I am a junior high ELA teacher and an assistant football coach. My student athletes are a junior high football team (7th and 8th grade) in a small town that draws in many students from the surrounding area due to its reputation for academic excellence. They come from many different backgrounds. (I apologize that the pictures to the right are from my previous high school, I don't have any relevant and parent-approved pictures from my new school yet.)
We have a great culture of care and support in this community, and it applies to both academics and athletics.
What happens in the classroom comes first, but football is a great way to teach discipline, work ethic, teamwork, brotherhood, and how to win and lose gracefully. These lessons will stick with our students for the rest of their lives.
My Project
First, please note that Dick's Sporting Goods will be matching the donations to this project, so we only need to get halfway there. I also understand that this will likely not be put into use until next season - unless it can be funded *very quickly*. This donation project is for a 40" diameter tackle wheel that weighs 35 lbs. This is a smaller model of a tool that I found to be invaluable in teaching proper, safe, and effective tackling form at the high school level. I have experience modeling, teaching, and actively running athletes through drills with this tool. It can be used to simulate many different types of situations in which a tackle may occur.
Concussions and other injuries can be a very real possibility if athletes are not taught correct tackling form.
Along with proper conditioning, being taught correct form is how athletes can avoid injuries and become the most effective players they can be. This piece of equipment will aid in that process immensely.
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