Sunday, July 14, 2013

The Most Common Preventable Football Injuries

The two most commonly discussed injuries in football are concussions and neck injuries that can lead to paralysis. Your equipment is designed to help reduce the risk of these injuries, but not all of it. The 5 topics outlined in my previous post "The 5 Most Common Causes of Football Injuries", when combined with good equipment  and proper fundamentals, should dramatically reduce a players risk of neck injuries and concussions.

NECK INJURIES   

The position of your head at the time of impact is directly responsible for any injury a player may sustain. A player should never use the crown of their helmet when making contact with another player. One of my favorite sayings is, "You can't hit what you can't see!" When the head is down bad things happen.

 When a player's head is down and they make a hit in this position, the entire force of the impact travels down the spine, compressing the vertebrae. This is the absolute most dangerous way of hitting someone in the sport of football.

When the head is up, the jaw clinches and the player bites down on the mouth piece naturally in preparation to take the hit. Since the neck is designed to move back and forth, the muscles are designed to absorb that type of impact.

PROPER TACKLING

 Just like any other team sport, football games are won and lost on the fundamental basics of the game. A team that can block, tackle and execute will be a winning team.Want your child to be a beast of a tackler? It's simple to learn and really fun once they get it down.

Register your child for GRID IRON Tackle Academy and get them trained in the proper fundamental techniques in order to be a great tackler and be safe doing it.

Three simple phrases the kids will be taught and find easy to remember in order to apply are:

1. "Bite The Football" - this phrase ensures that players learn to keep the head up
2. "See What You Hit" - teaches players to see with their eyes wide open and tackle with their eyes on the ball carrier.
3. "Wrap The Arms" - Teaches a player to wrap up ball carrier's and grab the jersey to secure the hold and bring them to the ground.

There are more steps to be taught but we will save that for the GRID IRON Tackle Academy.

CONCUSSIONS

A concussion is a type of brain injury caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. When the brain bounces off the inside of the skull a concussion is likely to happen.

Newer helmets are designed to evenly distribute the impact and reduce the possibility of a concussion, but no helmet will prevent this completely. The best way to avoid a concussion, is to learn proper tackling and hitting techniques. Keeping the head up, tackling with the shoulders, using the legs to divert momentum, and blocking with the arms extended are the best ways to avoid impact to the helmet. The goal, ultimately, is to distribute as much of the force of impact to the other parts of the player's body, and keep it away from the head.

GRID IRON Youth Sports Training is registering for it's GRID IRON Tackle Academy. Cost is $65 per player. This is the final week to register. Get your child registered and on their way to a safe, fun, hard hitting season with a reduction in missed tackles. Call or email Coach JJ for registration details at the contact information below.


Coach JJ has coached youth sports for over 10 years.  He is the Owner and Player/Skill Development Specialist for GRID IRON Youth Sports Training and trains players ages 6-15 in football, basketball and baseball. Coach JJ, is also passionate about youth fitness and runs GRID IRON "KIDFit Camp" as a result of that passion. He has coached youth football and basketball at the Conroe and Woodlands YMCA's. Coach JJ is the Coach Coordinator and a Board Member for Conroe Little League Baseball and has coached their for several years as well.  Coach JJ is a certified member of USA Football, the national governing body for youth football in America. He is also a certified member of USA Basketball, the national governing body for youth basketball in America. Coach JJ is trained and certified through the Positive Coaching Alliance and is currently pursuing his certification as a Youth Fitness Specialist and Speed and Agility Trainer both through the International Youth Conditioning Association. He is a contracted instructor in football and basketball for the City of Conroe Parks and Recreation Department. Coach JJ is also in the process completing his training with the American Sports Education Program.

Twitter: @grid_ironsports
832-563-0521


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The 5 Most Common Causes of Football Injuries

A simple, preventable, injury that sidelines a player can cripple his morale and effect the whole team. In football, injuries are common, and sadly, a majority of them are preventable. Most of the discussion about neck injuries and concussions these days, seems to be all about equipment. Equipment does play an important role in preventing injuries, but it is in no way an end all.

In the NFL the players have to have the best possible equipment, which is carefully selected by equipment managers. With this in mind, it's interesting that all of the talk surrounding football injuries is still about the equipment and no one talks about pre-season training, conditioning, flexibility, nutrition, and rest.

When the NFL players' lockout was over and the 2011 season finally started, it was one of the most injury-riddled seasons in history. If you followed football that season you'll remember the abnormally large number of back-up players starting because of injuries.

As a coach it is pretty easy to predict why these injuries occur as the season progresses. It all boils down to physical preparation for the season and it can be broken down into the following 5 areas:

#1 - PRE-SEASON TRAINING

 As a coach, I can always tell if players haven't done any preparation before camp. To properly prepare for any physical sport, particularly a contact sport like football, the athlete should begin to prepare at least 2 months before training camp or practices start.

