The Pop Warner Vikings will be starting up an all day football training event this Sunday, June 24 with a free parent and player tackling safety seminar previewing the event that will continue by age group into the afternoon with a B.I.G. H.I.T.T.S. safety camp.
New features for the upcoming 2012 Pop Warner Football season include new helmets.
“Players are taught techniques by coaches that lead directly to crown first impact while in the act of making a tackle,” said Head Coach Bobby Hosea. “I educate and train coaches, players and their parents how to readily identify and avoid the bio mechanics that lead to head injuries.”
The cornerstones of the Hosea method are one of enlightenment and empowerment, and are aimed to keep student students safe while playing contact sports.
“Anytime you can bring attention to behavior that is destructive, people will change,” said Hosea. “Every coach I spoke with last Saturday at the LAUSD Coaches’ Conference said that if they knew the terminology and tackling techniques causing an injury, they would no longer use them to teach players how to tackle.”
Hosea said he will be teaching proper hitting and tackling so as to provide “a solid foundation for the future of football in Santa Monica and the wider community.”
Students interested in playing contact football should bring cleats, tennis shoes, a mouthpiece, and shorts to the event that begins at 10 a.m.
A Westside Vikings T-shirt will be provided for participating in the camp.
Cost to be part of the afternoon event are $25 to registered Westside Vikings and Santa Monica High Football Players and $40 to everyone else.
Coaching begins at noon for ages 7-10 lasting until 2 p.m.
Ages 11-13 will be trained from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and ages 14-18 will be trained from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
To learn more please visit: www.westsidevikings.com.
