Did USA Football just save the day?

USA Football announced their new Rookie Tackle Pilot Program – and it is pretty awesome. With 11 USA Football participating in the program – 25,000 Youth Football players will be introducing the world to a new approach to one of the worlds most popular sports. Below are some highlights of the new Rookie Tackle initiative (from USA Today article attached below)

• Leagues can choose to play six, seven or eight players on the field per team. Overall roster size will be decreased to encourage greater time on the field for each player. The roster size allows for smaller coach-to-player ratio. “Every youngster should have the opportunity to play meaningful time,” said Nick Inzerello, USA Football’s senior director of partnerships and education. “That’s why they sign up.”
• No position specialization; players will be able to experiment at different positions.
• No special teams. “Sometimes those skills and fundamentals of punting and kicking and long-snapping are more challenging for youngsters at their first experience in tackle football,” Inzerello said. “We want to eliminate them and quicken the pace to get more snaps on offense and defense.”
• Two-point stances only except for the center. The center will still snap the ball, but he cannot be covered by a defensive player or hit.
• Smaller fields at 40 yards-by-35 yards, scaled by size and player level.“We think it will foster more physical activity,” Inzerello said. “Typically on a smaller field, one or two of the fastest players cannot be able to overtake a game. The boundary turns them back into the field and there are more sustained drives and forces teams to utilize the field.” For areas where field space is an issue, two games can be going simultaneously.

All of the above present a great opportunity for the athletes of the future and the game of football. Thank you to USA Football for thinking outside of the box and innovating the game – once again.

Read the full article from the USA Today: http://usatodayhss.com/2017/usa-football-changes-rookie-tackle-program-smaller-fields