Protecting Athletes

Recently the awareness of injuries in sports has become a major topic of discussion. With professional, collegiate, and even high school teams increasing their awareness towards injuries it is important to realize some of the positive changes that have taken place. One of the largest areas of concern in related to this topic is head injuries. Over the past few years concussion awareness has become a larger topic of discussion and we are now seeing the results of those discussions.

Just a couple months ago ESPN reported that the Ivy League implemented several rule changes in order to protect their athletes. The Ivy League’s goal in implementing these rules was to not only limit the number of concussions its football players suffer, but also to limit the over number of blows to the head.

The changes implemented by the Ivy League are not so subtle. For example, the NCAA allows for football teams to participate in full contact practice for up to 5 times a week.  The new Ivy League rule states that the teams involved in the league can only hold full contact practices twice a week. This will undoubtedly change the way coaches game plan throughout the week. More emphasis will likely be placed on film and technique as opposed to the old school way of lining up against each other and banging heads every practice.  What is interesting to see is that coaches seem to have had somewhat of a positive reaction to the rule changes. Although Steve Spurrier does not coach in the Ivy League he gives his opinion when he says “To me, it doesn't make any sense to get your own players hurt in practice. It doesn't make any sense at all. It is somewhat refreshing to hear this publicly from a coach. They idea of them supporting change will allow for an easy transition as the game continues to change.

Another major rule change will take place after each game is played. Similar to the NFL the Ivy League will be reviewing any helmet to helmet hits that might occur during a game. Punishments for these types of hits could include possible suspensions depending on the severity of the hit.

With the rule changes that were implemented it is clear that the Ivy League is serious about limiting the number of serious head injuries in sports. They are forcing coaches and programs to adapt for the greater safety of players, which seems to be the path many major contact sports are taking. There is no doubt that similar rules will continue to arise not only in football, but also in other major contact sports. The safety of athletes is and should be becoming the main concern in sports.