Heads Up Football

The Muskego Youth Football (MYF) program based is committed to ensuring a positive youth football experience and advancing player safety this fall by providing league-wide coaching education and teaching resources that benefit players, parents and coaches through USA Football’s Heads Up Football program.

USA Football is the official youth development partner of the NFL and its 32 teams. MYF includes 13 teams and is comprised of more than 340 players and 90 coaches from the Muskego area.

Every MYF coach will be trained in Heads Up Football techniques before leading their teams this season. All MYF head coaches and assistant coaches will complete USA Football’s accredited Level 1 Coach Certification Course, which includes Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concussion recognition and response protocols; proper helmet and shoulder pad fitting; and Heads Up Tackling techniques, which aim to take the head out of the line of contact.

Through Heads Up Football, our Player Safety Coaches will be trained by USA Football to implement, evaluate and monitor Heads Up Football player safety protocols within the organization. Player Safety Coaches work with league commissioners, coaches, parents and players throughout the season to provide courses, clinics and mentoring to ensure that coaching and player safety best practices are used.

USA Football’s Heads Up Tackling technique was developed with contributions from USA Football’s Tackle Advisory Committee, which includes Northwestern head coach PAT FITZGERALD, UCLA head coach JIM MORA, former NFL running back MERRIL HOGE, Miami Christopher Columbus High School head coach CHRIS MERRITT and sports psychologist DR. DAVID YUKELSON.

Adopted in 2015 by MYF and by youth leagues on a national level, Heads Up Football requires five primary elements:

USA Football’s Heads Up Tackling technique, endorsed by medical and football experts, teaches players to keep their heads up and out of the line of contact.

USA Football’s Heads Up Tackling technique, endorsed by medical and football experts, teaches players to keep their heads up and out of the line of contact.

All coaches within a youth program are trained to teach the game’s fundamentals by completing USA Football’s nationally accredited Level 1 Coaching Certification Course.

Coaches, parents and players are taught proper helmet and shoulder pad fitting.

Appointed by each participating Heads-Up Football youth organization. This individual ensures compliance with Heads Up Football’s player safety protocols, including coaching certification and conducting safety clinics for coaches, parents and players.