For an hour on Monday moms of football players can learn about the gridiron game and put their fears to rest while their child safely plays the popular Friday night game.
Luverne’s Mike Cox teaches “Football 101 for Moms” through Luverne Community Education from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday in the CE802 classroom.
“Football looks like a mumble, jumble mess unless you know what you’re looking for,” he said.
Cox is an expert on what to look for, having served as a football referee for high school as well as college games until his retirement last year.
As a referee his job was to enforce the rules of the game and penalize teams and/or players who take unfair advantage toward trying to win the game.
What happens on the field can be confusing to those who don’t know the game.
“When the ball is snapped, the same fans will cheer or yell at what is going on,” Cox said.
The game has some simple premise.
“Everybody has a job and if one person doesn’t do his or her job correctly its either going toward a touchdown or a loss,” he added.
In his class Cox will talk about the terminology, the rules and the equipment used in the game. While he won’t go over every rule in the 112-page referee guidebook, Cox will make sure he will highlight one area for moms.
“There is a lot of concern about concussions,” he said. “If you can understand and appreciate why your child loves the game, he won’t have in the back of his mind that ‘Mom doesn’t want me playing.’”
An added bonus for moms attending Cox’s class is so that they won’t be left out of the conversations during Sunday NFL games, he said.
Cost of the class is free with Cox’s business, Main Street Financial of Luverne, picking up the tab.
“You shouldn’t have to pay to learn about football,” Cox said.
A similar class explaining the basics of a game is “Hockey 101 for All Ages” scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Dec. 5. Tim Connell is the instructor.
Registration for the Football 101 and/or Hockey 101 classes is completed through community education, 507-283-4724.