USA Football’s Heads Up Football program for high schools and youth organizations will include sudden cardiac arrest protocols and Heads Up Blocking fundamentals in 2015.

Both topics are now included in USA Football’s Level 1 coaching education course and its high school certification course.

USA Football is the national governing body of the sport and educates more high school and youth football coaches combined than any organization in the United States.

USA Football’s Heads Up Football program is supported by more than two dozen medical and football partners.

“Coaches should be prepared to respond to a life-threatening emergency if needed,” said Dr. Jonathan Drezner, past president of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and a member of USA Football’s Medical Advisory Committee. “With prompt recognition, early CPR and use of an AED, sudden cardiac arrest is largely a survivable event if treated quickly. USA Football is committed to the safety of young athletes, and I am proud that a sudden cardiac arrest training module is being added to the Heads Up Football program. The module provides coaches the information they need to be prepared for sudden cardiac arrest.”

Click here to learn more about Heads Up Football and to sign up your organization for 2015

“Blocking is one of football’s basic skills that every player needs to be taught,” said Jeff Saturday, a former NFL All-Pro center and ESPN analyst. Saturday is a member of USA Football’s Football Advisory Committee. “USA Football’s Heads Up Blocking technique helps coaches teach this fundamental – properly engaging with a defender, driving with the legs and maintaining the correct body position for effective and safer play. This is how blocking should be taught.”

Heads Up Football is a comprehensive collection of resources and medically approved protocols to establish important standards rooted in education to change behavior for the better.

In addition to sudden cardiac arrest and Heads Up Blocking, the program covers concussion awareness and recognition, heat and hydration protocols, proper tackling fundamentals and equipment fitting. More than 5,500 youth leagues and 750 high schools in 2014 participated in the program this past fall, benefitting nearly 1 million players.

Heads Up Football includes eight primary elements:

Coaching education	·      All coaches within a program are trained to teach the game’s fundamentals by completing USA Football’s nationally accredited Level 1 Coaching Certification Course.
Concussion recognition and response	·      Coaches learn and are assessed on CDC concussion recognition and response through USA Football’s Level 1 Coaching Certification Course. ·      Coaches, parents and players are taught concussion-related protocols at the start of the season at a league-wide clinic and have them reinforced throughout the season.
Equipment fitting	·      Coaches, parents and players are taught proper helmet and shoulder pad fitting.
Heads Up Blocking and Tackling	·      Series of fundamental drills reinforce tackling and blocking mechanics, teaching players how to perform these basic football skills with a focus on reducing helmet contact.
Sudden cardiac arrest	·      Instruction on how to have plans and procedures in place to quickly react in the case of cardiac events, the No. 1 cause of death among young athletes.
Heat and hydration	·      Coaches, parents and players learn heat and hydration safety measures provided by the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut.
Player Safety Coach	·      Appointed by each participating Heads Up Football® high school or organization. This individual ensures that Heads Up Football player safety protocols are applied, including coaching certification and conducting safety clinics for coaches, parents and players.

Among the leaders across medicine and sport who support USA Football’s Heads Up Football program include:

• Amateur Athletic Union        
• American College of Sports Medicine
• American Football Coaches Association          
• American Medical Society for Sports Med.        
• Arizona Interscholastic Association  
• Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)       
• Big 12 Conference
• Big Ten Conference             
• Boys and Girls Clubs of America        
• Conference USA   
• ESPN     
• Indiana Football Coaches Association             
• Korey Stringer Institute at the U. of Conn.
• Md. Public Secondary Schools Ath. Assoc.
• Maxwell Football Club
• Michigan H.S. Football Coaches Assoc.
• Minnesota Football Coaches Assoc.
• National Association of Sports Officials
• National Athletic Trainers Association
• NATA Research & Ed. Foundation
• National Fed. of State High School Assoc.
• National Football League
• NFL Alumni Association
• NFL Head, Neck & Spine Committee
• Nat’l Interscholastic Athletic Admin. Assoc.
• National Parent Teacher Assoc. (PTA)
• National Police Athletic League
• North Carolina Coaches Association
• Northern Va. Football Coaches Assoc.
• Pac-12 Conference
• Pop Warner Little Scholars
• Pro Football Athletic Trainers Society
• Southeastern Conference (SEC)
• Sport Safety International
• Sports & Fitness Industry Association
• United Youth Football League