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THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – This past Sunday morning, a group of local youth football players, parents and coaches made their way to Maritime College to attend an important player safety clinic. The event was organized and run by the coaching staff and players of the Privateer football program in conjunction with USA Football and its 'Heads Up' campaign. The main goal of the clinic was to enhance the knowledge of concussion awareness, appropriate equipment sizing and proper tackling techniques.

The effort was spearheaded by Maritime defensive coordinator and USA Football Master Trainer Vincent DiGaetano, who is one of only 35 Master Trainers certified by USA Football throughout the country.

"It's really important for people to learn about the topic, and that's why USA Football and the Heads Up program are taking the initiative to the next level, " said DiGaetano. "It's not always about the coaches and the players learning about it, the parent's learning about and getting involved is just as important"

The day began with an instructional session in which the community members were introduced to the "Three Pillars of Safety"; Concussion Awareness, Equipment Fitting, and Heads Up Tackling.

"It was a great opportunity for us today to increase awareness with Heads Up Tackling, to promote a better, safer game. The method uses a standardized approach to tackling using the three pillars of safety," added DiGaetano.

Concussion awareness familiarized the audience with topics that included what a concussion physically is, in addition to how to recognize signs and symptoms of concussions. The topic of what to do when a concussion does occur, including the strict instructions of "When in doubt, Sit them out," as concussions are one of the more difficult injuries to identify.

After the concussion awareness segment, several members of the Privateer football squad were brought to the forefront to show how to measure and properly fit both helmets and shoulder pads.

"It's not only about the physical nature of football, but it's also about the health as well as the other factors of making sure they have proper equipment that fits correctly that is realigned with anything that their needs are," said DiGaetano.

The third segment also saw Maritime football players involved, as they demonstrated a five-step instruction on how to properly tackle an opponent during practices and in games. The five steps were breakdown, buzz, hit, shoot, and rip and videos of each of the steps, as well as other information are available on the USA Football website.

Once the lecture session was complete, the audience was brought outside to take what they had learned to the gridiron and practice the techniques that they had just seen demonstrated. Several of the younger members of the audience also had an opportunity to tackle SUNY Maritime's mascot, Privateer Pete.

"I was extremely pleased with the turnout for our Heads Up tackling clinic. Coaches, players and parents from throughout the tri-state area took great advantage of creating a better, safer game," DiGaetano concluded. "Our team also took the opportunity to help enhance a safer culture of football for the next generation while further understanding their role as leaders within their community."

Based in Indianapolis, Ind., USA Football is the sport's national governing body, leading the sport's development for youth, high school and other amateur athletes. Nearly 2,800 youth and high school football programs across the United States representing 600,000 players and 90,000 coaches have committed to the health and safety of their players by adopting Heads Up Football, a new program dedicated to making the game better and safer.

Heads Up Football provides coaching education and teaching resources that benefit players, parents and coaches while teaching tackling techniques that take the head out of the game. For more information on USA Football and Heads Up Football visit their official website at http://usafootball.com.

For photos from Sunday's event, please visit the following link, http://maritimeathletics.com/galleries/?gallery=77

Some information contained in this release came from a release by USA Football on Monday, Aug. 19.