Assembly approves bill to limit full contact at football practices

High school football teams will be limited to no more than two days of full contact workouts in a week and no more than 90 minutes in a single day under Assembly Bill 2127 that was passed in Sacramento on Thursday. The law would take effect in January if it’s passed by the Senate and signed by Governor Jerry Brown.

The bill is designed to deal with the growing concerns about concussions.

Jason Negro, coach of Bellflower St. John Bosco, which went 16-0 last season, said he is not supportive of the bill. He is among a number of prep coaches voicing concerns.

“They’re discounting the coach’s ability to run practices properly and are setting up kids for more injuries by lacking proper techniques to tackle,” Negro said.

But La Mirada’s Mike Moschetti said, “We love the new rule changes. You can learn how to properly tackle in a plenty amount of time with the new bill.”

The bill also would prohibit any full contact practices in the off season, thus banning teams from going to camps in the summer as a team and engaging in tackling in full pads.

The California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees high school sports in the state, wrote a letter in support of the bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Ken Cooley, D-Rancho Cordova. Texas already has limitations full contact hitting.

The vote was 42-19 in favor.

The CIF passed a new rule effective this fall that will limit all high school teams to no more than 18 hours of practice in a week.