For Leagues

 

National Football Alliance Head Safety Policy

If you are a League, Chapter, Association, or Team looking to adopt the most advanced policy on head safety in the United States, the standard below is the template. Contact us to discuss an approach to drive adoption of this policy within your organizations.

Head Safety Policy Standard

The [INSERT LEAGUE NAME] League is committed to the highest standards of player safety. We voluntarily adopt policies that meet or exceed the most stringent head safety requirements in the United States and apply them to all our member organizations.

1. Coach Certification, Education, and Training

  • First Aid, CPR, AED
    All youth tackle football coaches shall annually receive certification in first aid, CPR, and AED use.

  • Heat illness, opioids, head injury, concussion, RTP
    All youth tackle football coaches shall receive annual training and education in:

    • Heat‑related illness recognition, prevention, and response

    • Factsheet and education related to opioids

    • Head injury and concussion awareness

    • Return‑to‑Play (RTP) protocols for sports‑related concussions and other head injuries

  • Tackling and blocking certification
    All youth tackle football coaches shall annually receive a tackling and blocking certification from a nationally recognized program that:

    • Emphasizes shoulder tackling and safe contact

    • Uses blocking drills and techniques designed to minimize risk during contact

    • Explicitly minimizes the involvement of youth participants’ heads from all tackling and blocking techniques

2. Independent Safety Personnel at Practices

  • Each youth tackle football organization will have at least one independent, non‑rostered individual appointed by the organization and present at all practice locations.

  • This individual shall hold current and active certification in first aid, CPR, AED, and concussion protocols.

  • This individual shall have the authority to evaluate and remove any youth tackle football participant from practice who exhibits an injury, including but not limited to symptoms of a concussion or other head injury.

3. Participant Divisions and Injury Tracking

  • Age/weight divisions
    Youth tackle football organizations will establish participant divisions that are organized by relative age, or weight, or by both age and weight, to promote safer matchups.

  • Injury tracking and documentation
    Youth football organizations will retain participant information for the tracking of sports‑related injuries. This information shall include:

    • Type of injury

    • Medical treatment received by the youth tackle football participant

    • Documentation that all applicable “Return to Play” protocols were followed

4. Administrator, Official, and Parent Education

  • Administrators and referees
    Each youth tackle football administrator and game referee shall annually receive education in:

    • Heat‑related illness

    • Concussion and head injury

    • The opioid factsheet and related education

  • Parents and guardians
    Each parent or guardian of a youth tackle football participant shall annually receive concussion and head‑injury information (e.g., state‑mandated or league‑approved concussion information sheet) and acknowledge receipt.

5. Game Medical Coverage

  • A minimum of one state‑licensed EMT, paramedic, or higher‑level licensed medical professional shall be present during all preseason, regular season, and postseason youth tackle football games.

  • This medical professional shall have the authority to evaluate and remove any youth tackle football participant from game play who exhibits an injury, including but not limited to symptoms of a concussion or other head injury.

6. Practice Contact Limits and Acclimation

  • Full‑contact practices per week
    A youth tackle football team shall not conduct more than two (2) full‑contact practices per week during the regular season and postseason.

    • “Full‑contact practice” means a session where one or more drills or live action is conducted that involves contact at game speed, as in an actual tackle football game or scrimmage. This includes simulations or drills that involve any number of players.

    • Drills or simulations conducted at non‑game speed, with any number of players, are not considered full‑contact activity.

  • Daily contact duration
    The full‑contact portion of a practice shall not exceed thirty (30) minutes in any single day.

  • Offseason contact
    A youth tackle football team shall not hold a full‑contact practice during the offseason.

  • Preseason non‑contact acclimation
    Each youth tackle football participant shall complete a minimum of ten (10) hours of non‑contact practice at the beginning of each season for the purposes of:

    • Conditioning

    • Acclimating to safety equipment

    • Progressing to the introduction of full‑contact practice. 

During this non‑contact practice period, participants shall not wear pads, and shall only wear helmets if required to do so by the coaches.

7. Equipment Standards and Inspection

  • Pre‑activity safety checks
    Safety equipment shall be inspected before every full‑contact practice or game to ensure that all youth tackle football participants are properly equipped.

  • Helmet reconditioning and recertification

    • Each football helmet shall be reconditioned and recertified every other year, unless otherwise stated by the manufacturer.

    • Only entities licensed by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) shall perform the reconditioning and recertification.

    • Every reconditioned and recertified helmet shall display a clearly recognizable mark or notice indicating the month and year of last certification.

8. Transparency, Declaration, and Higher Standards

  • Annual compliance declaration
    A youth tackle football organization shall annually provide a declaration to its participants demonstrating its compliance with this standard via its website or direct distribution to consumers.

  • Higher local standards not restricted
    Nothing in this policy shall prohibit any youth tackle football organization within [INSERT LEAGUE NAME] from adopting and enforcing rules that provide a higher level of safety than the requirements listed here.

9. Continuous Improvement & Transparency

  • Annual Review
    [INSERT LEAGUE NAME] annually reviews its safety policies against emerging research and leading standards, including National Football Alliance, NFHS, USA Football, and [INSERT STATE IN WHICH YOU PLAY] state guidance, and updates league rules accordingly.

  • Communication
    We provide our safety statement and relevant policies to families, officials, and community partners so they can clearly see the protections in place for our athletes.