The Western Communities Football League recently opened tackle registration and already has a number of children registered to play tackle football this fall. After canceling the tackle football season last year due to the pandemic, the WCFL board is excited to have tackle football again this year.
“For the safety of everyone involved, we felt that with the uncertainty last year, we had to cancel the season,” WCFL President KC Jones said. “This year, we believe the circumstances are different, and parents, coaches and kids are ready to get back on the football fields.”
A good example is the success of the WCFL flag football season, which began playoffs on Monday, May 10, ending with the super bowls for each division on Saturday, May 15. WCFL had more kids play flag football this season than in the past few seasons.
“We, as a board, have done everything we can do to make sure we provide as safe an environment as possible,” Jones said.
The league will continue to follow all necessary safety procedures during the tackle football season.
WCFL is a certified USA Football Heads Up league. USA Football is the national governing body for amateur American football in the United States. USA Football has worked with leaders in both medicine and sport across the country to create a full-featured program that any league or school can use to address key safety issues and ensure that every coach understands and knows how to implement each component of the program. Having a Heads Up Football program in place, with teams led by USA Football certified coaches, goes a long way toward showing that youth football is being taught the right way and that parents feel confident about the league.
“We require all our coaches to be certified Heads Up coaches and coach the Heads Up technique,” Jones said. “This helps to ensure all of our coaches are consistently coaching the same program with safety as our number one priority.”
WCFL Board Member Marc Basis said that advances in the equipment and the required standards have also made football safer. “The equipment is much better than it was five years ago, especially the helmets and shoulder pads, which help reduce the potential for injuries,” Basis said.
WCFL also emphasizes that the medical profession has learned more and more about head injuries in the past few years. “The way we treat suspected head injuries and the diagnosis of head injuries is far different than it was five years ago because of what the medical profession has learned recently,” WCFL Board Member Ray Mooney said. “For example, if someone had a suspected concussion in the past, they were told not to go to sleep. Now the medical profession recommends the person get some sleep because that is how the brain heals itself. We also have concussion protocol that any player diagnosed with a concussion must complete before being allowed to participate again. This protocol includes being cleared by a doctor.”
Meanwhile, football helps emphasize character building, teamwork, integrity and discipline in kids’ lives. Register for the WCFL tackle football season at www.wcflfootball.com.
