By Will Martin
Prior to the Ravens vs. Cowboys exhibition game that took place at AT&T Stadium, I was privy to a very informative get together of Moms, their kids, coaches, ex-players, media and Cowboys brass conducting a clinic for better football awareness.
USA Football and the Heads Up programs were both in attendance.
Conducting drills for the kids to learn the proper fundamentals and for Moms/Adults to be better aware of safety/concussion awareness.
Gina Miller (That Sports Girl) was your emcee. Charlotte Jones Anderson was also part of a group that included one time Cowboy Tony Casillas, Coach E.Z. Smith, wife (of Dallas Cowboys Tight end Jason) Michelle Witten, executive director of USA Football Scott Hallenbeck, chair of the Neurological Surgery Department at UT Southwestern Medical Center Dr. Hunt Batjer along with one time long time Concord coach E.Z. Smith.
Other Cowboys on hand who were a part of the clinic were George Teague and Rocket Ismail.
Aided by the huge LCD screen overhead some of the statistics shared about injury and concussion indeed drove the point home.
Kids aged 7-15 were playing on the star field while the above mentioned talked about all things pertinent to child safety, health, hydration, awareness, and signs to look for when (or if) a concussion happens.
The one hour discussion went quickly as moms were prepared to ask questions that were football related. With 45% of NFL fans being comprised as females the information being shared was welcomed and informative.
Upon completion of the discussion all the moms were invited to walk down on the field and partake in the same drills the kids were doing to better understand the fundamentals of blocking and making the proper moved to avoid the probability of injury.
Seven lucky moms and sons were also randomly picked to watch the Ravens vs. Cowboys game later in the day.
My thanks to the Cowboy brass to be able to go cover this event. If information is power then once again innovation is key. Kudos to the people of Heads Up and USA Football for desiring to teach the game the right way.
