NASHUA – There are no proposed changes to the Nashua football program, largely, in part, thanks to an outpouring of student support for the program at a recent Board of Education policy committee meeting.

BOE member Howard Coffman suggested a change in the district’s football program, mainly a transition away from tackle football toward flag or touch football.

With this, the conditioning, courage and skills of the sport would stay in tact, but the risk would be minimized, he explained, referencing Cooper Doucette, a former student was paralyzed during a 2010 preseason football practice.

“One is more than enough,” Coffman said of that type of injury. He also expressed concern over the district’s liability in such a case; the city of Nashua paid Doucette a $1.3 million settlement in 2017.

“We shouldn’t be in a situation where we’re doing anything to encourage that,” Coffman said.

However, according to Nashua Athletic Director Lisa Gingras, the district is doing everything possible to support that. Students, coaches and athletic staff are all trained in “Heads Up” football, a way of tackling so the head stays up and risk for concussion or other injury is minimized.

There are policies in place, such as return to play and a new return to learn, to handle concussions she said, and athletic trainers are always available, traveling to away games as well.

The district’s lead athletic trainer, Jerry Holland, said that in the almost 30 years he has worked with the district there have only been two serious injuries.

In recent years they have also made sure that players don’t move right into tackling, but rather, phase that in.

The students, over two dozen of whom squeezed into the tiny meeting room in the administrative

building, all agreed they felt safe on the field.

Tony Agor, a Nashua High School South player, said that the coaches seem to care more about the safety of athletes than they do about athletic abilities.

“They’re out watching you so you can go out there and have fun and be safe doing it,” he said.

Mike Loveless, a player from Nashua High School North, said he had a concussion, saw trainer Matt Gilman right away, and went through the return to learn protocol.

Gilman, he said, “protected me from myself,” keeping Loveless from going right back on the field.

“I’ve had my fair share of injuries,” South’s Jaylan Pacheco said, “but was always well taken care of.

“Football brings people together. It makes us a family.”

Another player said he had reached out to Kendall Reyes, an NFL player and North graduate. He read a statement from Reyes.

“Football has its apparent risks,” Reyes wrote, “but that doesn’t mean it needs to be changed or banned … Instead of focusing on remediation, the focus should be on education, teaching these kids how to play an incredible sport at a high level.”

South’s Tyler Bernard strayed away from the safety aspect.

“There are a lot of people in here who are going to be playing college football,” Bernard said.

If the school were to switch to flag football, a lot of college athletic prospects could be lost, he suggested.

Coffman assured the players and coaches that he was not going to “kill football,” but that he only wanted to have a discussion around the topic.

“What did you just do for your football program in Nashua?” he asked them. “You’ve demonstrated your commitment to the program and provided me with concrete examples of why this thing needs to be in place.”

Board member Doris Hohensee echoed that sentiment. “You helped reassure me to know it is not as big a risk as it appears when you read about it,” she said.

Heather Raymond and Ray Guarino also expressed appreciation to the students.

Raymond said she was impressed by the level of commitment, and Guarino said that if the issue ever came before the board he would never vote for it.

However, Coffman said that is not likely to happen any time soon.

“I’m not going to be making a change to football, I don’t foresee any motions coming out of this,” he said. “I’m thrilled to hear that we have a thriving program. Thanks for taking away the concerns of an ignorant person who doesn’t know a lot about football. Thanks for coming in and setting the record straight.”

Hannah LaClaire can be reached at 594-1243 or hlaclaire@nashuatelegraph.com.