Football Coaches and Fellow Marylanders:
There is a bill that will be heard on Thursday, March 7, 2019 in the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis that will threaten the future of football in our great state. My name is Phil Tran, championship-winning high school football coach, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction, Owner and Head Coach of PT Strength, and Baylor University football letterman.
HB 1106 is sponsored by Terri Hill, a Democratic Delegate from Howard County. After failing to ban youth tackle football last year, Terri Hill has returned this year with a bill that will regulate youth football out of existence.
Of the many terrible provisions of this bill, HB 1106 states, “a youth sports program may not offer, approve, or sponsor football or any physical activity related to football for youth athletes during the months of January through July.” A “youth sports program” is defined as, “a program organized for recreational athletic competition or instruction for participants who are under the age of 19 years.”
The language of this bill will effectively ban 7-on-7 football competitions, offseason strength & conditioning programs, and personal training activities that are related to football. Every high quality personal training activity has transference to football! Nonprofit organizations and small businesses like mine that provide expert football instruction to children in the football offseason, without conflict to winter and spring sports, to build strength, enhance speed, and acquire skills can be shut down as a result of this bill.
This bill kills jobs and also kills the hopes and dreams of children, especially those at-risk children who need it the most. Not to mention the physical literacy of children will be diminished and science has proven that enhanced physical literacy has a direct impact on cognitive ability, academic performance, mental health, and emotional maturity.
Here is the call to action. We need football coaches, strength coaches, and friends of football to meet in Annapolis on the morning of Thursday, March 7th to protest this bill and show our support for youth football in front of the House Ways and Means Committee. Please contact me at Phil@PhilTran22.com to learn how you can register to testify against HB 1106. Visit the link on this post to get information on how you can email the members of the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee to voice your opposition to this bill.
There is nothing wrong with the game of football that can’t be cured by everything that is right with football. Our children’s future depends on us as coaches. Let’s block HB 1106. This message is paid for and authorized by Phil Tran.
