Reduced Contact Practices ?

[docrugby1]

Harvard studied injury rates before and after institution of reduced contact practices over a 4 year period.

Conclusion-"Decreased exposure to full contact practice may decrease incidence of practice injuries and practice concussions. However, the game injury rate was over 6 times greater than the practice injury rate and had an inverse correlation with full contact practices"

 

[Gladeskat]

Here's a link to the abstract only. I wish more articles were 'open-access' articles.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26755741

No surprises here, IMO. I wonder why pre-season practices are so much more injury-inducing than in-season practices and if there is a way to reduce pre-season injuries somehow. They seem to be from my recollection. Interesting that strength training didn't seem to affect results, but there is no detailed info on this in the abstract. Physical in-season practices are risky but help prepare players for the increased physicality of games.

 

[mybrotha]

Here's a link to the abstract only. I wish more articles were 'open-access' articles.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26755741

No surprises here, IMO. I wonder why pre-season practices are so much more injury-inducing than in-season practices and if there is a way to reduce pre-season injuries somehow. They seem to be from my recollection. Interesting that strength training didn't seem to affect results, but there is no detailed info on this in the abstract. Physical in-season practices are risky but help prepare players for the increased physicality of games.

Glades as a former player like you, but in a different sport, there's a fine line between too much contact and not enough. My preference was always to have plenty of contact because it either prepared you for season or kept your mind in the game mode. I think what is most important is that whatever it is, all the guys on the team have to be of the same mindset.
Injuries though are a problem, I got hurt more in practice than I ever did in games. I broke fingers, an arm and had two wicked bone chips in my ankle that occurred while blocking shots from the same guy two years in a row! IMO I think you back off just a bit and the guys play. Usually players know when to hold back and in my game when to finish a check. Just my two cents.

 

[Gladeskat]

Glades as a former player like you, but in a different sport, there's a fine line between too much contact and not enough. My preference was always to have plenty of contact because it either prepared you for season or kept your mind in the game mode. I think what is most important is that whatever it is, all the guys on the team have to be of the same mindset.
Injuries though are a problem, I got hurt more in practice than I ever did in games. I broke fingers, an arm and had two wicked bone chips in my ankle that occurred while blocking shots from the same guy two years in a row! IMO I think you back off just a bit and the guys play. Usually players know when to hold back and in my game when to finish a check. Just my two cents.

Football is more physical in the sense that most players see considerable contact on every play. It's necessary to maintain a certain level of contact in practice to play physical in games. This study suggests that you're right, that there is an optimal amount of contact. It suggests too little contact in practice results in increased injury in games. Too much contact in practice results in more injuries in practice+games.

 

[Smolmania]

A lot of the "older" commentators on the state of the game, I'm specifically referring to the NFL guys, also lament the lack of fundamentals -- blocking and tackling ability -- due to the reduced amount of "full contact" practicing which exists in today's NFL. Seems that there's a fine line here between too much and not enough "contact."

 

[TheC]

Beyond just the number of injuries in-season though, I thought one other possible benefit of reduced-contact practices was limiting the number of those thousands of "mini-collisions" that players incur during the course of their careers that lead to long-term health problems.

 

[mybrotha]

Football is more physical in the sense that most players see considerable contact on every play. It's necessary to maintain a certain level of contact in practice to play physical in games. This study suggests that you're right, that there is an optimal amount of contact. It suggests too little contact in practice results in increased injury in games. Too much contact in practice results in more injuries in practice+games.

Yes my friend and I think that there in lies the ability of a truly good head coach to sense the need to either let up a little or crack down a bit harder. Very delicate balance and never really completely accurate either way.

 

[Gladeskat]

One thing that always amazed me was how many players became injured in the first week or so of practice. One scrimmage in 1974 resulted in the loss of Paul Maly, Greg Boykin, and Pete Shaw for the year. They were arguably the three best players on the team.

 

[mybrotha]

One thing that always amazed me was how many players became injured in the first week or so of practice. One scrimmage in 1974 resulted in the loss of Paul Maly, Greg Boykin, and Pete Shaw for the year. They were arguably the three best players on the team.

Back then I think that makes more sense, in that players probably got into shape at camp. Interesting to note would be to actually be able to ask injured players if the injury was because they were going all out or holding back a little. Injuries Glades as you know are often at the least befuddling and at best just plain bad luck. As I mentioned prior I had more injuries in practice than in games! Now trying figuring out that mess. I forgot to mention before that I had two really bad stingers in practice and never in a game. The whole premise as to why is really obscure and dependent on a zillion things. Maybe you introduce contact more gradually? But that seems dumb too. I think in the end all you can do as a player is be in the best shape you can be in and simply practice with the same fundamentals that you have been taught your entire life. You know as well as me that to make it to the pros it takes not only hard work and talent, but luck as well. You simply have to stay healthy and be lucky enough to avoid the serious injuries. I think the best pro example of that was Gale Sayers. Just ask yourself how many yards he would have had if Kermit Alexander hadn't ruined his knee the first time.

 

[DaCat]

I think Fitz tried the limited contact approach in recent seasons. We went 5-7 in each season with tons of injuries. Don't know if there is a correlation, but the empirical evidence seems to suggest there is one.

 

[mybrotha]

I think Fitz tried the limited contact approach in recent seasons. We went 5-7 in each season with tons of injuries. Don't know if there is a correlation, but the empirical evidence seems to suggest there is one.

I'd agree but I liked contact of course. I think it makes you that much tougher as a player and a team. Injuries suck but sometimes it's simply just plain bad luck.

 

[Deeringfish]

I think Fitz tried the limited contact approach in recent seasons. We went 5-7 in each season with tons of injuries. Don't know if there is a correlation, but the empirical evidence seems to suggest there is one.

I remember that he reduced contact and the injury record is history. I don't remember that he ramped the contact back up. I'd be curious to know for sure because it would support this perspective.

 

[SciCat]

I remember that he reduced contact and the injury record is history. I don't remember that he ramped the contact back up. I'd be curious to know for sure because it would support this perspective.

Fitz specifically address this last year and it was a big topic of discussion here. He said contact was reduced because so many players were injured heading into fall camp that he had to reduce contact. Last year he was able to I cross contact back to traditional levels.

 

[d'son d]

Practice is just that..practice. And it is in preparation for the real thing. Can you imagine a Broadway play without a dress rehearsal? Or training and prepping for the Olympics without a full speed practice (volleyball, sprints, field events, etc.)?Or trying out for a football team without demonstrating your skills in blocking and tackling? No, not really. So it is not surprising that when contact is limited in practice that the injury rate increases or that the skills required haven't been developed because they haven't been practiced. I don't think there is a simple answer but rather a need to walk the line between required training and limiting injury. Of course season ending injuries occurred all the time in practices without contact (knees, ankles arms, backs, etc.) just by running or falling incorrectly. Only time will tell if Fitz's "limited contact" practices are productive or merely protective for practice injuries.