By Kim Goss, MS
BFS President John Rowbotham, shown here with his son Trace, loves the game of football.
Practice Makes Perfect Through its publications, clinics, certifications, and special presentations, BFS is a leader in educating coaches, athletes, and parents about the dangers of concussion. One of the most exciting developments being researched today is the use of the OptoJump™ system to objectively and scientifically determine when an athlete who has suffered a concussion can safely return to play. Hoping to reduce the incidence of concussion in sport, the NCAA recently recommended a cap on the number of contact practices that can be performed by college football players during the preseason, in season, and during spring 2 ball.
If approved, this recommendation is sure to work practiced a variety of disciplines so they could take a its way to the high school level, an action that is punch, counter a single-leg wrestling takedown, block cause for concern. a judo throw, and know when it was time to tap out of an arm bar. The eventual result of such training Commenting on the NCAA’s recommendation is Scott was a significant reduction in the risk of serious inAnderson, president of the College Athletic Trainjury during competition. ers’ Society, in an AP story published on July 7, 2014: “We’re acting on what we know.
The more contact, We applaud the NCAA for addressing the issue of conand the more intense the contact, the more likely that cussion, and we support many of its attempts to deal a concussion is to occur.” Point taken, but we still have with the problem, such as its suggestion that colto consider the lack of overwhelming scientific evileges hire independent doctors to evaluate athletes dence that having fewer contact practices results in who have sustained this type of brain injury. Howfewer concussions.
Especially worrisome is the likeever, we question the wisdom of limiting the number lihood that by limiting the amount of time football of practices that can be performed in a game-type players spend in full-contact practices in a controlled environment if the outcome is that players wind up environment, the players will be less prepared to en- inadequately prepared for the rigors of competition. counter the conditions that occur in the game. To borrow a popular slogan used in the military, “Train the way you are going to fight!” In this regard, an analogy can be made between football and the evolution of the sport of mixed martial arts.
In the early days of MMA, many serious injuKim Goss, MS ries occurred because the competitors usually were specialists in only one discipline. So, a boxer might Editor in Chief, BFS magazine be pitted against an expert in karate. The problem with such match-ups is that the fighters often did kim@bfsmail.com not know how to defend themselves; for example, boxers are skilled at being able to take blows to the head, whereas karate practitioners seldom experience such training. As the sport developed, MMA fighters
From BFS Magazine — September/October 2014. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
