Category: College Football

Sports in general bring out the competitive nature we all have inside. But when it comes to football the levels of competitiveness seem to increase. Everyone sets their minds on winning. Whether it be just winning the next game or a looking further on to a championship title, it seems to be the main focus of teams across the country. Football teams from youth sports/ HS sports to the National Football League, demonstrate high demands towards winning. At the end of a season the goal is to achieve the highest level of success, in this case would be a championship of some sort. Winning sectionals/states or the Super Bowl exemplifies the hard work endured throughout the season. The question is, to what extreme are coaches/ staff and players willing to go to, to win it all. According to “Football High” an episode of Frontline on PBS in 2011, there are many teams across several states, willing to risk everything for that winning season. But how far is too far?

Whether being ego based is ethically correct or not, we all have a desire to win. Showing it is one thing, but somewhere in all athletes is the urge to go out and compete at the highest level we can and succeed. Football is one of the sports that has organized leagues starting from youth to the professional league. Starting from very young ages, kids are seeing football played at many levels which causes them to want to grow up to be just like these other athletes that are now on bigger stages. The NFL has been televised since before I was even born, now showing games on multiple days of the week. College football has their own day for televised sports; college gameday Saturday. While high school football programs play a lot of their games on Friday nights; “Friday night lights”. Every where we look as a society, football is either being talked about or broadcasted on TV channels. This has caused high school teams to attract more attention. High school football is a big deal because of the potential of the athletes for the future, such as being drafted into the NFL. Aside from that fans love football no matter what level it is.

Professional, college or high school people love high school football simply because it’s football.

High school teams and programs across the country are now risking more so that they have winning achievements. Every team wants to be undefeated, win sectionals and/or states. In order to achieve this level of excellence, programs are overconforming to norms. Whether that be their recruiting player process or the way in which they practice or train in the offseason. Programs are pushing these student athletes to their breaking points. Just in order to have an increased reputation and overall better seasons than previously. Referring to the documentary “Football High” athletes are having to participate in practices during inappropriate times due to weather for example. Practices are being done despite severity in heat and or cold. Some athletes are playing through injuries and risking their well beings just to finish games or the season. Everyone involved are trying to meet the expectations of the sport. The problem is they are failing to recognize their limits.

It is sometimes hard to believe the number of head trauma cases we are still seeing coming from the sport itself. Although football is a tough hard-hitting sport, most recent case studies have called for increased safety. Both with equipment and with rules and regulations on the field during play. Still, we are seeing concussions as the number one cause of injury in football. It doesn’t matter what level of the sport is being played these injuries are still appearing. Seeing these types of injuries occurring not only in the pros but in youth and HS sports as well, are kind of alarming statistics. From what we now know, repeated head trauma is causing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Since symptoms don’t usually occur until years following the injuries, it isn’t stopping anyone from playing the sport right away. Athletes at younger ages are saying things like I’m only going to be young once, this is my time to play football, I will worry about those types of things later. Athletes are not aware of the damage they can be doing to their bodies now, despite the affects of CTE often getting worse overtime with the possibility of developing dementia. There are over a hundred NFL players identified with having CTE. I can’t imagine having early onset of CTE with athletes at even younger ages. Seeing these alarming facts occurring from playing football caused me to look up additional information regarding concussions and its effects on these players. How multiple concussions to an athlete in a short period of time has effects. Even how CTE can develop to a player without being diagnosed with concussions but instead head injury or impact.

Football has always been my favorite sport, to watch, play and talk about. Despite being a fan of multiple different sports, something has always drawn me to football. The excitement, the talent, the underdog stories, the competitiveness, the rivalries, everything about the sport adds up to making it my personal favorite. Although football with always be my favorite sport, I am however looking at the sport in a new light. I have always known about the dangers and injury concerns that come from playing the sport, but after watching the “Football High” documentary I am seeing the sport a little bit differently. The risks athletes face are not only at the professional level, but all the way down to youth sports. Football is football, meaning it is always going to be that competitive, tough sport that it is. So, any player at any age is susceptible to these types of injuries and dangers. But with the intensity in which high school sports are following, it is scary to think of kids of all ages suffering from the same types of trauma as adults. Not that it is okay at any age but to a younger less developed mind and body enduring these types of injuries makes you stop and think. If you had the choice to sign your child up for youth football knowing all these things, would you?

On October 13, 2015 a mother is watching her eldest son, Jimmy, play football. She is sitting in the stands with her two other sons, Jake and Jack. Jimmy starts at inside linebacker and makes multiple tackles for the team. After halftime, Jimmy’s team is on defense for the start of the second half. The quarterback for the opposing team drops back to pass and then steps up in the pocket and takes off to run. Jimmy is in his pass drop when he realizes the quarterback is going to scramble. Jimmy gets out of his pass drop and bolts towards the quarterback. At that point, it is just Jimmy and the opposing team’s quarterback, they are running at each other full force and finally they make head to head contact. Both players fall with no movement. Jimmy’s mother panics in the stands and is worried about her son. The trainer comes out to the field and immediately calls for an ambulance. The ambulance makes its way down to the field and rushes both players to the hospital. After hours of Jimmy’s mother and his brothers wait in the hospital, the doctor finally comes out of Jimmy’s hospital room to deliver the news. News that a mother, brother, father, or anyone wishes to ever hear. Jimmy has died from a Traumatic Brain Injury. A few years go by and Jimmy’s brothers are at the age where they want to give football a chance, despite Jimmy’s accident. Should their mother let Jake and Jack play football after all they have been through?

Football has become safer over the years but extensive injuries can still occur. When football began helmets were only composed of one bar going across a players face to provide protection. Helmets have evolved to provide the most protection by adding more details to the facemask.Numerous parents still question if letting their child play football is a responsible decision despite the safety improvements. Although more injuries in football are occurring, parents should let their children play football.

