Organization warns of high school football practice injuries

CHICAGO (WLS) -- As high school football practices begin, this year there is a new push to keep what can be the deadly result of concussions out of the game.

Eighty-seven percent of catastrophic sports injuries are linked to football, and more than half happen on the practice field.

Tyler Lewellan, Jacob Vick, Charles Youvella, Chad Stover, Damon Jones and Dylan Jeffries are all high school football players who died in 2013 while playing football. Concussions are to blame.

In addition, there were dozens of catastrophic injuries that year, including Drew Williams, the Lane Tech football player who collapsed on the sidelines. Today, he cannot move or speak.

"He is slowly coming around, it's been a long journey for him. He's come a long way, we're looking forward to him getting better," said Chris Williams, Drew's father.

Drew and his family wanted to show Chicago-area high school coaches firsthand about the dangers of concussions. The Williams and Mike Ditka were part of a seminar hosted by an organization called Practice Like Pros, a nationwide movement to reduce tackling in high school practices.

"There is no reason two-thirds of high school concussions in high school football should occur on a practice field, that number could come way down close to the three percent you find in the NFL," said Terry O'Neil, Practice Like Pros founder.

O'Neil gave coaches examples of what the pros do to avoid tackling in practice.

"One thing I'm going to do when I start back on Monday is I'm going to incorporate some of this, I'm going to hit less," said Steve Lucas, a high school coach.

It's a movement that Practice Like Pros hopes becomes part of the culture, but O'Neil says it's going to take more than a coach.

"Players have to be made to self-report and self-diagnose," O'Neil said. "When they do, we will have changed the game dramatically for the better."

Changing the game for the better is exactly what the Williams family is hoping for.

"If we want to keep the NFL, it has to start at a lower level to teach proper techniques so that the kids don't get hurt," Chris Williams said.

Football remains a big part of the Williams' life. Drew's younger brother will start his senior year playing for Lane Tech. Practice Like Pros' medical experts say tackle football should begin in high school because the brain is still developing; O'Neil suggests flag football for kids ages 14 and under.