For a few moments last week, Sylvetta Edwards said she "felt like a football player."
The mother of Notre Dame High School rising junior cornerback Kolby McGowan wasn't alone. More than 200 women showed up at the school for the first-ever Moms Football Safety Clinic, a free night of football education and entertainment put on by the Fighting Irish coaching staff and the Atlanta Falcons' Kids and Pros group.
"At first I kind of hesitated to go," said the social worker. "I thought it might be mediocre. But it was very educational and they made it fun. I don't regret going one bit."
Fellow Notre Dame mom Tasha Copeland, whose 15-year-old son Akil Fledge will be a junior running back, had a similar reaction.
"I went to it because I wanted to learn more about football safety," she said. "But it was also fun. We had to jump on a tackling foam (dummy) and hit a coach's hand."
Asked if Notre Dame assistant Curt Jones was surprised by how hard she struck his hand, she laughed and said, "I think so. That was easier than I thought it would be."
The idea for the clinic started a few weeks ago with the ease of a phone call from the Falcons organization to Notre Dame athletic director Matt Pobieglo.
"The Falcons told us what it was," said Fighting Irish head coach Charles Fant, "and that they were looking for a facility that could host it."
A former Vanderbilt quarterback and wideout, Fant is comfortable with football at its highest levels. He encouraged the school to jump at the opportunity to host the clinic.
"Any time we can show our moms what we do and why we do it, it's a big deal," he said. "And to be able to do this for free gives so many more mothers a chance to hear about concussions and other safety issues. That just makes it better."
Led by former Atlanta linebacker Buddy Curry and former defensive back Bobby Butler, Kids and Pros has been staging clinics for kids in Chattanooga for the past six years. That won't change, despite the Notre Dame event. Youngsters are still encouraged to attend the organization's clinic July 11-13 at Finley Stadium, which will include not only Curry and several other former Falcons but also University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach Russ Huesman and his staff.
But with concern growing about concussions and neck injuries due to poor tackling techniques, Curry, Butler and several other former Falcons decided to stage 11 clinics for mothers this spring. The Notre Dame event was one of only three held outside the state of Georgia - the other two held in Auburn, Ala., and Hilton Head, S.C.
"Of all the things we do," Curry said, "these clinics are the most energetic, most focused, most fun events we have. The moms really want to learn. And when we get them on the field for drills, they want to be great at them. They're not just going through the motions."
Added Butler: "I'm always impressed by how passionate (the moms) are. When we start the drills, they always look like they're not going to do that, but they always do."
To that end, Edwards noted that one of her favorite parts was when the coaches and former Falcons had the moms emulate the breaking of the huddle by delivering a single clap, shouting, "One, two, then, huh, or something like that."
Fant has the Irish doing almost everything completely differently than they once did, before concern for head injuries is what it is today.
"Our practices are so different," he said. "We only practice in full pads once a week. We had four concussions this past season, and two of those came in the final game against Alcoa in the state semifinals."
Curry said that's wonderful news for every Notre Dame mom and dad who has a son playing for the Irish, and Copeland's assessment that "the clinic gave me comfort" certainly backs up Fant's enlightened coaching.
But Curry's vast experience also has taught him that the biggest problem with improper tackling techniques, with too many players still leading with the helmet instead of keeping their backs and necks as straight as possible, is most often due to coaches.
"It isn't the students, it's the coaches," Curry said. "We're trying to teach young people to make a tackle with their shoulders instead of their heads. We're trying to develop muscle memory. The problem is, the coaches were taught to lead with their heads and they're often too embarrassed to change."
It also doesn't help when the NFL often seems reluctant to limit dramatic hits around the head, the violence often viewed as a necessary evil to spike television ratings.
Even Edwards, a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan, admits she has enjoyed the bone-rattling hits through the years by such physical Pittsburgh defenders as Troy Polamalu and James Harrison.
"But," she emphasized, "I don't want my son playing that way."
As usual, mother knows best.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.