“Return-to-Play” Law Benefits

An accomplished senior executive, Daniel Hickey Jr. is the chief marketing officer of True & Associates, CEO of Roosevelt Road Capital Partners, and CEO of The Hotaling Group. Daniel Hickey Jr. is also the father of three children, all of whom played high school football. Because of their involvement in football Daniel G. Hickey Jr. became interested in coaching the sport, and has supported his children’s school, Our Lady of Lourdes High School, as a coach for its football team.

As a contact sport, playing football exposes the players to concussions. Known as “traumatic brain injury” or TBI, concussions can cause cognitive damage and behavioral changes, especially when repeated many times over. To deal with this health threat, all 50 states have passed legislation known as “return-to-play” laws. The laws vary from state to state, but almost all states have required coaches to undergo training in order to recognize TBI and employ appropriate responses when a player is suspected of having experienced a concussion.

Washington was the first state to pass a return-to-play law in 2009. Research undertaken by the University of Washington and the University of Michigan revealed that after the passing of the legislation, more youth athletes have sought medical attention for TBI. The researchers concluded that the legislation has increased awareness of TBI as well as other sports-related injuries.

The Job of Football Linebackers

A diversely experienced insurance specialist in Poughkeepsie, New York, Daniel G. Hickey Jr. maintains concurrent responsibilities as the CEO of Roosevelt Road Capital Partners and the CEO of The Hotaling Group. Outside of work, Daniel Hickey Jr. coaches linebackers on Our Lady of Lourdes’ varsity football team. 

Linebackers are essential to the defense of a football team. They must be able to assess offensive strategies to determine the best plan of action, and they must have the strength to hold off the linemen on the opposing team. 

Effective linebackers must learn how to take cues from the players around them, which will help them predict the moves that will come next. In honing these skills and others, linebackers should engage in several important drills during football practice.

Trash can drills, a warm-up exercise, focus on the movement of a team’s linebackers. Coaches line up three trash cans and have their linebackers weave around each one as they move forward. 

At the end of the drill, the players catch a football. Learning to shuffle between these obstacles teaches linebackers how to maneuver quickly through the players on a field.