Former Tigers coach striving to make football safer

Former Hahnville Tigers coach Lou Valdin may have stepped away from the prep sideline in 2013, but he hasn’t at all strayed far from the game.

Of course, many who follow prep football already know Valdin is lending his analysis each Friday night as part of WWL’s Friday night football coverage. What they might not know about are his continued efforts to make the game he loves and has made his living in safer.

Valdin serves as a Master Trainer for USA Football’s Heads Up Football Program, which was created in attempt to make football safer at the youth and high school levels. The roster of USA Football Master Trainers includes high school coaches and former NFL and collegiate players.

The program was established in 2012. Valdin was the first Master Trainer appointed in the Gulf Coast region.

With the heavy attention thrust upon the declining health of former NFL players and the effect of head injuries — highlighted, for example, by the 2015 movie Concussion, which served as a lightning rod for the topic — over the past few years, making football safer is not only more important than ever, Valdin said, but is truly vital to the sport’s survival.

“It’s very rewarding for me because I truly believe this is what’s gonna save football,” Valdin said. “Football is in trouble. When the President of the United States says he wouldn’t let his son play football, it tells you something. We’re trying to make it a safer game.”

“Heads up” teaches the proper way to tackle, how to recognize a concussion and the proper response and heat and hydration procedures among other focus points. As a certified Master Trainer, Valdin — who began his work with USA football after an overture from Jason Trosclair, Director of Youth Programs for the New Orleans Saints — teaches other coaches these and other points of emphasis. Valdin went to Indianapolis after accepting Trosclair’s offer and went through training for his certification.

The veteran coach of more than 30 years said that today, so much more information is available in terms of player safety and that now the trick is to make it common knowledge.

“I’ll ask a group of coaches who has had a concussion to raise their hand, and not many hands go up,” Valdin said. “But I ask, ‘who’s had their bell rung?’ A lot of hands go up. Well, if you’re had your bell rung, that’s a concussion.”

Part of the Heads Up training entails properly fitting players for their shoulder pads and helmets. It also addresses heat and hydration — that protocol was designed by the Korey Stringer institute, named after the former Minnesota Vikings player who died as result of heat stroke — and what to do in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest.

“The NFL and NCAA wants this to be the standard,” Valdin said.

Four years in, Valdin believes the program is seeing strong results. A school can be certified as a “Heads Up school” after going through the training protocol, and Valdin noted statistics have shown Heads Up schools suffer a markedly less percentage of injured players.

Valdin stepped down as Hahnville football coach after the 2013 season after a long and successful run with the Tigers, citing health reasons and a desire to spend more time with his family. Over 15 seasons, he led the team to plenty of victories, compiling a record of 132-48, seven district championships and 14 consecutive playoff appearances.

The apex of his run at the school came in 2003, when he lead Hahnville to a Class 5A state championship, clinching that crown with a dramatic 41-35 victory over a favored Evangel team.

Overall, Valdin coached for 35 years with stops at Shaw, John Ehret, Higgins, Jesuit and East St. John.

In addition to his duties with USA Football and WWL, he teaches at Norco Elementary School. He’s enjoying his time working with all three.

That said, he hasn’t ruled out a return to the prep sideline.

“It’s not even the games I really miss. I miss working with the players and the coaches,” Valdin said. “I miss the day-to-day, the practice, the camaraderie, game planning with your staff. You still get that itch. Maybe if the right opportunity comes along in the next year or so, I could see it. You might see me back out there.”