8/12 practice

In a week full of hot, humid weather, today was the hottest of them all. It was also the first full-pads practice, and for the last half-hour of practice most of the players had enough hours to begin contact.

However, most of practice was spent on discussing tackling technique and safety issues. As has become our custom at 6th grade, we began the first full-pads defensive practice by having the players read the warning labels on their helmets. We spent a large chunk of time talking to the kids about the dangers of poor tackling technique, and made it clear that head injuries are taken very seriously and that they should not be afraid to mention any signs of a head injury to a coach immediately (such as dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, loss of memory, and obviously loss of consciousness).

It is AAYFL rules, and thus Hartford policy, that any player that shows any signs of a concussion will be taken out. We as coaches will always take a cautious approach, and even if a player ultimately does not have a concussion, we will always be careful if any player suffers a head injury.

The weather made today a good day for more teaching and a slightly less physical practice. We gave the players a break from conditioning - they have worked hard all week, and with the heat it was important to make sure that we didn't overdo it.

Saturday's practice will begin at 8:00AM, not the usual 8:30 time, and will end early due to the parent picnic and Varsity scrimmage. See you Saturday!