Football’s national governing body in the United States,will conduct a Protection Tour this summer to promote proper equipment fitting, tackling fundamentals and concussion awareness and management to further advance youth football player safety. USA Football board member and former NFL standout running back MERRIL HOGE is the tour’s national spokesman.
Following an eight-year NFL playing career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears, Hoge retired from the NFL in 1994 because of complications from concussion. You also know Hoge as a media personality, the famous ESPN host for their NFL content.
The USA Football “Protection Tour” is supported by Chartis, a world leading property-casualty general insurance organization, and Riddell, the official helmet and equipment partner for USA Football, with events hosted by the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. The four events with NFL teams will include hundreds of youth football players, parents and coaches. Experts in equipment fitting, tackling skills and concussion awareness will address event participants. Approximately 3 million children age 6-14 play organized tackle football, placing it among the country’s most popular youth sports.
Youth athletes, parents and coaches nationwide can learn more about the tour’s three components to further advance player safety at usafootball.com/protection-tour.
“Parents and players in every youth sport need to know concussion signs and symptoms and what to do if a concussion is suspected,” Hoge said. “Being a fundamentally sound player with properly fitted equipment also contributes to a better, safer football experience. Within youth football’s 80-plus year history, the game has never been safer than it is today, but more education is needed.”
Chartis and Riddell are founding partners of USA Football’s “Protection Tour.” Together with USA Football, both help deliver important information and onsite experts to demonstrate proper equipment fitting, tackling skills and appropriate procedures to lessen incidents of head injury.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Chicago Tribune.com, Fox Sports, MSN, Walter Football and Yardbarker
A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too