Playing football at any level comes with risks. Three of many risks include head injuries, ankle sprains, and pulled muscles. Football is a sport where players are continuously running and hitting each other head to head. Continuously getting hit in the head can cause cerebrum problems which potentially causes CTE. CTE causes sadness, loss of memory, depressed thoughts, and it can memory loss of information that was previously learned (Baker,n.d.). In total researchers observed about 202 brains of retired football players. The researchers studied if any of the former players had signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. The researching staff spoke with the player’s family members to have more information about them. The staff wanted to know if any former player had past problems with their head. They also requested all medical records from the players for more data. On average the players played around 14 years with 66 years of age being the average death rate. Around 88 percent of the former players had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. This includes 99 percent of the National Football League players, about 20 percent of high school level players, and almost 92 percent of collegiate level players. Players who continue to advance in level are at greater risk for brain damage. The researchers compared the data they received from the family members to their research. Nearly 86 percent of players who suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy also had symptoms of dementia. Out of the players who suffered almost 96 percent had signs of comprehension (Chen,2017).

Incidents in which brain damage occurs can not be reversed, especially in football. The brain is not like surrounding body parts or organs (Baker,n.d.). Dr. Omalu stated, ‘We are born with a certain number of neurons. We can only lose them; we cannot create new neurons to replenish old or dying ones.’ Since brain injuries are occuring in football, parents are reluctant to let their children participate in football. At a Virginia college, studies found that younger children are more prone to injuries in football. Virginia Tech’s research shows that children in the lower percentile receive more injuries to the cranium. The study found that 7 percent of children around 10 years of age had cranium collisions caused by a high impact or power. Collisions such as this occur more in competitive games rather than in practice. Skill players are more likely to get hurt than opposing positions (Pew & Shapiro,2017). Injuries at a younger age can cause problems throughout remaining life. New research claims that more injuries happen when children start the game at an earlier age. Beginning football at an earlier age can cause emotional issues and affect future behavior. Since parents have been warned by analysts about risks of football and how it can affect a child’s remaining life, the number of kids participating in football that contains tackling has decreased by about 19 percent since 2010 (Pew & Shapiro,2017). Scientists in Colorado have conducted that over 499,000 injuries in football occur annually in the United States. In past years 9 percent of injuries out of the 499,000 required medical attention. Injuries to the cranium were recorded in the 27th percentile after 2014. The remaining 63 percent came from injuries happening to ankles, shoulders, etc. Based on injuries in high school football participation, over 67 percent of accidents that occurred were resulted from tackles, the remaining 23 percent resulted from blocking(Mills,2016). Football organizations have created safer adaptations of football in hopes to decrease injury statistics. Although, parents continue to question the safety of the game and their decision to let their children participate.

Including parents being reluctant due to safety issues, multiple school corporations lack funding for proper equipment. Some schools don’t have enough money for new concussion caps that are put over helmets during practice to decrease the amount of concussions happening in practice. New helmets are being designed for safety issues and some schools do not have the money. Injuries are injuries and they are happening more frequently, no matter how they happen. In the recent 10 years, there is a little over 3 players harmed out of 1000 players hurt in games in all athletic activities. In football in high school, the average for players getting hurt while playing is a little over 11 to almost 14 players harmed out of a little over 999 players. In high school football the rate for players getting hurt during practice is about 2 accidents for almost 999 players hurt (Mills,2016). High school football has the second highest injury rate behind high school boys soccer.

The injury rate at the college level per 999 athletes is a little lower than the highschool level. College football programs are different than highschool programs. College programs have the money for new equipment to better their players safety. College football has about 8 players hurt out of 999 players. On average from 2000-2016 there was an average of about two deaths per year in NCAA football. Players are more likely to be hurt during games than practices. With players being hurt in games more than practice is because practices main goal is to figure out the opposing teams game plan and not hurt each other in practice. When going up against a different team on game day is a totally different story because the opposing team is out to get them and they are trying to injure players NCAA,n.d.).

The NFL is going to have more injuries than college and high school football programs because of the amount of games the NFL play and the amount of players the NFL has. In 2017, the injury rate of Thursday games was about seven and for Sunday and Monday games the injury rate was right around six to six and a half. On the brighter side nobody in the NFL has died on the game field. The game of football is becoming safer by rule changes. Even in foreign football leagues, players are getting hurt and the numbers keep going up from year to year. The commonness of head injuries leading to concussions in the Australian Football League has increased from about 1.5 to a little over 4 in a one year span. Concussions may encourage the AFL to change some rules(‘Injuries in Australian,’2017). Because of all the injuries happening and the increase of injuries in football everywhere around the world, most football committees are changing rules and penalties to help prevent injury.

Football committees have been changing rules and making the game safer at all levels. The standard for safety in high school football got people’s attention in 2015 when there were about 10 deaths in the nation during that football season. Before that researchers released an article that said college players had half the amount of concussions as high school football. Leader of NATA said high school players are more structurally ready for physical athletics than in recent years (Mills,2016). All levels of football have added a targeting the head penalty. When a player leads with their head and hit the other player in the head, this penalty is called. Whenever this penalty is committed is committed that player will miss the next game even if it is a more important game. It might even be the players first game of the next season . When this penalty is called the refs have to go back and look over the penalty. Targeting the head penalty has been changed in 2019. In previous years if the player targets the head, that player has to sit out the next half of the game (‘Important Rule,’2019). But in 2019 the refs have to make a call of two choices. Either the ruling on the field is confirmed or overturned. The call of the play stands will not be able to be called anymore. In college football a blindside block penalty has been inserted and it is when a player hits a player when the opponent can not see the player coming. The only illegal part about a blindside block is when the player targets the head area. As of 2019, the rule has changed. The blindside block is now completely illegal, no matter where the player hits his opponent. The blindside block has turned into a personal foul and it will cost a team that commits the penalty fifteen yards. Changes are also happening in the NFL (‘Important Rule,’2019).

