Pago 12
Daily Ncbraskan
Wednesday, March 14, 1C34
JO
Ccr.tlr.-ei firca IV:;: 3 11
Schindler said new rules can improve safety, but
zc proLiems disappear.
rules will not m
"If somebody broke his neck because he put his
head in wrong, the penalty fiag docsnt mean much."
On Abu 23, five days qjler the accident, Jerry was
moved to a hospital in Denver to begin rehabilitation.
His days followed a schedule of therapy and hard
work brczhfast at eight; at nine, a class to stretch
his muscles andpreparethem for the days activities;
school at 10 and lunch at noon. In the afternoon, he
learned how to use and care for a wheelchair; he
exercised to strengthen his upper arm muscle's
where he had movement; he rcleamcd how to do
things like brush his teeth. After supper, he watched
television or talked on the phone with family or
friends.
What goes through a persons mind when he's
away from home trying to learn simple tasks all
over again? Hope? Doubt? Fear? Anger? Does there
come a time when the person accepts his paralysis
or does the hope continue?
Jerry worked hard to get better.
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The nev ru!:3 have trl :.;-reJ positive chmgc3 in
ccaclib;?. Before 1076, coaches often tar.'ht players
to drive the helmet into an opponent when tackling,
blocking or running the br.'X Since the spearing rule
charge, most coaches have abandoned the technique.
"I'm not aware of any coaches in the state who
teach spearing or unsafe techniques," said Skip
Morris, executive director of the Nebraska Coachc3
Association.
Morris said coaches have been made more aware
of the injury situation through coaching clinics and
published studies and articles. Me said "the Vince
Lombardi style" of coaching, where a win-at-all-
costs attitude was taught to players, has given way
to more healthy methods.
Jerrys parents, John and Joanne, visited him
every weekend. During Christmas vacation, several
Henderson teachers and students traveled to Denver
for holiday visits. A Lincoln television station
broadcast twoprograms about his accident and his
rehabilitation, informing the state of his progress.
Jerry s liometown and school have pulled together
to support him. Henderson principal Jim Peters
said any word of Jerry s progress passes among the
students quickly and after-school prayer meetings
have been well attended.
Peters said there have always been injuries in
Henderson athletics and that they are accepted as
part of the game. He said Henderson had never had
a serious injury until November. Tliat injury was
different.
New rules, better coaching, modern equipment
and experience have helped make the game of foot
ball safer. The risk of injury and death has been
reduced, but it cannot be totally eliminated from a
sport like football.
"As much as we do, there will always be a scatter
ing of fatalities," said Dr. Michael Walsh, director of
sports medicine at the University of Nebraska Medi
cal Center.
He said there has been more interest in football
injuries in recent years. Clinics to inform coaches
about injury prevention and care run throughout
the state and more' coaches take cardiopulmonary
resuscitation and first aid classes. Sports medicine
has become more important in athletic conditioning
and universities are producing more certified ath
letic trainers to prevent and care for injuries. Statis
tics show that indirect deaths, especially heat
related deaths, continue to be rare. In 1983, no such
deaths were reported in high school football.
But progress has been slow on the medical front.
(See related story, page 11). Only a few schools have
full-time trainers or doctors. Many small towns,
miles from a doctor or a hospital, still need trained
people to attend galnes and handle emergency
situations. And even the best prevention and care
cannot reduce the hard-hitting that sets football
apart from other sports.
In March, Jerry went home for a weekend. The
Henderson boys' and girls' basketball teams were
playing in the state tournament.
Jerry was a reserve on the team last year. This
year, he sat in a wheelchair near his team !s bench.
Football's shortcomings are magnified every time
a player is paralyzed or killed. Because these inci
dents don't happen as often as other accidents, such
as traffic mishaps, they are highly publicized. The
public's perspective of the game mrht be dbtortcd
and the relative safety of the game- ir.ight be for
gotten. .
-It is the most negative thing that can happen in
hKi school athletics " Schindler said.
Schindler said that when the risks in football are
compared to other activities, such as driving a car,
football is much safer. He said a game like football
cannot be made risk-free if the game Is to continue
as a contact sport.
