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USA Football: Emphasize Technique with Little Guys

By Jeff Krupsaw, Arkansas Online, 10/16/17, 11:15PM PDT

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USA Football's newest safety initiative emphasizes skill and technique development with the hope of boosting participation and popularity

USA Football is rolling out a youth initiative that stresses soundness over safety.

If that sounds a bit odd in his age of concussion awareness and injury prevention, don't be alarmed.

Rookie Tackle emphasizes skill and technique development, with the hope that if youth get taught properly, participation, popularity and safety will follow.

For USA Football, Rookie Tackle fits in the middle of the model that starts with flag football and progresses to 11-on-11 the way baseball starts with T-ball, moves to coaches pitching to players and then to players pitching.

"Football is a sport that is one of the last sports not to have a true pathway model," said former NFL quarterback Chad Pennington, who is a member of USA Football's advisory board and is in involved in Rookie Tackle.