The NFL has been making a lot more changes to their rules because of the increase in injuries to the head. Also the NFL can detect more of these injuries because of the technology they have. New rules of safety have come into the National Football League. During games, each team has a trainer that spots players who have been injured from a brain injury. With the injury spotters, hopefully the injuries are recognized earlier and then the trainers can take action earlier. Also the NFL has changed the kickoff from the 30-yard line to the 35-yard line. They also moved the touchback yard line to the 25-yard line instead of the 20-yard line. Closing down the distance is trying to cut back on injuries because the dangers of kickoff and kickoff return is not safe. The National Football League edited this rule in efforts to make kickoff and kickoff return safer. Again the NFL put in another change in the rule book. It is called the, CHR, crown to the head rule. CHR limits head to head contact in football. When a person carrying the ball gets hit by the defender directly in the head. This type of play is not prohibited in the NFL. When a player goes against this rule it cause a 15-yard penalty. This new rule decreases the chance of a player on defense to get a concussion from about 28 percent to around 31 percent. Also decreases injuries to the neck region to about 35 percent. Only bad thing about his new change is that it makes players target the lower region of the body. Targeting the lower body can now cause bad things to happen to it (Pew & Shapiro,2017). Not only in the NFL are they changing that but they are all over the world.

For instance the CFL, Canadian Football League, has increased penalties due to a recent injury. The CFL put a higher penalty consequence on a roughing the passer penalty. The CFL changed it from a 15-yard foul to a 25-yard penalty. The penalty is only called if the quarterback does not lower his head to get the call get called on purpose. The Command Centre helps refs spot headshots and injuries. The CFL released new rules for safety(‘CFL Releases,’n.d.). The CFL plans to put more rules into effect. Safety in the CFL is becoming a big problem not just in the CFL but in every football league.“These changes will improve player health and safety and our committee is grateful to the Governors for their unanimous approval,” says the president of the CFL. Even though injuries are very common in football, there still is a positive side to football.

Football can teach the young women and men that play the sport very valuable life lessons and football can also be a very healthy exercise. Football gives players life lessons like working together as a team, which makes players not selfish, how to work as a team and social expertise. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says playing football helps players all around. Keeps the players out of trouble (Griffis,2018). Football is a game that the players win and lose and winning has a better feeling to it but losing is where the players grow the most. Losing can teach players how to cope with sorrow and failure. Football teaches players to listen to detail and how to be disciplined. Following the orders of football can teach players how to control tempers. In football, the players work a lot of different muscles. From lifting weights to running, jogging, and sprinting. Football is good for the players physical condition as long as the players stay healthy. Football helps players stay focused. Football does several positive things for the body as in keeping the player in better shape than what they were in. It will decrease the chances of cardiovascular problems, and other diseases according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Football can possibly cause a loss of weight (Griffis,2018). On average a person should at least exercise for 30 minutes a day. Football has big impacts on player’s lives. Getting the player’s fitness time in about 149 minutes is easily accomplished by playing football. Although football is good for the players. The player’s height and size and if he or she is mature enough can affect each player. There is a lot of life lessons and benefits that come along while playing football (Griffis,2018).

The game of football comes with numerous risks of injury but also comes with life lessons. Learning life lessons is crucial for growing children therefore parents should let their children play football. Football can potentially cause negative side effects, like Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Highschool players are at more of a risk because of lack of money. Some highschools do not have enough money for up to date equipment, which can put the players at a higher risk. This goes along with youth football programs to, sometimes the programs do not have enough money for all the correct equipment. The lack of money is a big problem for youth football programs because it puts the players at a higher risk and some of these injuries can cause life long suffering. With the increase of injuries to the brain and head, a lot of football committees are changing rules to decrease the injury numbers and make the game as safe as possible. Canadian football put a higher consequence on a penalty because of an injury that had happened recently. The NFL recently has made the kickoff distance closer to slow down the speeds of grown men running at each other full speed. Put a new CHR in the game, this rule is similar to the one in the Canadian Football league. The NFL also added and injury spotter. College football added a blindside blocking rule and all levels have added a targeting the head penalty. With the players being at risk for injury there is a great deal of positive to football also. Football exercises multiple parts of the body than any other sport. Football comes with a lot of negative sides that can stay with the players throughout their life and football also comes with a lot of positives that can teach life lessons. Football can teach players life lessons like losing, when playing football it comes with losing and losing can not defeat the players whole attitude just like in life. In life it also comes with losing and the players can’t let it defeat them and make them give up. Not everybody knows each other backstory and every parent has their reasoning. At the end of the day it is the parents choice whether or not their children can take part in football.

Before I started my research, I knew a lot of information about my topic. I also thought that though the Playoff is a better move for college football than the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) system because it more accurately ranks teams, it is what the players and media wanted, and it has increased not only attendance but also TV revenue throughout the season. I also knew there were a lot of people that were going, and still have doubts about the new four-team system because of the change to a totally new and different format. I chose this topic because I am very interested in college football and have been watching since I can remember. By pursuing this topic, I hoped to learn which system benefited college football more, specifically which system increased attendance and interest in the sport. My essential questions for my topic were, which system increased the attendance and fan interest throughout the season, and which system was the better move for college football overall? For my sources, I used three from the Gale Database, and two by searching my keywords with .org. I found the best information on the Gale Database sources because they were more credible and had better information. I had more success on the Gale sources. I only had one major failure when I used the official College Football Playoff website and had completed all the quotes when I realized it was a .com website. My mom and Mrs. Adams were especially helpful during this because they helped assist in finding credible .org sources. A roadblock I had during my research was finding my final source. Since I had already used the Gale Database, all the remaining sources were .com websites. This made it difficult to find a credible source for my research. During my research, I made changes in my essential questions focusing them more on attendance, fan interest, and fairness in rankings over-focusing them solely on economics.

