New Jersey limiting high school football practices to 15 minutes of full-contact per week
Something tells us New Jersey high school football defenses may be easy to run on in 2019.
This week the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (or NJSIAA) announced a limit of 15 minutes of full-contact be week would be permitted on high school football teams this fall. Last season, the association limited New Jersey high schools to 90 minutes of full-contact work a week.
The state has already banned full-contact work during the spring and summer.
Preseason full-contact activities have also been limited to six total hours. The association proudly claims this will lower the practice contact to the lowest level in the history of football — even lower than “the NFL, NCAA, Ivy League, USA Football, Pop Warner.”
“Congratulations and thank you to the NJSIAA and NJFCA,” said Terry O’Neil, founder of Practice Like Pros, a national movement dedicated to reducing needless injury in high school football. “This is a Valentine for the 23,000 boys who play New Jersey high school football. The one certain way to mitigate football injury is to limit contact in practice. New Jersey has pioneered a model that is sure to be emulated across the country.”
According to the NJSIAA, Michigan is considering adopting similar measures.