Football safety clinic adopted locally could expand nationally

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A football safety clinic adopted by Fairfax County schools could start branching out nationally.

USA Football, an Indiana-based nonprofit organization, developed Heads Up Football, a program to equip coaches and players with techniques to make the injury-prone game safer.

Fairfax County Public Schools was the first school district in the country to implement the program in 2013 and now, USA Football master trainer and former football coach at Annandale High School, Dick Adams, says the program’s local success has encouraged a possible expansion to other parts of the country.

Adams along with USA Football’s CEO Scott Hallenbeck and Vice President of Football Operations Lloyd Lee participated in a pilot youth football clinic at Falls Church High School Saturday.

At the clinic, USA Football certified high school coaches worked with and mentored youth club coaches from Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington and Alexandria.

“Educating, teaching and mentoring those coaches is an awesome system, and that’s what USA Football is really trying duplicate around the country,” Adams says.