Workouts don't need to be intense but there should be a definite mental attitude that football season has started. It's time to start developing habits and enforcing discipline in your daily activities. During this time it is a good idea to start workouts and drills designed for your position. This includes footwork, catching, throwing, form blocking, tackling, etc. Most football drills can be done without any pads or special equipment.

Drills when practiced thoroughly, will help to make most of their movements on the field second nature. When your body naturally lines up just right to make a block, put on a hit, or take a hit, the chances of sustaining an injury is reduced dramatically.

#2 -  CONDITIONING

Conditioning is probably one of the most important things and athlete can do to have an injury-free season. Most injuries are a result of sloppy play and it's no accident, that most injuries occur during the second half of the game, particularly in youth football.

Why? Well when your body starts looking for ways it can save energy, it typically takes away from your muscular system and redirects it to your vital organs. Have you ever seen anyone who just woke up and someone who's exhausted? The exhausted person's posture will be different. They won't be standing up straight, their shoulders will sag, and their head will typically be leaning forward.

Take an exhausted player and picture him playing football. Bad posture turns into bad form and bad form, plus impact, turns into injuries. These injuries also tend to be the most severe since the body naturally wants to lower the head when it's exhausted. Dropping your head into a hit, is by far, the easiest way for a player to hurt their neck playing football.

At the youth level (ages 8-14) parents should be proactive in preparing their child before the season begins. Whatever your tactics might be, it is important to have your young athlete running, jumping, and doing sit-ups and pushups as well as other basic strength exercises.

#3 - FLEXIBILITY

Making sure your body is warm and flexible is one of the best ways to avoid muscle strains, ankle and knee sprains, and even broken bones. Stretching and speed training go a long way towards building your flexibility, agility, and balance.

In order to understand how flexibility can influence injuries you have to think of your body as bones and muscles attached to one another with rubber bands. Tighten up any of those rubber bands and some muscle group is going to get strained due to fighting against your own body mechanics. Show me someone with lower back problems and, almost always, I'll show someone who has tight hamstrings. This is how you end up with muscle and tendon injuries. When you have a muscle or a ligament that's too tight, when you strain it, it's going to yank somewhere else.

Great flexibility and agility are also important on the field. A player with the ability to make quick moves to the right or left is hard to get a good clean hit on. If they can't put a good hit on you because of your ability to move, then your body is not absorbing as much force, which reduces the chance of injury. If you are a ball carrier, good balance will also help you recover from hits or break tackles, which will get additional yards.

#4 - DIET

A player's diet is very closely related to their conditioning because it has to do with their energy levels. Nutrition is probably one of the most overlooked parts of pre-season training by players at all levels.

Football is a demanding sport on your body and the food a player eats has a significant role on their performance. You have to remember, our body's primary objective is too keep us alive. When the body is strained and out of energy it's going to use whatever resources it has to keep your vital organs going and that usually means taking whatever energy it can away from the muscular system. Without the proper energy levels an athlete will move slower, react slower, have less strength, and not think as clearly as they should.

Hydration is also critical. Most people don't drink enough water each day. This is not good for athlete's because they will lose a significant amount of water during practice or a game. This can cause them to become dehydrated  and become susceptible to heat stroke.

Here are six foods that all football players should avoid:

1. Sugary Foods - such as cakes, pastries, pudding, ice creams, sweets and biscuits.
2. Caffeine - Caffeine and energy drinks cause dehydration.
3. Fried Food - Since fried food is loaded with oil it takes a long time to digest the fats contained within it.
4. Fatty Food - These contain fats and should be avoided: red meat, bacon, ribs, and sausage.
5. Fizzy Drinks - These are sugary and can lead to stomach problems.
6. Processed Foods - These are high in sodium and fat.

Foods/Drinks to partake of:

1. Water
2. Fruits, Vegetables, and Whole Grains
3. Protein
4. Healthy Fats

#5 - REST

An athlete can exercise and eat right but if he isn't getting enough rest when training, it will all be for nothing. The body needs rest in order to recover from intense exercise. Football is a physically demanding  sport. After each game and each practice your body needs time to recover and begin repairing muscles.


