BREAKING NEWS: New Practice Rules
The New York Times is reporting that the Ivy League will announce new rules today in hopes of cutting down on athlete concussions.
Here's the key paragraph:
According to the new rules, teams will be able to hold only two full-contact practices per week during the season, compared with a maximum of five under N.C.A.A. guidelines. On the other days of the week, practices cannot include contact or live tackles, and no player may be “taken to the ground.”
posted by Jake @ 5:44:00 PM
14 comments
14 Comments:
Good. It is about time. At Columbia in particular practices near the end of the season are grueling. Most Ivy schools tend to slow things down and allow for more recovery time later in the season. Columbia currently does the opposite and it shows. This rule change is long overdue. I also think the NCAA should adopt this for all divisions. I also think the NCAA needs to find a way to force High Schools to enact this rule.
Wow, this is a HUGE change to the season
The essence of football is tackling. This rule basically says football is too dangerous to be played everyday. I doubt that it will be adopted by other conferences because of the stigma it places on the sport.
How a coach prepares his team is really very different from legislating, as a league, a reduction in full contact practices.
This is an excellent development, especially for us, because we have had too much contact during the week and it wore us down.
It is interesting to see these comments.I expected to read things like "In my day..."
I am sure there is a group of football fans who think that the more contact, the better .
Are the posters who think that CU is overdoing the contact recent players or parents?
Doc/jock
The Columbia players had nothing left midway through the season when they hit the weightroom, after more live practice sessions each week than at other Ivies. And that's from someone who ought to know. The team -- especially the lines -- looked worn down the second half of the season and was worn down.
The answer to Doc/Joc's question is yes to both. The interesting thing is that if you talk to past players from recent years it can be a sore subject. They still complain that the winning schools actually tone down practices as the season moves on for physical and academic reasons. What other schools actually do is subject to interpretation.
The coaches set the tone for practices! Hopefully, they become aware that full contact should be limited to one day per week during the season. Players need to let their bodies recuperate so they can be 100% at game time. Football is a long season, and to much contact during the week wears a player down. Vince Lombardi practices are a thing of the pass!
I believe the rule changes are more symbolic than substantive. The probable greatest impact is on changing the full contact portions of the two a days. Now, all contact will be limited to one practice. But credit is due to the Ivy League for taking the lead on player safety.
As for the comments about Columbia's practice habits, the grass is always greener on the other side. I've played on some good teams and bad ones. One thing was a constant: if we played a game where the blocking and tackling was poor, we were going to hit the next week in practice.
I'll leave it to others to figure out if the same has been true at Columbia.
Pardon my endorsement of this coaching staff, but I have been very pleased with the job they have done with my son.
I don't think that you need to be"pardoned' for supporting our current coaches. Although, I think that results this year will be critical in assessing where we are headed. I am happy that you think they have done well by your son.
Doc/jock
This will be a great improvement for Columbia football. Columbia has suffered from over hitting during the season for the last five years.
I agree with Tim Murphy, the football coach at Harvard who remarks in the NY Times, "that reducing the amount of contact during the week will not only reduce the chance of head trauma, but also keep his players fresher on game days. Too much contact in practice can lead to diminishing returns."
He also said elsewhere that the rule change won't effect their in season practices because they already didn't hit more than two days a week
I will repeat here what I posted last December:
On the leg wear down factor, CU practices far harder during the season than most BCS or FCS teams. The ones alone run 50 to 60 full speed, full contact, live plays every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all season long. This wears out the players legs over time and also doesn't allow any time for injuries to heal.
Early in the season, most Division I teams only go full speed, full contact on Tuesdays. They do less hitting on Wednesday and no hitting on Thursdays. As the season progresses, they hit less and less in an effort to keep the players healthy and their legs fresh.
Think about week eight. At the start of the game, IN TERMS OF LIVE REPS TAKEN, CU's starters had already accumulated 31 games worth of wear and tear on their bodies, 7 actual games and 24 game equivalent practices. IF Harvard practices like most other D-I schools, their starters would have only accumulated, at most, around 15 games worth of wear and tear on their bodies, 7 actual games and 8 game equivalent practices. Advantage Harvard.
After reading the above post, I asked my son (a player on the team) if the statements were true. He asked me what team I was talking about! When I responded Columbia, he laughed, said no and pointed out that the team practices in half pads only on Thursdays. Enough said.
The team goes "half pads" on Thursdays. FYI, the only equipment they are not wearing compared to full pads is their outer pants and knee pads. They have on all their other pads. They ONES still run 60+ full speed, full contact plays; the only thing that isn't totally full contact is tackling on the backs and receivers. For the lineman, it is full go, except that they are wearing less protection.
The ONES, also go full pads/full contact for 60+ plays every Tuesday and Wednesday which many, if not most, other FCS and BCS schools do not do late in the season. (I personally know many players at many different FCS and BCS programs and have spoken to them about their experiences.)
If you are a two or lower, you take far less reps during the week but the STARTERS bust their behinds, take a huge number of reps, and get worn down late in the season.
How do I know this? My son was a multiple year starter for CU and so were most of his closest friends. Enough said.
I suppose one could equate practicing against the scout team as the same as playing a game. Most do not, but I guess someone could. This is the first time I've heard it expressed that way. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
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