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N.F.L.-Funded Youth Program Says It Reduces Concussions. It Doesn’t.

As increasing numbers of parents keep their children from playing tackle football for safety reasons, the National Football League and other groups have sought to reassure them that continuing reforms are making the game less dangerous.

No reform has received more backing and attention than Heads Up Football, a series of in-person and online courses for coaches to learn better safety procedures and proper tackling drills. The N.F.L. funds and heavily promotes the program. The league and U.S.A. Football, youth football’s governing body, which oversees the program, have sold Heads Up Football to thousands of leagues and parents as having been proved effective — that an independent study showed that the program reduced injuries by 76 percent and concussions by about 30 percent.