless of whether it is intentional because it is so dangerous to the tackler.  Yet studies have shown that few official issue such penalties.

Dr. Tillman, as the Maryland Health Officer for Montgomery County, it is imperative that you work with MCPS to ensure safe conditions in its sports programs.  Ms. Glick, as the Montgomery County Health and Human Services staff responsible for health issues in MCPS, you also have a critical role to play on this issue.

I am copying Judith Bresler, MCPS's outside attorney, on this email.  It appears that, in the past, MCPS outside counsel has played a role in shaping MCPS policy for sports safety.

"Face Mask on the Football" Tackling Exposes Tackler to Catastrophic Cervical Spine Injury

The risk of face mask on the football tackling causing catastrophic cervical spine injury has been known for over 20 years.  For this reason, NFHS long ago adopted football rule 2-20.1b prohibiting "face tackling".  ("Face tackling" is defined as "an act by a defensive player who initiates contact with a ball carrier with the front of his helmet.")

Over 9 years ago, the National Athletic Trainer Association (NATA) issued a Position Statement against Head-Down tackling because of its risk of catastrophic cervical spine injury.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC385269/.  In the 2004 document, NATA expressly mentions the dangers of face tackling:  "Initiating contact with the face mask is a rules violation and must not be taught.  If the athlete uses poor technique by lowering the head, he places himself in the head-down position and at risk of serious injury."  (emphasis added)

One commenter on youth football has written:
"Unfortunately many coaches that are coaching youth football haven’t played for over 20 years and don’t know that not only is this illegal, it can be dangerous. Leading with the head or face inherently puts undue pressure on the head and neck. This can be a very dangerous method of tackling at the youth level.  This penalty could also be invoked against those players who are taught to “bite the football”, a popular tackling coaching point with many football coaches. Often players instructed in this fashion initiate contact with the facemask, which is a clear violation of this rule.  Make sure you are teaching safe AND legal technique to your kids this season." http://www.winningyouthfootball.com/wp-blog/?p=1471

Teaching Football Tackling

In its 2004 Position Statement, NATA recommends that coaches teach students to tackle by using a heads-up approach, with the tackler initiating contact with the shoulder or chest and keeping the head up.  NATA also recommended back in 2004:

"Formal team educational sessions (conducted by the athletic trainer or team physician or both, with the support of the coaching staff) should be held at least twice per season.  One session should be conducted before contact begins and the other at the midpoint of the season.  Parents should be invited to the first educational session at the high school level.  Recommended topics are mechanisms of head and neck injuries, related rules and penalties, the incidence of catastrophic injury, the severity and prognosis of these injuries, and the safest contact positions.  The use of videos such as Prevent Paralysis: Don't Hit With Your Head, See What You Hit, or the prevention portion of Spine Injury Management should be mandatory."  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC385269/

Conclusion

I hope you will all act today to help keep MCPS high school students who play football safe.

Sincerely,
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