Either touch or flag, flex football offers thrills without head contact

Football is by far the interscholastic sport that produces the most concussions.

Many who love the game are trying to find ways to make it safer, especially for the long-term health of players and the long-term survival of the game itself. Amid concern about concussions, sign-ups for youth tackle football leagues around the country are down. And four states are considering legislation outlawing youth tackle football.

Brandon Hardin, a former NFL player from Kahaluu and Kamehameha, is among the developers of flex football, which he describes as a bridge for young players from touch or flag versions of the sport to full-contact tackle. Hardin and his five business partners, all former NFL players, envision a game for ages 8-12 in the fall and for other ages in the offseason.

The parent company for flex football is called Rocksolid, which designs and sells the soft-shell helmets and shoulder pads used in the game. Rocksolid is named for CEO Joey LaRocque. He was Hardin’s teammate at Oregon State and, like Hardin, had his NFL career shortened by injuries.

“We see it as a steppingstone in the sport. … It was always there in front of us, but no one put the pieces together,” Hardin said. “For a long time it was flag and tackle and a big separation between the two. There’s got to be a more sensible middle ground.”

The game is 9-on-9 and either flag or touch. The soft-shell helmets do not have face masks.

“You become human real fast, and you don’t put your head where you shouldn’t,” Hardin said. “It’s about building skills and safer football players. When we were designing it, it was, ‘How can we teach all aspects, minus the tackling and minus the head contact?’”

With the addition of defensive ends and offensive tackles, there is a pass rush and timing closer to “real” football than in 7-on-7, Hardin said.

Flex football made its debut last year in Dallas, and a league has already started on Maui, Hardin said. Rich Miano, who played 11 seasons in the NFL, is starting one on Oahu under the umbrella of his Speed and Quickness clinics.

“Illinois just said no tackling for 12-and-under,” Miano said. “I think that will be a national norm soon, and seeing young kids playing tackle football will be like seeing a kid riding a bike without a helmet.”

Hardin is supportive of the Concussion Legacy Foundation’s campaign called Flag Football Under 14, advocating no tackle football until high school.

Dr. Nick Crawford of Straub Medical Center played college football at Nevada and is now a team doctor for the University of Hawaii. He hopes the flex version can live up to its potential as a safer option for pre-high school players.

“I love football and want to see it survive,” Crawford said. “Flex football looks good. The problem for Hawaii is that the plate has never been hotter for Polynesians and football, with the success of Marcus (Mariota) and Tua (Tago­vailoa) and 200 Polynesians playing college football. … And a lot of parents don’t know that the earlier you start to play tackle football, the shorter your career.”

Miano and Hardin were both aggressive defensive backs.

“I feel blessed, physically. My hips, joints, fingers seem OK despite what I put my body through,” said Miano, 55. “Mentally, I have much more concern about getting Alzheimer’s or dementia. It was exacerbated by how we practiced, how we played, what was allowed and what we did — all the banging heads not just in games, but in practices. Now repetitive hits to the head have been reduced. The field is softer, and the game is not as violent.”

After college Hardin was a 2012 third-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears. During an exhibition game he attempted a head-first tackle and suffered a neck injury that ended his rookie season before it started. He never played in a regular-season game and was out of football two years later.

“Back in the day you were taught to put your head through his chest. As a result of my poor tackling technique, I went in head down, caught a hip to the top of the head and had to get carted off the field,” said Hardin, who started playing organized tackle football at age 8. “It raises the question in my mind that if we had flex football when I was a kid, would I have learned to play head up? Because there’s no face mask.”