In order to get people’s attention…give them a true champion. In the past, the national champion was largely based on media perception, meaning it was largely influenced by the regional bias of the voters. Then, in 1998, with the advent of the BCS, a system that was less susceptible to media influence, but still showed signs of regional prejudice was adopted. After years of complaints, a new system to crown a rightful champion was introduced. A brand new idea of a four-team playoff that strengthened schedules to truely pan out the best teams in the nation, and with that, the College Football Playoff (CFP) was born. The College Football Playoff system is better than the BCS because it is what the fans, players, media, and coaches want. It has also increased attendance and TV revenue throughout the season, and it more accurately ranks the top four teams giving them more of a chance to crown a true champion. Research suggests this is why the CFP was the right move for college football to adopt a new and better postseason system.

Although some people think that the new CFP system is less productive in selling tickets than the BCS, they are incorrect because the CFP increases the attendance throughout the nation creating a sold-out superior fight for the title. In 1990, the season attendance was 25.5 million. Then, “In 1997, the last pre-BCS season, attendance for the sport’s Football Bowl Subdivision (its major division) was 27.6 million. Last season, it was 37.2 million–an increase of 35 percent” (Anderson). With a season increase of almost ten million, it goes to show that the CFP system has interested fans enough to create a dramatic increase in attendance. This not only grows the love of the game but also increases revenue for college football. Also, the CFP is more productive than the BCS because “From the start, fans loved the BCS. And one of the things they loved most about it was complaining about it” (Anderson). Having the system on the fan’s good side is a very crucial part of its success. When fans and media are constantly complaining about the way the national champion is decided, then that system, in this case, the BCS, is not likely to have much success. In 1990, before the BCS, the average attendance was 41,485 fans per game. This is a significant amount less than the average attendance per game now, but “Some of that is because teams now play more games, but the average attendance has also risen, from 42,085 in 1997 to 45,440 last season” (Anderson). Even though teams do play more games in the current system than before, the attendance per game has risen a remarkable amount despite the increase in games. Fans enjoy the new playoff system because of the more consequential and high impact games. In conclusion, the CFP is more effective in increasing fan attendance and, as a result, more productive despite people thinking that the CFP is not as efficient in constantly selling tickets as the BCS.

The new CFP system is an improvement over the old BCS system because it strengthens teams’ schedules and increases TV revenue for college football. A playoff would more accurately rank teams because “the BCS rewards undefeated BCS teams, so schools sometimes try to schedule games against weaker opponents to protect their records. A playoff would remove the easy schedule and make the championship solely about performance” (ProCon.org. ‘College Football’). Once the College Football Playoff eliminates “cupcake games”, it forces teams to play harder schedules. This change provides a more accurate ranking of the top four teams at the end of the season. Through a 2012 pole on Sports Center analysts found “77% of people polled by ESPN think the four-team playoff announced on June 26, 2012 was the right move for college football” (ProCon.org. ‘College Football’). Most people are in favor of the new CFP system because it strengthens teams’ schedules and increases TV revenue. This is better for fans and college football because it makes the teams play harder schedules making every game a high-intensity battle for a potential playoff position. The new system also makes more money for college football. Also, because of the new playoff system, “Television contracts for the playoffs are estimated to generate annual revenues ranging from $600 million to $1.5 billion” (ProCon.org. ‘College Football’). This growth in revenue shows improvement with the new CFP system because it generated more money for college football. Not only does the increase in TV revenue make more money, but it also shows that fans of the sport are more interested in watching games than in past years. In conclusion, the CFP is a better option over the BCS because it not only increases TV revenue but it also strengthens teams’ schedules proving which teams are truly the best.

Because of all of the corruption caused by the BCS system, the CFP was the right move for college football because, in addition to more accurately ranked teams, it fulfilled the fans, players, media, and even coaches want for an improved system over the BCS. College football’s shift into a playoff system was the right move because “Every other NCAA sport uses some type of tournament or playoff to determine the best team that season” (ProCon.org. ‘Should College’). Knowing that every other college sport has a playoff to determine the champion, there is no reason that college football should be any different. There seem to be no issues or complaints about the playoffs in other sports. So, college football’s move to go to a playoff format was definitely the right move. The move to the CFP satisfied fans, players, and the media because “Everybody hates college football’s Bowl Championship Series. The BCS rankings let the media, the coaches, and eight computers determine which two teams play for the national championship” (ProCon.org. ‘Should College’). Unfair rankings and conflict caused by the BCS have created issues which made the move to the CFP even more justified. They also made a lot of people including; fans, coaches, players, and the media happy because of all the hatred toward the BCS system. The transition away from the BCS and all its conflict and complaints was appropriate because “The obvious solution is a playoff. Players want one. Fans want one. The media want one” (ProCon.org. ‘Should College’). Knowing that a lot of people wanted to make the change to the playoff system proves that the CFP is a better option for college football. Also, after years of complaints from the players, media, coaches, and fans about the BCS, college football’s move to the CFP was definitely necessary. In conclusion, the CFP was the right move for college football because it not only more fairly ranks teams, but it also satisfied the fans, players, media, and coaches desire for a new and better system.

The switch made by college football to transition to a four-team playoff system was the right move to make because of the new system’s merit. It creates a fairer structure for ranking teams. It also satisfied the players, coaches, media, and fans who want to trust a new and better system. It created a spike in the revenue of TV and attendance throughout the season. This is why the CFP is the better course to take for the new postseason system to declare a rightful champion.

