TIFTON — Mom’s night out just got a little more physical. The Atlanta Falcons Moms Football Safety Clinic visited Tift County High Monday, delivering information on football before giving the approximately 120 attendees a chance to experience life on the gridiron for themselves. Before the session began, Buddy Curry said the goal was to spread the word as to what the National Football League was doing to promote safety. Curry knows what it’s like on both sides. The co-Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1980, he played for Atlanta from 1980-87. These days, he works with the clinics as well as with Kids & Pros, which uses retired players to teach fundamentals and character to youth. He is also a Master Trainer with USA Football and works with the Heads Up Program, which focuses on youth player safety. Tifton was selected for a clinic, he said, as it is “a big football town,” with “people excited to learn about football.” Sixteen clinics are scheduled. Five, he said, for kids and 11 for moms. They have covered much of the southeast, traveling to Tennessee, Alabama and all over Georgia. Today, Curry said he will be in Columbus. Following an introduction by Community Relations Coordinator Amanda Dinkel, Curry was the first speaker to the crowd at the Performing Arts Center. He shared information on concussions, how they are diagnosed and their treatment. “The more information you have, the better decisions you make,” he said. Even if a concussion is merely suspected, he had the attendees repeat the, “when in doubt, take him out.” Players should be eased back to action after a concussion and should be watched to lessen the odds of second concussion syndrome. Brian Parker with the Taylor Hooton Foundation was next to deliver information. Parker wanted to warn about performance enhancing drugs. He gave the story of Hooton, a Texas high school baseball player who wanted to do what he could to excel as a senior. Hooton began using steroids and after admitting his use to family and a doctor, quit using cold turkey. Unable to cope with the withdrawal symptoms, he committed suicide. Steroids are readily available, Parker said. Even if a player or parent goes to a source they consider trustworthy for diet supplements, such as as GNC, he said that about 25 percent of all of them contain steroids, even if they were not mentioned on the label. Parker listed two websites to help determine the makeup of supplements, nsfsport.com and aegisshield.com. J.J. Ashton with Riddell sports equipment spoke about making sure equipment fit properly. He brought Curry up to aid with the demonstrations of helmets and shoulder pads. “You always want the helmet as tight as possible,” said Ashton. With the pads, he pointed out the trend of wearing smaller shoulder pads. He said that players need to “make sure the a/c joints are covered.” Not doing that, he said, could lead to more shoulder separations. The final speaker before the moms went out to the field was local mother, Chantel Brown. She talked about the difference sports, particularly football, had made in her son’s life. “Keep pushing them,” she said. Following the presentations at the PAC, Curry took the moms on the field at the mini-stadium to let them experience the life of a football player. They participated in a variety of ladder drills for agility, caught some passes, then learned proper tackling form before having a chance to demonstrate them. Among the former players Curry brought with him were a trio of former Falcons players: cornerback Bobby Butler (1982-91), wide receiver Floyd Hodge (1982-84) and safety Robert Moore (1986-89). Also on the field was Forrest Conoly, who played for Florida State as a lineman before becoming a commentator. They were joined by Tift County’s head coach, Ashley Anders, as well as several of his assistants. http://www.tiftongazette.com/sports/falcons-present-moms-safety-clinic/article_40e30a02-170d-11e6-ba9f-53f5de7c0759.html