When I finally decided to allow my (now) wife to have our kid, I started dreaming of the days of cheering on my boy from the stands as he competed on the grid iron. However, every year it gets harder for me to see why I would allow him to compete in such a brutal sport. I love the game, and there are many important life lessons to be learned, but do they outweigh the potential hazards? Here's an article about Luke Falk's mother's experience: http://www.spokesman.com/cougs/stories/2015/dec/12/analee-falk-endures-high-lows-of-being-quarterback/ It barely touches on the topic at hand, but I was hoping a few of you might be able to provide some insight, especially Corey and JoCO.
Sid's son Brian was a highly rated HS Football player in Indiana, Sid can answer a lot of questions about youth football and when to start the kids and all that sort of thing. He, JO'Co, and Corey all are good resources since their kids all played football. BTW Sid's son was a walkon at Notre Dame. I don't know the injury factor for youth football, which is of course the immediate concern, esp head injuries. But I do wonder about head injuries in youth soccer since heading the ball is an integral part of the game. My suggestion is though to protect him the most is to stop giving him WSU caps to wear, the stress of Cougin' it must be very harmful to brain developement!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Terry, thanks for the promo. My son has twin 3rd grade boys who are chomping at the bit to play football. He is holding them out of tackle until 5th grade. He'll consider flag football next year as a precursor to tackle. He has a couple of good friends who have played D-1 football at a high level, one of whom played at ND, who both are doing the same with their young sons. As his boys have grown, he has seen some off-the-wall fathers of 2nd and 3rd graders who as coaches don't seem to have a clue. He doesn't want his boys exposed to that type of coaching. He's not concerned with them being "great" FB players. He just wants them to enjoy the experience regardless of where their ability does or doesn't lead them. Needless to say, I fully support his approach.
I played nine years, from 4th grade through high school . My career was tragically cut short by two coaches, Ara Parseghian and Woody Hayes who could not see the value in a 178 lb. linbacker. I made it through with only two injuries, a concussion in the 8th grade and broken nose as a junior in high school I saw a lot of injuries. Mainly to players who were not paying attention on the field. A tentative nature does not lend itself to football. If your son is unsure do NOT make him play. There are lots of sports. I watched my son play high school football. I was a nervous wreck. My other son wrestled. I worried about the other kid.
Thanks guys. That is the part i am unsure about. I still have memories of my little brothers short career which haunting enough, unsure how to handle the stress worrying about this kid.
My dad was a high school football coach in Norfolk, Va. He didn't think that concussions had any lasting effect on his players. Now that we know differently, I don't think I want my grandkids to play football unless significant equipment advances are made. :?
I think it depends on what type of kid you have. If he's a skill guy and appears to be fast (this is really a guessing game at this age), I'd recommend flag football until he gets a bit older. This way he gains conceptual knowledge of the game without most of the concussion/injury risk. Pop Warner is a decent alternative if you want to play tackle because the incredibly tight weight restrictions. My son played 1 year of Pop Warner and never played a snap. He was too tall and heavy. Junior All-American is your other alternative. The big difference with JAA is that there's no height/weight restrictions on anyone except the ball carrier. If your kid is bigger, this is the way to go. The high schools here, at least Decatur, have an incredible concussion protocol. We have 2 Dr's on the sideline of every game and an additional training staff from the local Encore Medical Clinic. Unless you put your kid in a bubble, there's no way to keep him away from injury. Over the years, my son has endured 2 injuries on every level that the officials just do nothing about, and those are pokes to the eye(s) and punches to the throat. They won't let my son wear visors and they won't let him wear a longer facemask. I don't really know what to go other than tell my son to punch the guy in the dick on the way by next time, or use the old school head slap as part of the swim move... but to only do this if the person is starting the issue and the officials won't do anything about it. With each passing year, the science of protection and concussion awareness grows by leaps and bounds. If I had another little boy, I'd let him play football.
re: Pop Warner weight limits I played in the Catholic equivalent, CYO. They had a 105 weight limit for 4th-6th and 135 for 7th & 8th grades. I weighed more than 105 in the 5th grade so I was playing with 8th graders. I took a beating for two years but I was hell on wheels by the time I was an 8th grader!
They would allow my son to 'play up' but his height/weight would have had him at 7 or 8 playing against 12 year olds. It afforded me several teaching moments as I chose to keep him with kids his age, instead of kids his size.
Good conversation, I guess at this point I'll wait a couple years and see how things develop. He's not small for his age now, but that could change.
What you can do know is a bit of research and find out what league types you have locally. Decatur is suffering now because when my son was little, they went to Pop Warner. Kids like my son paid the money, but sat on the sideline. Eventually, roughly half the children who would have played OL/DL started playing in other cities and just stayed there when it came time for school ball. Local lower level school Priceville had a great run this year before losing their last few games. I know they have 3 starters who live in our area. Hartselle is another one that has a few kids who live here. There's 1 or 2 here and there. That adds up. We wound up taking Carson out to play ball in the County. My son went through a lot of bull, but I always told him that "there's no such thing as a 5'7" 165lb OC/NG that isn't on his back" As time went on, he saw I was right.