Overall, the CFP was the right move for college football because of all of the benefits, including a fairer and more accurate ranking of the teams. It caused an increase in TV revenue and attendance throughout the season, and it satisfied coaches, players, fans, and the media’s want for a new and trustworthy system. Throughout the process of writing this paper, I have learned that it helps to build it steps at a time instead of attacking the paper as a whole. In the words of Alabama coach Nick Saban, “Focus on the process of what it takes to be successful.” Staying on the topic of success, during the essay, I found it easy to think of ideas and research them because I am actually interested in the topic. Although I had this success, I did also have trouble finding multiple credible sources not being able to include .com websites. Also, proving my point in some of my topic sentences was a struggle in a couple of situations. Because of this, next time I write a research paper as complex as this one, I will focus on finding credible sources and trying to stay on a step to step process by not focusing on the paper as a whole. During my research for the paper, some of my important results would include proving that the CFP did, in fact, increase the TV revenue and attendance throughout the season. Also, knowing the fans, players, coaches, and the media wanted a better, more fair system to decide the champion, and finding, through ESPN polls, that the majority of people believe that the playoff was the right move for college football. In conclusion, having a playoff with such crucial and game-changing benefits is the obvious solution for the college football postseason. Any team would definitely side with a playoff that year in and year out selects the true best four teams in the country to battle for the title, National Champions.

One of the games that attracts global attention is the Super Bowl. Today, every American footballer (not soccer player) wants to play in the tournament as the glitz and glamor associated with it is just heartwarming. Do you wish to make a career of it? If yes, you must know that the game is very masculine and not for lily-livered people. Indeed, you need lots of stamina to withstand the pull, push and tackles associated with the game. So, the best way to get started is to build yourself by building your physique. Have you noticed that almost every player has a physique similar to that of a bouncer at a night club? Well, it is no coincidence! Yes, the reasoning is that they have undergone football workouts just to survive the game. So, if you must be good at the game, you will have to draw up a football workout plan. The good thing is that you have nothing to worry about as we have compiled some of the most common exercises for you. Well, we will primarily show you how to do the drills. Now, let’s get started.

American Football Exercises

• Box Squat: Basically, this is one football workout that you will definitely need to improve your body’s ability to perform key moves and quickness. Apart from enhancing those two, it will also improve coordination. To do practice this move, you will need a heavy barbell and a box. Stand erect in front of the box and then lift up the load over your head. Gradually lower the load behind your head until its weight rests on the back of your head. At this point, your elbows will be tucked. The next line of action is to move backwards and squat while you still have the load on the back of your shoulder. Continue to go down until you finally sit down on the box. Return to your original position. Perform 3 reps or about 5 sets.
• Dumbbell Side Bend: This drill seems pretty easy as it can pass for a college football workout program. Although it seems easy, it doesn’t in any way mean that it is not an effective way of keeping yourself in shape as well as developing it for the tough game. To do it, you will definitely need a dumbbell. When you have one, you will have to stand erect and grab it. Notice that you only need one dumbbell for the exercise. Well, use your right hand to grab it, making sure that you stand erect. Ensure that your palm is facing in. Now, twist your torso to the direction of the load as though the load is about pulling you down. After a while, return to original position. Switch your hands. Do this for 12 reps each side of about 4 sets in all.
• Sprinter Sit-up: For this particular drill, you don’t necessarily need any equipment to support you as it is straightforward. No doubt, you must include it to your football workout program. To get started, grab a mat and spread it on the floor. Next, lie on your back on the mat. When you are lain down, ensure that your two legs are extended. Twist your left leg so as to make an angle of 90 degrees with your torso. Keep the right leg in the normal position. While you are doing this, keep swinging your left arm to be parallel to the leg you just raised. At this point, it will appear as though you were performing a sit-up. Do this for the opposite side of your torso. Keep in mind that when you are performing this, you will have to do it as if you are sprinting (you are running). Repeat for 3 reps of about 5 sets.
• Bench Press: You will need a bench and barbell for this drill. Indeed, this is one of the best football workouts. If you want to stand out in that tough game, you must practice this move. To get started, you need to grab the barbell and lift it just above your chest. Caution! You should grasp it firmly so it does not drop on your chest. When you lift it, your arms should be fully extended. Gently lower the load in a way that it is now partly resting on your sternum. At this position, you will notice that your elbows will be tucked to a 45-degree angle to your body. Upon the load making contact with your bod, ensure that your feet are firmly driven to the floor and then return the load to the initial position. Do this for 3 sets of about 5 sets.
• Neutral-Grip Floor Press: Well, you will need a dumbbell for this exercise. It is one of those football speed workouts that must make your football training workout. Just get a mat and spread it on the floor. When you have done that, you will have to lie down on it. Next line of action is for you to grab two dumbbells and hold them with your hands. Then, rest your triceps on the floor even when you have the loads lifted. At this juncture, your elbow will be resting on the floor as well. And the weight will just be over your body just parallel to it. Drag your two legs backwards as though you want to tuck your knees. Lift the weight in a fully extended way such that your hands suspend them in the air. Return to the original position. Do the rep many times of about 4 sets.

Conclusion

In this guide, we have walked you through some of the best speed workouts for football that will enable aspiring and amateur ballers get ready for this amazing men’s game. So, if you are preparing to stand out in your college team, you can call these drills that we have explained in this piece the best college football workout plan. Apart from amateurs hoping to get their feet in the door, these exercises also help professionals alike to stay on top of their game. The truth of the matter is, if you want to make a successful career from this game, you must be ready to strain your body to the limit! Yes, you should be able to withstand pull, tackles and pushes from other players. Sure, it is a game of brain and brawn, which is something you must always keep in mind. We assure you that you will definitely notice some positive changes if you discipline yourself and undergo these exercises. Admitted, they are pretty arduous, but the gains are just enormous. Lastly, this is the perfect time to draw your routine and start practicing.

