Bull in The Ring

What is "Bull In The Ring"? At first, I had no idea. Yet, after reading I learned that it is a football drill where several of the football players form a circle around one member of the team. The single player in the middle begins a shuffle. As, one at a time, the football players fling their bodies at him. Being hit at full force, he is the target of tackle. The player in the middle must adjust his position in attempts to neutralize the attack, then get ready for the next player. The drill will continue until the coach calls an end to it and another player is rotated into the center. A letter from a parent concerning the drill can be found here.
I chose to right about this because I found it very interesting. I, personally, have never heard of this before. I am also a girl, and not a football player. I'm sure those who participated in football during high school, or college have heard about this. Also, your opinion on the matter may vary whether you played the sport or not. Personally, I believe it's wrong. To make someone a target, against raging football players is wrong. Risking their health and well-being is wrong. A lot of coaches think of "bull in the ring" as a drill to excercise agility and mental fortitude. I understand the stragedy of hustling and being able to dodge a tackle, but aren't there easier ways to do it than this?
This drill was much more popular back in the day. Now a days, you hardly see it. Until just recently, a coach from Westport Conneticut did this drill with fifth-graders. Fifth-graders. Boys at the age of ten. The coach's name is Carmen Roda, he descrbed the drill as "head to head, hammer to hammer." Roda also described it as being "more about agression and technique. The old school of coaching football is that aggression." During the season of 2009 his team had twenty concussions, total. After realizing this, Roda decided that he needed to bring in a "new school" way of coaching. Roda continued to say "the game 20 years ago is not the game today, so why not teach it differently?" Coach Roda, who has been coaching football for fifteen years said that all coaches, especially at the youth level, need to be open to newer ways of coaching because we're dealing with kids.
This, is somewhat of a postive story about the "bull in the ring" drill. Yes, it is sad to see any coach try and do that on fifth-graders but to realize there needs to be a new way of coaching is a positive. Not always does it end like that. Everyone has their own opinions, and several aren't afraid to voice them, there are blogs anywhere on the internet. Many people out there think that a lot of aggression and a little injury is okay for the game of football. In my opinion, you can coach aggression without any harmful consequences.