Youth Football Rules Changing For California Players
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- With youth football season getting ready for shoulder pads and helmets, coaches across California now have some new rules to dole out in addition to teaching slant patterns.
A law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom today lays out new guidelines to try and prevent kids from getting injured by multiple sub-concussive hits, leading to a disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE.
The new rules:
- Ban full contact practices during the off season
- Limit full contact during the season to 30 minutes twice a week
- Require medical professionals to be present for all games
- Requires independent monitors to remove players with signs of injury.
Paul Remley, president of the Livermore Junior Football League says it's not a significant change from the safety rules his league already uses. "They already had standards in place that limited us to 30 minutes of contact per day. So, we were already following that guideline, the only difference is that this law says you can only be at two days a week, where as previously it was three," Remley told KPIX5.
What he does worry about is the possibility of more in-game injuries. "The less contact you're allowed to have in practice, I do think you're increasing the risk for kids potentially getting injuries in games."
