SC restricts football tackling to reduce concussions

Berea High School football coach Wayne Green is certified old-school. He can look back on his 38-year career and recall when players tuned their fundamentals through daily full-speed, full-contact tackling drills.

But Green is also certified in the latest safety guidelines. He understands why the good ol’ days must remain only in his memory.

Developments in research have advanced awareness for traumatic head injuries caused by frequent football collisions. Concern for the long-term effects of concussions have prompted rule changes to regulate how and how often players hit. Mandates have filtered from the National Football League to the NCAA to Pop Warner.

Now, they have reached Upstate high schools, and even the most nostalgic coaches have accepted and adjusted to the changes.

In April, the South Carolina High School League adopted a practice policy that limits full-contact drills to 90 minutes per week during the regular season and playoffs. The rule, which went into effect last week, is essentially a suggestion as opposed to a law, because the High School League is limited in its ability to enforce it. Nevertheless, state administrators are confident coaches will abide by these guidelines and prioritize health over old habits.

“It's 100 percent to enhance player safety and hopefully reduce the possibility for concussions,” High School League assistant commissioner Charlie Wentzky said. “Any time you play a sport, you run the risk of injury. The motivation for us is to make sure we can do all the things on the front end to reduce the opportunity for injury.”

Wentzky said the High School League developed the rule in conjunction with the South Carolina Athletic Trainers’ Association and with input from the state’s coaches.

“The game of football is changing. The kids are bigger, faster and stronger than they ever have been. We're just having to make some adjustments to that,” S.C. Athletic Trainers’ Association president Sheila Gordon said. “This should decrease head contact exposure and hopefully lessen the number of concussions. We're moving in a direction where we're all working together for player safety.”

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The rule adheres to a set of recommendations issued three years ago from the National Federation of State High School Associations, which also included adjustments to the preseason practice schedule and the prohibition of players competing in junior varsity and varsity games in the same week. Wentzky said the High School League has not tracked the number of concussions suffered in the state, but the potential for prevention in any amount was enough to advance this initiative.

“When we first started talking about this one, I was really afraid of the direction it was going, but after seeing it go down, I don't have any serious problems with it,” Green said, admitting that an average of less than 20 minutes of full-speed, full-contact training per practice initially felt obstructive.