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Safety

MEET OUR 2022 SAFETY COORDINATOR:

My name is Greg Quinlan and both my boys started playing youth tackle football in 2017 as a mighty mite and mite JV player.  Being a nurse practitioner, and having access to a lot of health and safety information, I must say I was reluctant at first for my boys making the transition from flag to tackle football.  As most of you know there is concern regarding concussions and football.  After many discussions with the president of PTFC I began to realize that he had a vision that should be fostered in every youth football and cheer program: Safety First!
 
I was approached to trial a role that is new in 2018 known as Safety Equipment Coordinator in addition to coaching at the Mite level.  I will be working closely with the coaching staffs of both Football and Cheerleading to ensure that our young members are developing their skills and practicing with safety being emphasized.  You should know that all the football coaching staff are USA football certified and have been educated on these concepts.  Our Cheer staff is certified by the AACCA and educated in the techniques of spirit safety. 
 
For Football:  We will continue to follow the USA football safety guidelines which limit the amount of full contact/live play per week and implement practices focusing on using the five levels of contact to guide practice planning, with particular emphasis on proper tackling technique to maximize safety.  You will be hearing a lot around heat preparedness, hydration techniques, and proper skill development as we approach the season in August.
 
For Cheerleading:  The focus this season will be on the continuing development of our coaches in both safety and technique.  Proper technique leads to safe cheerleading.   The focus of "crawl, stand, walk, run" will be at the heart of our development.   This will help develop our cheerleaders fundamentally and their confidence with it. 
 
We win trophies, yes, but the goals are always to teach, develop and enjoy.

 

Greg Quinlan

PTFC Safety Coordinator

Phone: 617-462-2600

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Nothing is more important to PTFC than the safety of all of our Titans. We want you as a concerned parent to make informed decisions about what sports you let your child play. We also want you to understand how serious PTFC takes your Titans safety with the investments, polices and procedures we have put in place to ensure a safe place for your child to play. 

 

Why should I let my child play football?

Football teaches cooperation and team work, helps develop positive social skills and teaches respect for others. It helps build self-confidence, a positive self-image and self-worth. It enables a child to improve upon and develop a broad range of motor skills like throwing, catching, running, kicking, balance, agility and coordination. Because a large variety of skills and physical abilities are required on a football team, there is a position for every child to play.

Consider this from a parent of PTFC player sent to us via email at the end of the 2015 season.

My son has image issues that I was not prepared for.  He hates his size and that he isn't 'skinny', he has low self-confidence and he is very insecure.  Then he started football.  Suddenly everything he didn't like about himself was an advantage.  My favorite part of the season was getting to practice and seeing his team huddled around him chanting his name.  He had just won some drill and I think he felt like a hero.  He walked out of that practice glowing.  He hasn't cried about his weight and he isn't ashamed of his size and strength anymore.  What I have been trying to accomplish in 11 years you did in a few weeks.  Please let the other coaches know how much I appreciate every encouraging word.  There is no way to put a price tag on that.

This is why we love the game of football!

What is PTFC doing to ensure my Titans safety?

  • Every football coach on the field is  USA Football Tackle Certified annually with no exceptions.  This ensures each coach has a baseline knowledge of football, understanding of the game, player skills, heat awareness and equipment fitting.
  • Every coach is CDC certified this helps them understand what a concussion is and the potential consequences of this injury. They are able to recognize concussion signs and symptoms and how to respond to them.
  • We issue the highest rated youth football helmet on the market the Riddell Revo Speed.  We also send out every helmet annually to be reconditioned by Riddell and not some 3rd party vendor. We do this to make sure our helmets remain in the safest and best possible condition. 
  • For the first time ever we are extending an option to players to purchase a helmet from Riddell with the Riddell "InSite" liner in it.  PTFC will purchase the software and monitors to utilize this safety technology which will alert a coach of an impact registered to the head.  We will host a "safety night" to review all the options around this and Riddell will be present to answer your questions as well as fit your Titan.
  • We teach "Hawk Tackling" (we refer to it as Titan Tackling) which was named after Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll who has released a series of videos on "rugby style" tackling which removes the head from the game. This technique is revolutionizing how tackling is taught and we are in second year of teaching this method and we pride ourselves in teaching this safer approach to tackling.

 

Why my child should play sports


Why does my child want to play?