Have you ever wanted to play the sport of football? Well if you do, than you should really think of the risks football has if you play. Many people have had life threatening injuries because of the sport. Some of those injuries even caused death. People should really make football safer for the players by having better protective equipment, annual wellness checkups for the players, and even changing some rules.

Having better protective equipment will really cause less injuries in football. Not having the best equipment and other things causes players to have concussions (a brain injury caused by a blow to the head or the shacking of the head), ACL tears (a torn anterior crucial ligament in the knee), MCL tears (a torn medial collateral ligament), and even more types of injuries. Most happen at the professional level of football. From 2012-2017 in the NFL there were a total of 1,541 concussions, 351 ACL tears, and 886 MCL tears. Also during the 2017-2018 NFL season, there was a average of 6.6 injuries per game. In college football, concussions make up 7.4 percent of all injuries.“There are approximately 67,000 diagnosed concussions in high school football every year”(prevacus.com).This shows that something has to be done to protect the players. One thing that can be done is making the football players helmets more protective by adding more cushion in the helmet to reduce the impact hit to the players head. Doing this would stop lots of concussions from happening to players. Also wearing mouth guards will help reduce the amount of concussions that happen because they absorb shock and limit movement caused by a hit to the jaw. To prevent knee injuries like ACL and MCL tears, player need to wear better padding around their knees. This will soften blows made to the knees that will then cause less ACL and MCL tears.

Another way to prevent less injuries in the sport of football is to have annual wellness checkups and evaluations. This will really help because throughout the years, in high school, college, and in NFL football, injuries happen because the players are not checked for the injury. Lots of these instances have been with head injuries like concussions, that if are not treated than they can continue to eat a lot worse over time. But one instance was the most tragic injury in NFL history. It happened to Detroit Lions wide receiver Chuck Hughes. Earlier in the season, Chuck had complained of some chest pain, but without even checking on him the trainers said that he was fine. This would be a huge mistake. On October 24, 1971, Chuck Hughes had. Heart attack on the field and died. This would not have happened if the train eras would have checked on him properly. “Sports exams ‘are good for picking up high blood pressure, hernias, certain types of heart murmurs and different types of orthopedic injuries that may lead to unstable joints,’ says Jeffrey L. Tanji, director of the sports medicine program at the University of California at Davis”(washingtonpost.com). Also “sports physicals can help prevent injury and detect other kinds of health problems, including exercise-induced asthma, which affects as many as 10 percent of all athletes”(washingtonpost.com). Between 2000 and 2016, 33 college football players have died from football, and between 2005 and 2014, 92 high school football players have died from football. Most of these deaths have occurred because the football players were not checked for problems or injuries before playing.

Changing some rules in the game of football would stop some injuries. One thing that can be changed is kickoffs. Football should not have kickoffs because “Thirty-three percent of injuries that occurred during kickoff were considered sever”(spoc-ortho.com). This means that most injuries on kickoffs can put you in the hospital, and people really do not want that. That is why kickoffs should not happen in the sport of football. Another rule that should be changed is that on a game winning touchdown with no time left, the team should not have to kick the PAT (point after touchdown) because players can get hurt on the play even though the game has basically already ended. Another rule that should be changed is that coaches should be able to challenge pass interference penalties. You are probably wondering right now what this has to do with safety. In some instances, a player may get hurt because of shoving or other things by the defense to make the pass incomplete. Well if the play is a no call, than the defender should be penalized for hurting the player. That is why coaches should then be able to challenge the no call and for the player to then get penalized for it by having the ball go to the spot of the foul.

In conclusion, football is very risky for the players on the field, but there is a solution. You can make the sport of football safer for the player by having better protective equipment, have annual wellness checkups for the players, and changed some rules in the sport. Now people may want to consider not playing football until some changes to the sport is made to make it safer for the players.

Many said much on why football is the beautiful game, it’s because anyone can play it almost anywhere. Young and old, good or not-so-good and even with one leg. You can play on grass, a street, sand, basketball or tennis court, on turf, under the scorching sun, or rain, windy, indoor or outdoor. After all, football is, as they say, a beautiful game. In this article you will know how special is Football Tournaments in Chennai and how passionate people are towards the sport.

Cut back to Chennai – the city of cultural hub – that has the likes of Marina, temples, foods, cultures and so on. But there’s a reason many athletes say Chennai is one of the premier destinations for sports activities. As far as the club football goes, the city is still a developing stage in the world of football. A plant needs time to grow similarly the case for the city but the recent results shows that Chennai has the attributes to become footballing powerhouse in the country, if they invest more in the direction of grassroots level and nurture them and invest in them grounding to become professional footballers. Chennai City FC’s tale of fighting in the second tier of the district’s football league to become the Champions of India in the space of five years beyond extraordinary and the two-time Indian Super League champions became the first ISL outfit to participate in the ongoing AFC Cup.

Chennai has shown its love and passion for the game repeatedly in the last few years by systemizing many local tournaments –be it a professional or school and college level, trials and coaching service on a regular basis. Many hasn’t gone unnoticed, one such prominent was when Indian Super League club Chennaiyin FC initiated a mission with aims of developing football culture in Chennai by organizing a School Football Championship involving 64 school teams across two age groups (U-13 and U-15) category. The mission aims to develop a football culture in the state identify talents from grassroots and groom them for national and international success. Lot many Football tournaments in Chennai are scheduled to happen than previous years!

The opportunities for school and college football athletes and coaches go well beyond the local field. Many local tournaments and trials and other programs open up a world of possibilities at every level, on the field and off. It is up to the individuals to find out just how far your love for football can take you.

If anything can bring people from all races and beliefs it’s the beautiful game, which has many names. Whether you call it futbol, soccer or football it’s all the beautiful game.

