A few short years after the Civil War, America began to play a rough-and-tumble game called football. The physically demanding game where athletes would kick and eventually carry a ball has developed into the most-played sport in America.

The football coaching profession had a slow start. In the early years, the game had player-coaches and later manager-like individuals who had previously played the game.

By 1906, coaches were beginning to make a livelihood from coaching the game, but the game got out of control. President Teddy Roosevelt decided that if the game didn't change, it should be eliminated altogether. It was interesting that Roosevelt didn't call together a Congressional committee to fix the game. He brought in a group of football coaches and gave them the charge to save the game as an American sport.

This was the first national challenge given football coaches, and they responded by developing a game that could be played with more safety, more enjoyment and more attraction to those who wanted to watch.

There is another challenge at hand for the game as we know it today, and that challenge once again involves the health and safety of student-athletes. Out-of-season conditioning practices are being scrutinized in light of recent deaths that have occurred in several levels of football over the past year. At issue is ensuring student-athletes' health and safety under summer conditions while also ensuring their competitive preparedness.

In the early days of college football, coaches tackled that first challenge by implementing rules to regulate blocking, tackling and the forward pass. Emphasis was placed on developing rules that would protect those who played the game. Safety was as paramount to those coaches in 1906 as it is to coaches today. The NCAA was formed so that institutions could oversee adherence to the rules of the game.

Now coaches are integrally involved once again in tackling this latest health and safety challenge.

From 1906 to 1922, men started making the decision to go into coaching as their life's work. By 1922, there was a need to create a professional organization for football coaches. The football coaching profession came into existence that year as the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) was formed, in part, to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and the profession of coaching football," and to "provide a forum for the discussion and study of all matters pertaining to football and coaching."

One of the most important matters always has been the safety and welfare of the players. In 1927, University of Michigan head coach Fielding Yost, at the time chair of the AFCA Ethics Committee, delivered a report to the membership that included 10 "ethical standards." One of them was "to consider the welfare of the players of paramount importance at all times."

The AFCA continues to take a strong position toward player safety and welfare. The AFCA has funded independent research on catastrophic injuries related to all levels of football for the last several years. Two years ago, the AFCA joined the National Athletic Trainers' Association in an educational effort designed to prevent heat-related injuries and deaths. Working with the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, the AFCA helped put together the current spring practice model. The model significantly decreased the amount of contact during spring practice.

Currently, the AFCA is working with the NCAA Out-of-Season Conditioning Working Group, a subcommittee of the NCAA Football Issues Committee. The purpose this group has set forth is as follows: "to clarify for all parties the definition and purpose of out-of-season football conditioning through the development of a variety of models that will lead to an effective strategy that will (1) minimize the health and safety risk to student-athletes, (2) reduce the time commitment of the student-athletes and (3) provide adequate preparation time for the regular football season in an environment that is in the best interests of the student-athlete's welfare."

In a recent survey, Division I head football coaches clearly paralleled the wishes and purposes of the committee. They were asked specific questions that would allow the AFCA to represent the majority viewpoint. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of allowing student-athletes free time to use at their discretion. Coaches agreed that, during that free time, no student-athlete would be mandated to do any conditioning or strength development. However, coaches -- like the majority of the student-athletes -- believe that it should be their right to use their free time to continue their self- improvement if it is of their own volition.

Further, coaches agreed that the starting time for preseason workouts should not be moved to earlier in the summer. Coaches agreed that two days of freshman orientation is plenty. Therefore, by allowing the varsity to report on the second day of the freshman workouts for physicals, it would be possible to start working both groups in shorts on the third day, while emphasizing the importance of the academic orientation period during the first five total days. Another almost unanimous suggestion was to limit two-a-day workouts to a simple formula of having no consecutive days with two workouts.

To properly condition for the game of football, the length of time recommended by the majority of trainers was eight weeks before the beginning of the preseason workouts. The coaches agreed that the eight weeks of summer conditioning should be supervised but not mandatory. Coaches also agreed that all off-season and summer sessions should have a qualified trainer overseeing all medical aspects of the conditioning, and agreed to a limitation of eight hours per week. Finally, the coaches unanimously agreed that all players should have a thorough physical before any conditioning or practice.

Summer conditioning before the preseason is imperative for the welfare of the student-athletes and their preparation to play to their maximum ability. Coaches believe that good judgment, common sense and thoughtful planning -- with the help of logical NCAA rules -- can make for greater safety and a greater game.

Grant Teaff is the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association.