IN CHICAGO, PARTICIPATION DIPS AMID HEAD- INJURY CONCERNS

The Chicagoland Youth Football League has adopted the Heads Up Football program this season in 37 member communities with 380 to 400 teams. Geoff Meyer, president of the league, welcomes the NFL’s involvement. “They have the resources, right?” Meyer says. He says about 8,760 players participated last year in his league, it’s down to about 8,200 this year and the numbers have declined since 2010. Meyer thinks habits are changing. “There are more kids playing ‘ Madden 13’ ( video game) than there are on football fields,” he says. “But is some of it the concussion and head- injury talk and all that stigma out there? You betcha.”

Last year, his league began requiring baseline tests for players 10 and older. After a concussion, the tests are one tool in determining when players can return.

Meyer says his coaches have taught their own versions of heads- up tackling for years and it’s important for leagues to publicize their efforts.

“We get tagged as a bunch of Neanderthals who could ( not) care less about a kid’s health,” he says.

He says one of his cousins had misgivings about letting her son play. He says that on a visit with her he noticed her son jumping his bike over curbs. He also noticed a skateboard.

“I said, ‘ Do you make him wear a helmet when he’s doing that?’ She said, ‘ Well, no, he’s pretty good at it.’ I said, ‘ He’s pretty good at football, too, but I can assure you he will never step on a football field without a helmet.’ ”