Former King standout Greenwood home again

May 25, 2012

Chris Greenwood has won at Ford Field before -- as part of the Detroit Martin Luther King team that claimed the 2007 Detroit Public School League championship at the NFL Lions' home field.

It's his favorite high school football memory. 

And this fall, Greenwood hopes to make that building a permanent home.

Our Brian Spencer -- one of Greenwood's Albion College teammates the last three seasons -- chatted with the Lions hopeful this week about from his took away from high school football, and what he's experiencing now as he works to jump to the game's highest level after a lesser-traveled path through Division III football.

Click to read this week's MHSA(Q&)A.

PHOTO courtesy of Albion College.

Football Follies

October 7, 2014

Notice reached the MHSAA office of a so-called “2014 Michigan Youth Football Classic” that invites youth league teams to “a great weekend of youth tackle football.” For $450 per team, youth football teams will bang bodies for two days – Nov. 8 and 9 – with each team guaranteed at least three games. Three!

No level of football but this – for the youngest players who have the most vulnerable skulls – allows the idiocy of three games in a weekend. Most limit competition to a maximum of one game in a week!

In my opinion, this isn’t a football classic. It’s child abuse.

I wish the foolishness would stop there, but even an organization called USA Football seems to have lost its head. Initially and mostly with funding from the NFL, USA Football was focused on teaching youth football coaches and players safe blocking and tackling techniques. Good.

But now this pseudo-national governing body for amateur football is planning events for various age groups that will extend tackle football practices and games throughout what used to be an off-season. Multiple competitions in tackle football are scheduled for high school age players in January, February and July of 2015.

At a time when professional, college, school and Pop Warner football are all reducing contact during practices in-season, USA Football wants to expand the contact experience out of season. It makes about as much sense as three games in a weekend.