As a universal sport, no matter what language a player speaks, when they get on the field of play, every player only speaks one language. The love of the sport brings out the best in people. Football is a great way to stay healthy and create a little excitement.

With that in mind, Chennai’s football culture may be on the ups, with exciting young stars such as Dhanpal Ganesh and Michael Soosairaj lighting up different teams in the league and the audiences watching and supporting the game expanding at an astounding rate. Better times could be on the horizon for the sport in the city. Stay tuned for more updates on Football Tournaments in Chennai.

Introduction

For my personal learning plan, I have decided to pay particular importance to my upcoming continuous assessment in my Economics in the World module. In my learning plan, I set out my goals, approaches and methods I will implement, learning strategies and organizational skills to help me prepare for this assessment.

Economics in the WorldIn my course, in the first semester, I have a variety of modules, such as:

• Law
• Human Resource Management
• Financial Accounting
• Economics in the World

The assignment I have chosen as my biggest struggle is Economics in the World.

Struggles with Economics in the World

Compared to my other modules, I find this particularly difficult as there is quite a substantial amount of material to learn, and understand. Personally, the theory aspect of this module for me is particularly difficult for me to grasp. It is not a practical subject at all, especially compared to my other subjects, which makes it even more difficult. I prefer other modules over Economics in the World, such as, Financial Accounting, as I enjoy it much more because there is less theory involved and more practical elements to the course.

In economics, the topics I struggle with the most are:

• The diagrams
• The layout of the exam
• Topics, such as: Micro-Economics, Market Dynamics, Limitations of the Market

Personal Weakness

As Economics in the World is a theory-filled module, and I have never studied anything economics-related before, I have found learning an entirely new topic to be challenging. Before beginning this course, I had never even heard of economics, let alone what it entails. For this reason, I struggle with not only the basics, but the more complex aspects as well. For example, I have never completed a multiple choice assessment in the past, so I recognised that I need to give more attention and familiarise myself with the layout of the exam, by looking at past papers.

Goals

Short Term Goals / Long Term Goals

• Assignment: Prepare for assignments, by creating and following my personal learning plan. Start assignments as soon as they are given, so I don’t fall behind.
• Study: Following the times set in my personal learning plan’s timetable (see page 6)
• Attend lectures: Come to class on time every day and attend all my lectures, while making notes in-class
• Receive a grade of 50%>: Try my hardest to study and submit continuous assessments to a high standard Degree: I want to graduate from NCI in 3 years with a degree in Business.
• Graduate: I want to graduate with a first class honours.
• Work: I want to find a job somewhere within business, working as an undergraduate
• Exams: I want to study hard for my exams in order to achieve this goals and avoid repeats, in order to get the grades I am looking for.

Topics to Revise

• Demand and Supply
• Micro-Economics
• Market Dynamics
• Limitations of the Market

Diagrams: Production possibility frontier, demand curve, supply curve, finding the equilibrium

I would like to feel prepared going into the exam, knowing that I have studied all of the material previously to the best of my ability. My goal for this assignment is to gain at the very least a passing grade, but hopefully, by putting in lots of work, study and creating a learning plan, it can help me achieve a higher grade.

Approach

(Missiondata.com, 2019)

To approach these goals and topics I need to revise, I am going to develop a personal study plan and time management. Alongside Economics, I have a variety of modules to study and keep up to date with and continuous assessments, as well as social obligations, such as, making time to see my friends when I have the chance, and a part time job. I will try to prioritise my modules in my study plan. While creating this study plan, it was important to realise all these other factors in order to make the plan as realistic and approachable as possible, so it is not daunting and it would motivate me to study.

How I Will Approach This

Multiple choice exam: Looking through past papers, reading and creating own notes, practising past papers

Attendance: 2 hour lecture once a week, 1 hour tutorial fortnightly, 8.5 hours of independent learning (based on course requirements, see image below)

Library: After lectures on Wednesday, reading through lecture notes from that day.

SMART Planning

Specific For this semester, my goal is to focus on my Economics in the World module. In order to achieve this, I’ve curated a specific, personal study plan and I am implementing my own study methods.

Measurable I plan to study 5 times a week, 4 of those to be studying material, and once a week I will attempt past papers on the material revised.

Achievable To make my goals achievable, I made my plans as realistic as possible to prevent burn out and keep me motivated. I identified challenges I may face, and how to overcome them to achieve my goals.

Relevant Economics is relevant not only in my business course, but in all aspects of life. I think it’s’ very important for me to grasp the concepts we are learning.

Time-bound My continuous assessment for Economics in the World is on the 27th of November, I plan to follow my study plan every week until the assessment.

Study Techniques

As I am a visual learner, I have tried and tested many study methods throughout other examinations, such as the Junior and Leaving Certificate.

There are a variety of methods that have worked for me in the past, which I will implement into my learning and studying for my continuous assessment. These include:

Notes: Reading over the notes uploaded on Moodle, re-writing them in my own words as notes helps give a better understanding

Reading notes aloud; this is useful for certain topics such as ‘Demand and Supply’, which is theory filled.

Writing all known information on a topic on a blank sheet of paper with notes closed; this distinguished what information I know and what I need to look back on.

Past questions; Practising past questions helps familiarise myself with the layout of the examination, as well as the content

Colour coding; for Economics, I use a yellow highlighter on information I don’t understand and pink highlighters on topics that are of particular importance. This helps it visually stand out to me and break up the workload.

Visual representations; mind maps, diagrams and tables all help me to visually remember information. I’ve made mind maps on each topic in Economics.

Videos: Watching videos on how to construct the diagrams helps me gain a better understanding as I can visually picture how it is done.

Strengths and weaknesses

I have identified my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to individual learning, and how to use my strengths to my benefit, and how to manage my studying weaknesses.

learning strengths, realizing I’m good in note taking and listening to information and understanding it when I write it in my own words.

