BIRMINGHAM, Alabama --?The Alabama High School Athletic Association recommends its football teams do not exceed 90 minutes per week of full contact, 11-on-11 practices during most of the upcoming season.
Full contact is defined as live game simulations where live action occurs. The AHSAA makes no recommendation regarding full-contact limits during drills involving groups of less than 11-on-11.
The recommended guidelines released today represent the AHSAA's attempt to tackle concussion safety. Football organizations across the country, such as Pop Warner and the Pac-12, are limiting contact in practice to reduce the number of head impacts to players. A recent study found youth football players are not more susceptible to head hits during games if they participate in fewer live hitting drills at practices.
The AHSAA's guidelines are not a mandated policy. AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese said in an interview he believes the association will likely adopt these measures as a formal policy in the future.
In a statement to all Alabama superintendents, principals, athletics directors and football coaches, Savarese wrote that teams may continue to dress in full pads for practices but should only participate in live action based on the guidelines.
"It is assumed that when players are in shells (shorts, shoulder pads, helmets) no live action will occur," Savarese wrote. "These guidelines are intended to limit live action and not the number of practices a team may participate in using full pads. A team may participate in 'air,' 'bags,' 'wrap,' and 'thud' drills and simulations at any point."
The AHSAA's recommendations:
* Week 1: Per AHSAA rules, the first two days of fall practice should be in shorts and helmets. Shoulder pads and helmets are allowed on the third practice day for a period that doesn't exceed 90 minutes of total practice time.
The AHSAA recommends that shoulder pads and helmets be used on the fourth practice day for a period of time that doesn't exceed 120 minutes of total practice time. One full contact practice of 11-on-11 not exceeding 90 minutes is recommended for the fifth practice day.
* Week 2: Alternating days of full contact practice that doesn't exceed a combined total of 120 minutes of 11-on-11 full contact per week. One intra-squad scrimmage would be allowed in this week.
* Week 3: Alternating days of full contact practice that doesn't exceed a combined total of 120 minutes of 11-on-11 full contact practice per week. One interscholastic scrimmage would be allowed this week.
* Week 4 through the end of the season: 90 minutes of 11-on-11 full contact practice per week.
* Spring evaluation: Alternating days of full contact practice that doesn't exceed a combined total of 120 minutes of 11-on-11 full contact practice per week. One interscholastic scrimmage would be allowing during the spring evaluation.
In addition to defining full contact, the AHSAA defined other terms for the purposes of its guidelines:
* Live Action: Contact at game speed where players execute full tackles at a competitive pace, taking players to the ground.
* Air: Players should run unopposed without bags or any opposition.
* Bags: Activity is executed against a bag, shield or pad to allow for a soft-contact surface, with or without the resistance of a teammate or coach standing behind the bag.
* Wrap: Drills run at full speed until contact, which is above the waist with the players remaining on their feet.
* Thud: Same as a wrap but the tempo is competitive with no pre-determined winner and the players are not tackling to the ground.
If the AHSAA's guidelines are adopted in the future as a policy, coaches might have to list their times when they stage full-contact practices, Savarese said.
"We have to rely on the integrity of the people monitoring and leading our student-athletes," he said. "We have thousands and thousands of parents who go to practice every day, and I'm sure someone will let us know if someone's not following those guidelines."
Source: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/07/ahsaa_releases_football_practi.html
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