The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Montana High School Association

2017 NFHS POINTS OF EMPHASIS

Responsibility on Players to Avoid Illegal Contact

With a continued emphasis on minimizing risk in high school football, it is imperative for coaches to continue educating their student-athletes regarding the importance and responsibility of avoiding illegal contact. With the recent implementation of NFHS football rules prohibiting targeting, illegal contact on defenseless players, illegal blindside blocks, illegal pop-up kicks and other illegal personal contact fouls, the NFHS is reiterating its focus on player safety. Players are ultimately responsible for using legal blocking and tackling techniques, and coaches have a responsibility to emphasize the use of legal contact. Therefore, unnecessary contact with opponents who are clearly out of the play, or contact that is excessive and unnecessary, have no place in the game of football. These unnecessary hits are unsafe acts and the techniques cannot be tolerated by those responsible for the game of football. Coaches need to exercise leadership in eliminating illegal contact and game officials must act decisively to penalize illegal contact to minimize the risk of injury to players.

Illegal Helmet Contact

While wearing a football helmet can never guarantee the elimination of head and neck injuries, coaches at all levels of football have increased their focus on reducing these types of injuries as much as possible. One of the biggest efforts in this endeavor is to eliminate direct helmet-to-helmet contact and to minimize any other contact both with and to the helmet

Coaches and game officials must continue to be diligent in promoting the elimination of direct contact to and with the helmet through consistent adherence to proper and legal coaching techniques and through strict enforcement of playing rules and game administration.

The No. 1 responsibility for game officials must be player safety. Any initiation of contact with the helmet is illegal; therefore, these fouls must be penalized consistently and without warning. Player safety is simply a matter of attitude, technique, attention and supervision. Proper coaching techniques and consistent enforcement of illegal helmet contact by game officials will be a positive step toward reinforcing player safety..

Proper Enforcement of Penalties for

Violations of the Equipment Rules

All players are required to wear properly fitted equipment and uniforms that are worn in the manner intended by the manufacturer, as specified in the rules. The purpose of equipment rules is to promote the safety and protection of both the player wearing the equipment and his opponent. Players may not wear any equipment/adornments that are deemed illegal. In addition, it is the responsibility of head coaches to ensure players have been issued properly fitted equipment and have been instructed in its proper use and verify this requirement to game officials prior to each contest. Due to the potential for injury, game officials must strictly enforce equipment and uniform rules.

There are three types of fouls associated with improper equipment: (1) failure to properly wear required equipment, (2) failure to wear or use legal and/or required equipment, and (3) wearing illegal equipment. The first foul occurs when the required equipment is present, but is not worn properly. The penalty for this foul is a 5-yard penalty, and it can be either a dead-ball foul (if the foul occurs when the snap is imminent) or a live-ball foul (if a player is observed removing or discarding required equipment during a down). Examples of such fouls include, but are not limited to, unsnapped chin straps, tooth and mouth protectors that are dangling, or jerseys that do not fully cover the shoulder pads. If game officials observe any improperly worn equipment during a dead-ball period, they should use preventive officiating and tell the player to make a correction. However, if the snap is imminent and equipment is not properly worn, the game official should blow the whistle to prevent the snap from occurring and a dead-ball foul should be called. The second foul occurs when a player is missing any required equipment. That foul is an unsportsmanlike conduct foul charged to the head coach (Rule 9-9). The third foul occurs when a player wears illegal equipment. Examples of this type of foul include, but are not limited to, the wearing of cleats that exceed ½ inch, or the presence of a sticky substance on a player’s uniform. If a player is detected wearing illegal equipment, his head coach is charged with an unsportsmanlike conduct foul under Rule 9-9.

If any equipment becomes illegal or defective during the game, correction must be made before the player continues to participate. Examples include chin strap snaps which break off of the helmet or a jersey that slides up over the top of the shoulder pad. If the correction can be made within 25 seconds and without the assistance of a team attendant, an official’s time-out may be called to perform such correction. Alternatively, a team may request a charged time-out to perform the correction. However, if correction cannot be completed within 25 seconds, or during a charged time-out, the player may not continue to participate until correction is made.

Other important MHSA football safety issues:

• Practice change – 12 to 10 days - The Board approved an addition to Football Section of the MHSA Handbook in regard to changing the minimum number of days of practice required before competing in a contest from twelve (12) days to ten (10) days

• Acclimation Practice Time - The first three days of football practice will be a period of acclimation with no contact and no pads.

• Fitting Helmets - Coaches must recognize the importance of properly fitting the helmet on each player.

• Inspecting Helmets - Inspect all helmets closely and look for any helmets that need reconditioning. Remember all helmets manufactured prior to 2006 cannot be reconditioned.

• Helmet Warning Labels - NFHS Football rules require that NOCSAE labels be affixed to the Outside of the helmet and each coach should review the warning language with players.

• Heat and Hydration - Enclosed with this Activity News is a new article from the National Federation of State High School Associations Sports Medicine Advisory Committee for coaches and administrators about heat acclimatization and heat illness prevention.

• Sideline Barriers - MHSA Rules and Regulations require schools to “erect sideline barriers for all football, soccer, and softball fields during contests.”