Bill would limit football practice tackles

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Feb. 12 (UPI) -- An Illinois lawmaker proposes that tackling be allowed at only one high school football practice per week in order to protect the brains of young athletes.

Democrat Rep. Carol Sente of the Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire said her legislation is designed to limit the number of repeated jolts to the head high school players receive during practice, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

In recent years, scientists found evidence of lasting neurological damage in some people who suffered football-related concussions.

Coach Chad Hetlet of defending state champion Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn said he already limits tackling with players rarely taking their teammates all the way to the ground.

Sente's bill, which she said is intended to spark a discussion, has its opponents.

"To me, it would be very difficult to monitor and define what determines a tackle," said Brad Seaburg of Cary-Grove High School. "There are some things the government may overextend their boundaries [to do] and this may be one of those situations."