NFL Draft hosts Family Football Clinic during Chicago festiv

[sharonorn]

NFL.com staff reportCHICAGO -- The first-ever Family Football Clinic kicked off Saturday Bartolo Colon Jersey morning at the NFL PLAY 60 Clinic Field in Grant Park. The event featured a panel composed of former defensive lineman , his wife Christine Golic, defensive end , his mother Diane Long and former offensive lineman James "Big Cat" Williams discu sing the value of playing football and how to make the game safer for children.The goal of the panel is to give parents knowledge about the game, helping them to make better choices for children interested in football.The ex-players discu sed how equipment is so much more sophisticated now than it was when they were growing up at a time when the coach plucked dusty helmets from the basement of the church on the first day of practices.Christine Golic spoke of the challenges facing mothers in an era of advanced awarene s for player safety."I've traveled around the country, and I get the same echoed feeling from moms," Golic said. "Today they feel a lot of peer pre sure from other moms that say, 'Why are you letting your son play football? I can't believe you're letting your son play football.' And I'm here to tell you that it's so much different today than it was when Diane and I were on the sidelines. USA Football has developed programs to teach how to tackle, what to do in heat and hydration situations, what to do in the event of a concu sion. Years ago that didn't happen. And I'm not talking 10 or 20 years ago. I'm talking five years ago."The days of old-school coaches refusing to grant water breaks in the height of summer or pre suring kids to "rub some dirt on it" and play through an injury are over."Now they see that that's barbaric," Golic continued. "As a mom, there's C.D. Pelham Jersey never been a better time to let your son participate in football, because of the changes that are happening and will continue to change. We're smart enough to realize that it's not perfect right now. And we're going to keep looking at it and figuring out different ways to make it a better and safer game for your kids."