I realise my weaknesses when it comes to independent learning is my difficulty on concentrating, which I am working on by attending NCI library and designating study times in the week and trying my best to stick to them.

OrganisationIn order to implement my study plans to the best of my ability, I need to organise myself. For my Economics in the World module, I have made a OneDrive folder with all the Moodle notes, which allows me to access them easily when I study each topic.

To further organise myself, I have a 5 subject notebook with a section for my Economics in the World work, such as my diagrams and questions from my fortnightly tutorials.

I have an online folder for each of my modules in this Semester, including Economics in the World.

In my Economics in the World folder, I have some personally typed notes, and edits made to slides from Lectures.

Time management is an essential activity in organising my personal learning plan.

Factors of time management I’ll use when formulating my study plan:

Prioritising tasks; In my plan I include college hours and work hours, while not including smaller tasks such as showering or eating, which vary day to day.

Time limits; Keeping my study hours and other tasks time-bound helps me to organize my day and how much work I am able to get done.

Taking breaks; Between each of my activities in a day, I take a break to prevent burn out and maintain a sustainable schedule.

Planning ahead; having a clear layout of each day helps me to be mentally organised and in turn, more productive.

Study Plan/TimetableI have constructed a weekly timetable which allows me to balance my Economics study for my continuous assessment along with the other factors in my week.

My main priority for my study plan is prioritising time for economics in the world as it is the module I struggle with the most.

Key

Economics Study

Economics classes

Other lectures/tutorials

Gym

Work

Hospital appointments

Social/friends

Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm For the 2 hour slots of study; I focus on understanding the material and topics I have previously mentioned, such as demand and supply and microeconomics. I study these topics through my personal study methods, typically in the NCI library, a coffee shop, or on later days such as Saturday, at home.

On the 1 hour slots of study on Wednesdays and Thursday, I review lecture notes/tutorial information from that day, and subsequently practice the past papers on http://exampapers.ncirl.ie/Browse#.

With the study for my CA in Economics in the World, I may face some obstacles to my study plan. I believe it’s important to predict any situation and come up with a solution to help keep me on track with my study plans. This also strengthens the attainability of my plans.

• Lack of motivation: I may face a lack of motivation, and to keep on track, I can take a look at my short-term and long-term goals.
• Procrastination: I am trying to avoid putting off my study by time management and setting a strict time schedule.
• Overwhelmed: I try to avoid getting overwhelmed by setting time limits. When feeling overwhelmed, I’ll take a break and have a snack or listen to music to relax.
• Unforeseen events: If a social/work event comes up, I know I have room in my timetable to adjust my study plans, while still achieving my goals.

Staying on track

o measure that I am staying on track with my understanding of Economics and the preparation for my continuous assessment, I am to pass the past papers I attempt. This will measure my level of preparation for the real assessment on the 27th of November.

Some strategies:

• Balance: Maintaining a balance between college and life keeps me which prevents burnout.
• Accountability: Having a sense of accountability for not following my plan keeps me on track. For example, I know if I don’t study, I will not achieve the grades I want. Therefore, I’m accountable for my actions.
• Adjustments: Making changes to the timetable to suit myself better will keep me motivated, on track, and balanced.

Review/reflection

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SAThis Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

From implementing study methods and following my personal timetable, I found my study to be quite positive. Laying out my weekly schedule helped me balance my personal life and study. The plan helped me measure what I have completed and how much more I needed to study in advance of my continuous assessment in Economics in the World. The skill that benefited me the most was time management, as it made the workload more manageable. My examination is at the end of November, but I have already completed a substantial amount of study for it and I feel very prepared. A flaw or negative aspect of my plan was that I didn’t factor in how to maintain the study of revising former topics, and new topics in Economics in the world. To accommodate this, I added an hour of study on the weekend, either Saturday or Sunday, depending on what suited me for that week. During the weeks of study, it kept me motivated and on task. It gave me a push, and, in my opinion, it did help to ‘manage my learning.’

Conclusion

To conclude, I believe that creating these goals, both short-term and long-term, really helped to give me a sense of fulfilment that I am getting work done. It really helps me to feel a sense of achievement and if I stick to these goals, I will not fall behind. It also helped me to gain a further insight into my personal study techniques and habits which I can use t my benefit in the future for other upcoming assessments in this semester and, to achieve my long term goals in my degree.

References

1. Partnership, G. (2014). Personal Learning Plan Definition. [online] The Glossary of Education Reform. Available at: https://www.edglossary.org/personal-learning-plan/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2019].
2. The Minds Journal. (2015). The Nine different types of intelligence – Which Smart are you ?. [online] Available at: https://themindsjournal.com/the-nine-different-types-of-intelligence-which-smart-are-you/ [Accessed 16 Oct. 2019].
3. Learning-styles-online.com. (2019). Overview of learning styles. [online] Available at: https://www.learning-styles-online.com/overview/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2019].
4. Corporate Finance Institute. (2019). Time Management – List of Top Tips for Managing Time Effectively. [online] Available at: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/careers/soft-skills/time-management-list-tips/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2019].
5. Thebalancecareers.com. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/thmb/6DS0ypOjlUAT_UjLp9tWvQVnqXI=/1500×0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/time-management-skills-2063776-v6-5b749ddfc9e77c0057e72c0f.png [Accessed 23 Oct. 2019].
6. Intelligent. (2019). Create a Study Plan – Intelligent. [online] Available at: https://www.intelligent.com/create-a-study-plan/ [Accessed 23 Oct. 2019].
7. Digitalchalk.com. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.digitalchalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/digitalchalk-visual-learning.jpg [Accessed 23 Oct. 2019].
8. Missiondata.com. (2019). Digital Strategy & Development | Mission Data’s Approach. [online] Available at: https://www.missiondata.com/our-approach/ [Accessed 24 Oct. 2019].