"We have to be realistic and practical," he said.
"There is no way to play the game If you try to
protect everyone so they don't get hurt."
Jones said parents who worry about their sons
playing football must ask themselves if they would
be safer participating in an unsupervised activity.
There's a certain risk in everything we do. More
parents would rather have their sons and daughters
participating in organized activities."
Major rule changes implemented by the National
Federation of State High School Associations in high
school football since 1972:
1972 Blocking below the waist restricted to
the free blocking zone an area three yards on
either side of the line of scrimmage.
1 973 A chin strap included as a required part
of the helmet.
1974 Blocking below the waist prohibited on
kicks.
1975 Spearing made illegal and defined as a
disqualifying foul.
1976 Head-butt blocking and face tackling
made personal fouls. Hip and shoulder pads became
required equipment.
1977 Thigh guards became required equip
ment. 1978 The penalty for roughing the kicker or
placekick holder becomes an automatic first down
and a 15-yard penalty.
1980 All helmets required to have National
Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment
certification. Grasping the helmet opening becomes
a foul.
1981 Any blocking below the waist outside
the free blocking zone prohibited. Chop blocks made
illegal
A cool, damp November night. A great night for
football.
The coaches had coached their players well. Hie
rules were in force. An ambulance was at the game
and a hospital was nearby. ... , .. . . .
And Jerry Ediger is a quadreplegic. He was the
statistic the 0.71 seriously injured of 100,000
young men who step onto a football field each season
and walk off at season 's end with nothing more than
a few bruises and memories of hard-fought wins
and disappointing losses.
Jerry Ediger will graduate in May. He will have
some of the same memories as his teammates and
other fellow students.
But he will face a different future than the others.
, His plans and goals may remain the same, but his
injury has changed the way he will pursue them.
And though hewillgo on and deal with theobstaclcs,
posed by his tragic injury, things will never be the
same.
With all the rules and equipment and pre
cautions and progress, the risk that it might happen
was always there.
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Huskers hot shaking in fear
of playing improved Bluejays
By Bob Asmussen
Just because the Creighton bas
ketball team has played well in their
last seven games does not mean
Nebraska fears its first-round op
ponent in the National Invitation
Tournament Thursday night, Neb
raska Coach Moe Iba said Tuesday.
"I think our kids think they'll play
well," Iba said. "I don't think they're
sitting in their rooms shaking 'cause
they have to play Creighton."
The Bluejays played probably
their best basketball of the season
during the Missouri Valley Confer
. ence post-season tournament. Creigh
ton defeated Bradley at home and
Illinois State on the road before los
ing to Tulsa in the tournament final
at Tulsa.
The win that opened my eyes to
how improved they are is the 10-
vantage for the Bluejays, Iba said.
The thing we have to do is con
vince our team that Creighton is a
much better team than they were in
December," Iba said. "I can think of a
whole lot of places I'd rather play
than in Omaha against Creighton."
In Nebraska's earlier win against"
Creighton, Bluejay center Benoit Ben
jamin got into early foul trouble and
scored only 10 points. Iba said Ben
jamin has played better because the
whole Creighton team has played
better.
They do an excellent job on the
offensive boards with Brandon and
Benjamin," Iba said. "In the Illinois
State game, Brandon had 17 re
bounds nine offensive and eight
defensive."
To defeat Creighton on their home
court, Iba said he thinks Nebraska
will have to play as well as it did in
point win at Illinois State," Iba said, the first game with the Bluejays
Despite the frustration of losing
to Kansas State in the opening
round of the Big Eight tournament,
the Cornhuskers are ready to con
tinue there season, Iba said.
"We're very happy that we got an
invitation to the NIT," Iba said.
Nebraska's earlier 65-58 victory
against Creighton should be an ad-
"We've got to go out and ret after
Creighton early in the bail game,"
Iba said.
Unlike last season, the NIT will
not be using a 30-second shot clock.
In its place,- the NIT will use a 45
second clock that will be turned off
for the last 'four minutes of the
game.