Coach JJ has coached youth sports for over 10 years.  He is the Owner and Player/Skill Development Specialist for GRID IRON Youth Sports Training and trains players ages 6-15 in football, basketball and baseball. Coach JJ, is also passionate about youth fitness and runs GRID IRON "KIDFit Camp" as a result of that passion. He has coached youth football and basketball at the Conroe and Woodlands YMCA's. Coach JJ is the Coach Coordinator and a Board Member for Conroe Little League Baseball and has coached their for several years as well.  Coach JJ is a certified member of USA Football, the national governing body for youth football in America. He is also a certified member of USA Basketball, the national governing body for youth basketball in America. Coach JJ is trained and certified through the Positive Coaching Alliance and is currently pursuing his certification as a Youth Fitness Specialist and Speed and Agility Trainer both through the International Youth Conditioning Association. He is a contracted instructor in football and basketball for the City of Conroe Parks and Recreation Department. Coach JJ is also in the process completing his training with the American Sports Education Program.
Twitter: @grid_ironsports
832-563-0521
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Friday, July 5, 2013

Your Responsibilities as a Coach

As a youth coach with over 10 years experience in multiple sports, particularly football, basketball and baseball. I have run across my share of good and bad coaches and leagues. I think that the problem is more in-depth than most would imagine. I mean there are some leagues that desire to but struggle to find qualified, skilled, knowledgeable volunteers to help with their youth sports programs because it is "volunteer" work. On the other hand, there are some organizations that have a history of intentionally putting coaches on the field with young people that have no credibility in their character, have a severely limited knowledge of the game and lack the understanding of how to effectively and properly coach a child, with no real desire to actually learn and improve. This obviously hurts the youth sports culture, youth sports leagues, discourages parents, and ultimately hurts the kids that these individuals serve.

Coaching at any level involves much more than designing scoring plays, drawing up defenses, and filling out a coach's application. Coaching involves accepting the tremendous responsibility you face when parents put their children in your league and under your care as a coach. As a football coach, you have the responsibility to do the following:

1. Provide a safe environment.
Playing football holds some risks, but as a coach you are responsible for minimizing those risks in several ways such as: inspecting the practice field, players' equipment, and being aware of the surroundings and potential threats including assistants and parents.

A coach should make it a priority to explain to the players and parents before the start of the season that football is a contact sport. Therefore, during the course of the season, players will:

* get bruises
* be tired and need extra rest, and
* will need to increase their fluid intake to stay hydrated and avoid dehydration.

Teach players and parents the importance of equipment maintenance and the safest techniques. Prepare a safety plan prior to the season that you will follow.

2. Communicate in a positive way. 
A coach not only communicates with players and parents but also with the coaching staff, officials, and league administrators. Do this in a way that is positive and that demonstrates that you have the best interest of the players at heart,

3. Teach the fundamental skills of football.
When teaching the fundamental skills of football, keep in mind that football is a game, and as such, you want to be sure that the players have fun. Prepare fun and productive practices. To help your athletes improve, you as a coach need to have a sound understanding of offensive, defensive, and special teams. Teach players the ins and outs of the game.

4. Teach the rules of football.
Teach the rules of football and put them into individual instruction. Many rules can be taught during the first practice. Plan to review the rules routinely but also stop and teach anytime an opportunity naturally arises in practice. Never assume that your players already know the rules.

5. Direct players in competition.
A coach should practice making good tactical decisions during games and practices. Remember the focus is not on winning at all costs but on coaching your players to compete well, to do their best, improve their football skills, and strive to win within the rules.

6. Help young people develop character.
This is our motto at GRID IRON Youth Sports Training: "Building Character and Champions". Character development includes learning, caring, being honest, respectful, and taking responsibility. These qualities are just as important as knowing how to block and tackle well. These character traits will last far beyond a child's playing days. Teach the players these values by demonstrating them yourself and encouraging behavior that expresses these values at all times.

These are your responsibilities as a coach. Remember every player is an individual and as coaches we must provide them with an environment in which they can learn how to play the game without fear, while having fun and enjoying the overall football experience. One of my goals as a coach is to NEVER have a child leave my team, and not want to continue on in the sport.

When you leave the field and your players see you in the grocery store remember, you as a coach have a great influence on them and they still see you as "Coach". Use this influence to make a positive impact on that child.


Coach JJ has coached youth sports for over 10 years.  He is the Owner and Player/Skill Development Specialist for GRID IRON Youth Sports Training and trains players ages 6-15 in football, basketball and baseball. Coach JJ, is also passionate about youth fitness and runs GRID IRON "KIDFit Camp" as a result of that passion.He has coached youth football and basketball at the Conroe and Woodlands YMCA's. He is the Coach Coordinator and a Board Member for Conroe Little League Baseball and has coached their for several years as well.  Coach JJ is a certified member of USA Football, the national governing body for youth football in America. He is also a certified member of USA Basketball, the national governing body for youth basketball in America. Coach JJ is trained and certified through the Positive Coaching Alliance and is currently pursuing his certification as a Youth Fitness Specialist and Speed and Agility Trainer both through the International Youth Conditioning Association. He is a contracted instructor in football and basketball for the City of Conroe Parks and Recreation Department. Coach JJ is also in the process completing his training with the American Sports Education Program.

Twitter: @grid_ironsports
832-563-0521






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