In U.S. football, kickoff is one of the most dangerous parts of the sport, and the time at which a substantial number of brain injuries, skull fractures, facial injuries and other serious impacts occur.<\/a><\/p>\n In an effort to combat a wellspring of negative press and declining enrollment, Pop Warner, the nation’s biggest youth football league, is doing away with kickoff – at least for its youngest players.<\/p>\n The New York Times <\/a>reports the move makes Pop Warner the first sizable organization to take such initiative, though the NFL has considered it. Rather than engage in kickoff, players between the ages of 5 and 10 will start playing at the beginning of each half and after a score with the ball placed at the 35-yard-line. The organization said it will conduct a review of the results next year and may ultimately apply the changes to older groups too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Earlier this year, Pop Warner settled its (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In U.S. football, kickoff is one of the most dangerous parts of the sport, and the time at which a substantial number of brain injuries, skull fractures, facial injuries and other serious impacts occur. In an effort to combat a…<\/span><\/p>\n