Two-a-days have been a staple of early season practice sessions for football teams across the country, from the high school level on up through the professional ranks. Not so anymore in Iowa. The Iowa High School Athletic Association plans to ban two-a-day football practices, starting this season, in a series of new regulations aimed at player safety.
The current emphasis on safety in sports, particularly in regards to concussions issues, has spurred an aggressive approach among many high school programs to update their equipment inventory - particularly helmets. That quest for new helmets in a struggling economy has one Oregon athletic director taking to the streets - panhandling for helmets.