GET IN THE GAME
SCORE BIG WITH FAMILY-FRIENDLY TOUCH FOOTBALL
Ready to tackle some family fun? Nothing beats a good old-fashioned game of touch football when the weather outside cools. It’s the perfect way to get everyone running, laughing, and scoring a few points — without needing to be a pro quarterback. So, grab some comfortable shoes, and let’s dive into the playbook for the MVP of family games! MAKE BALANCED TEAMS To get started, create two teams among your family, with at least two players on each team. While letting kids choose their teams is fine in most cases, remember that the more balanced the teams are, the more fun everyone will have. If you have an uneven number of players, you can follow an old
Michael Krasnov has been a chiropractor for 36 years and is still learning new things.
He has treated many athletes, from Olympic runners to Croatian ju-jitsu artists. He has also been a chiropractor for Duke University’s basketball stars and their famed Blue Devil mascot. As a chiropractor at the World Games in 2022, he had to hit the books many evenings to learn about sports he had never seen. “What’s netball? What’s korfball?” he recalls thinking. To earn athletes’ trust, he learned the athletic skills required and the vocabulary used in each sport. For Dr. Krasnov of Chiropractic Partners in Durham, N.C., learning is a major reward of his profession. “I love it. It’s a challenge for me. I get to meet wonderful people,” he says. “It keeps me fresh because I always have to be thinking and learning.”
playground rule and have one of the older players be the quarterback for both teams, ensuring everyone gets to play while the game remains balanced. Once you form teams, create the playing field by setting up small cones or beanbags to mark boundaries and end zones. FOLLOW THE RULES Before you start playing, ensure both teams agree on the rules. There are obvious ones, like where the end zones are, how many points a touchdown is worth, and how many downs each team has — either to get a touchdown or, space permitting, a first
down. You also must determine what constitutes a player as “down” — when one or two hands touch the player with the ball, whether they need to be touched on the torso or anywhere, etc. You also have to decide if a team doesn’t score, whether the opposing team takes over from where the ball ended up, or whether each team has a set starting point for each drive. Once you prepare everything, it’s time to hit the field. You can determine which team gets the ball first with a game of rock-paper-scissors and play until one team reaches a predetermined score … or it’s time
Dr. Krasnov served as the chiropractor for all teams at North Carolina State University for four years and at Duke University for 13 years. He was the team chiropractor for the U.S. Olympic Track & Field team in 1996 and treated athletes at the World Powerlifting Championships and the Pan American and World Ju-jitsu championships. As a Certified Chiropractic Extremity Practitioner, he has taught post-doctoral courses for over 25 years.
Dr. Krasnov says the outlook for further integrating chiropractic into sports medicine is bright. While team chiropractors were scarce years ago, “now, every U.S. Olympic team brings multiple chiropractors. Every NFL team has a team chiropractor. Years ago, that wasn’t happening, but the athletes demanded it.”
to go inside and enjoy a family meal. Remember, the best part of family touch football isn’t just the touchdowns — the laughter, teamwork, and fun make every play memorable.
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