When the Riverdale Falcons’ football season was cut short due to a series of injuries, Athletic Director John Pizzi reached out to the Concussion Legacy Foundation with a mission: “change football.” This moment, followed by a comprehensive study, led to a series of reforms, the most significant being the elimination of the kickoff. Riverdale, along with its peers in the Metropolitan Athletic League, made history by becoming the first high school football league in the nation to ban kickoffs.

So, what made Riverdale football the first of its kind? Will more high schools follow their lead? And with all the talk of “reforming football” and “player safety,” could this small New York league be providing the blueprint for meaningful change?