USA Football, USA Rugby to advance player development

By USA Football | Posted 2/8/2017

USA Football and USA Rugby are teaming up.

On Wednesday, the two national governing bodies announced an agreement to collaborate on the evolution and enhancement of coaching education, sport development and player safety to encourage consistency in how youth sports are taught and played.

The collaboration stems from the similarities that both organizations stress in teaching proper technique, especially at the youth level.

This joint effort will also open up shared resources for coaches, players and administrators, with the goal of a fostering safer player development in each sport. It will also include dual coach and player training on areas of overlap, including shoulder tackling, terminology and health and safety.

“The safety of our athletes and members has always been at the forefront of our approach. We’re pleased that USA Football shares this concern over player welfare,” said Dan Payne, USA Rugby CEO. “This partnership between our national governing bodies will elevate discussion, collaboration, implementation and ultimately a safer environment for rugby and football players in America.” 

“The development, health and safety of young athletes is our priority, and USA Rugby shares in that same commitment,” said Scott Hallenbeck, USA Football CEO and executive director. “This collaboration will allow football and rugby, who share similarities in teaching technique and levels of contact, to uniformly and consistently advance youth sports together.”

USA Football and USA Rugby will continue to explore collaborative opportunities with other national governing bodies in their ongoing effort to learn and apply best practices from other organizations, while opening their resources to new partners.

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