NJSIAA Passes Bill Reducing Practice Contact to Lowest Limit at Any Level of Football

The New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association has imposed a dramatic reduction in full contact allowed during football season.

The state’s athletic governing body announced Wednesday that in-season, player-on-player contact will be reduced to 15 minutes per week and six hours total during the preseason, including scrimmages. Last season, the limit for in-season contact was 90 minutes per week with no limit during the preseason.

The new rule makes New Jersey the most restrictive state in the country in terms of high school practice regulations and the most restrictive at any level of football from youth to the NFL. The impetus for the rule change came from a proposal by Practice Like Pros and the New Jersey Football Coaches Association.

“We thank Terry O’Neil and Practice Like Pros for educating us on this issue,” NJSIAA executive director Larry White said in a news release. “When Practice Like Pros and our New Jersey coaches came to us jointly with this recommendation it was not a difficult decision. The NJSIAA strives to be a leading state association in matters of health and safety for our student-athletes.”

The NJFCA and Practice Like Pros submitted a joint proposal to the NJSIAA in July 2018. It was approved in October by the NJSIAA’s Sports and Medical Advisory Committee and on Wednesday by the Executive Committee.

The state of Michigan is also considering a similar contact reduction, according to the release.