Football is more than just a game for some Americans. It is a way of life.

When many people think about football the sound of helmets and pads smashing together often comes to mind. No matter their age, football players across America are required to wear helmets.

Players of all ages are taught the same thing: Hit the opponent and get the ball into the end zone. This sounds simple enough until you put someone who is bigger and sometimes faster on the other side of that line. Then, there is the problem.

In a recent CNN news story there is a football drill discussed called “bull in the ring.” In that drill one player stands in the middle of a circle of other players waiting for who is going to hit him next. The player in the circle may not even know the direction of where the next blow to his body will be coming from.

Why would coaches make their players run this drill? Is there really a method to this madness?

Head Football Coach Steve Mullins, who is also Tech’s athletic director, says no.

“Nothing was learned from bull in the ring,” Mullins said, recalling his days as a player.

Drills such as this one are used to make football players feel “tough” but in reality they are learning nothing and could end up with a serious brain injury from such drills.

Concussions are one of the most common and most severe injuries suffered by football players every year. Many times concussions will go unnoticed until the player is tested, which is why many coaches take extra precautions when it comes to the safety of their players lives.

According to the Hughston Sports Medicine Foundation, 20 percent of high school football players experience a concussion every year. Many athletes will lie to doctors so that they can return to the field but this is just hurting them more than helping the team. “Helmets are so much better than they used to be but players have a false sense of protection,” Mullins said.

Since the early 1930s helmets have been required of college teams and in 1957 the National Football League made helmets mandatory as well. Helmets have evolved greatly since then going from small thin leather to larger plastic with padding and a face mask.

Here at Arkansas Tech, football has been a tradition since the early years and helmets are just something that have evolved with the game.

Mullins said every spring Tech football helmets are reconditioned and re-certified. A person from the helmet company comes in and inspects every helmet and every year there are a few helmets that do not meet the requirements and have to be retired.

As technology changes, he said, so will the helmets used in the game of football.