How Texas wants to save football from concussions
It is 6:30 a.m. on a Monday, and the fields around this small town stir with cows, goats, and of course, the high school football team.
Nestled in the heart of Texas Hill Country, Fredericksburg could be any town in the state on this morning in early November. It’s the last week of the high school football regular season, and Lance Moffett, the Fredericksburg High School head football coach, is preparing for the make-or-break game to get his team into the playoffs.
In some ways, Mr. Moffett experienced so many mornings like this one as a high-schooler outside Dallas in the 1980s. Yet the practices he runs are far removed from his high school days. Today, he is trying to save his state’s most beloved sport.
Like in other high schools around the country at the time, Moffett was coached to lead with “the screws” of his helmet – hit head-first and hard, in other words – when tackling. He had five concussions that he’s certain about – the ones a doctor diagnosed – but it could
Practice makes improvementA decision for parentsFriday night lights