December 2013 Moms

Another youth football question...

We discussed this on SAHM a little while back but...will you let your son {or daughter if she is so inclined} play football given how many injuries there are?

Why or why not? Discuss.

Re: Another youth football question...

  • Yes, if he wants to and I am not afraid to talk to someone if I feel they are not keeping kids safe. I come from a football family and my little brother is a head high school coach. Player safety is a big priority of his.
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  • I would prefer them not to play football...I'm more of a basketball/baseball person. I would try to steer them away from it but if they really reallyyyy want to do it, I would probably agree to it. The second it becomes to crazy and concussions start happening, etc, they're out.

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  • Yes I would. Id prefer something less contact like soccer, but I know SO will want him to play football like he did if LO wants too.
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  • You can only teach them so much, accidents happen. Bad bad ones lately too. I am a big football fan, but I don't think I would let my son play. We have a friend who was an All-American lineman and neither of his sons every played a down in the 16 and 18 years they've been around.
  • And I'm not talking about broken bones, like those that come from tumbling and cheerleading. I'm talking about head injuries, which are at an all time high with football and the lasting effects from them are just beginning to be studied and it's scary.
  • I couldn't imagine NOT letting my son participate in something that he showed interest in.

     

  • ColeRose said:
    Brett Favre I think just came out publicly to saying he had a son he would never let him play football. I thought that was interesting,
    It's becoming pretty common for kids of players not to play from what I've seen. We live around the corner from the most popular QB ever for our college team and his sons don't play either.
  • Every single male in both of our families played football at some point in their lives. It would never occur to me to not let our LO play if the desire was there.
  • I don't love the sport but if DS really wanted to I would let him. He wants to do flag football next fall so we will see how he likes that first. I am worried about injuries but he plays soccer and is a crazy fast /risky skier so he is at risk for injury in most things he does.
  • I couldn't imagine NOT letting my son participate in something that he showed interest in.
    LOL Even if it meant a lasting head injury? Kids show interest in 100 things at a time, I promise if it's not an option it would probably never be an issue. 
  • I would, yes, and perhaps silently pray that he was good, not great, so once he was out of high school it would be a non-issue. That being said, our kids will be immediately signed up for peewee soccer, as DH has played since he could walk. Them again, he's had his fair share of soccer injuries. The latest was in just the past few years when, playing against a dirty team, a guy at least a foot and a half smaller than him took him out from behind and caused a 2nd degree shoulder separation needing surgery. There's risk everywhere. Teach them to play safety and fairly and most major injuries can be avoided.
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  • I think it is important for kids to try a variety of sports and other activities such as music, art and theater. However, I feel bad for kids that are overbooked and over scheduled. We just finished 8 weeks of Saturday morning soccer. I overheard a mom asking her son if he was having more fun at soccer, or piano, or karate or Lego club, or robotics. Good lord, the kid is only 5! We do one activity at a time. When he is older we may do more than one at a time but only if we have to.
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  • My husband and I have actually talked about this and if we have a son, we would prefer him to not play football.
    Meaning, we won't bring it up or sign him up at an early age or anything. We didn't grow up with it so I can't see it being a big deal.

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  • KateMW said:

    You can only teach them so much, accidents happen. Bad bad ones lately too. I am a big football fan, but I don't think I would let my son play. We have a friend who was an All-American lineman and neither of his sons every played a down in the 16 and 18 years they've been around.

    We won't (I actually made it a FFFC a while back.) Coming from the great state of Texas, we've seen too many injured, paralyzed and dead teenagers for us to say yes to it. A friend of the family played pro for about 10 years, two time pro bowler, and he's not letting his son play either. There are also still too many unknowns about brain injuries for me to be okay with it.

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  • I'd love to see the rate of concussions in football vs. basketball. I'm a betting woman and I'm assuming they're not close to each other at all. Let me know the last time you saw a basketball player with a spinal cord injury. It's not so much about what my child does as it is about knowing that there are plenty of kids {and parents} out there that aren't worried about it and don't take the time to learn and play the game safely. Not to mention the "win at all costs" mentality of some programs.
  • Chillpr said:
    I would prefer them not to play football...I'm more of a basketball/baseball person. I would try to steer them away from it but if they really reallyyyy want to do it, I would probably agree to it. The second it becomes to crazy and concussions start happening, etc, they're out.
    This sounds crazy to me, "The minute they get a concussion I'm pulling them out". You'll be pulling your kids outta a lot of sports then. Concussions happen in basketball too.
    I didn't say they specifically had to get a concussion. I was also referring more to once they get older and the risk of more serious injuries goes up. And I'm well aware that other sports get injuries, football just has a higher risk. Being a deployed medic, I promise you I've seen my fair share of concussions and injuries. I'm also not going to try to protect them from the world. Injuries happen in all sports, as a personal preference I would rather they didn't play football. If shit starts going down and a ton of kids start getting injured, I'll be proactive and step in to see what's going on.

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  • Noooope. No TBI sports. I've seen firsthand what repeated head trauma can do to people. Not worth it.
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  • What did you coach, @chillpr
  • And if we're being technical, there is a big different between contact sports and collision sports. I am not a fan of collision sports...where the most traumatic injuries occur. 

    Now, if something changes in the next couple of years, I'll revisit, because we are really HUGE football fans. 
  • Study released in October found that there is no helmet that can protect against concussions. Just sayin.
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  • My husband played football and is a huge Jets fan so he wants his kids to play too. I would like them try out several sports and play what they like most. In all honesty baseball scares me more than football. We had a little boy pass away on a field in my town while playing a game. He got hit in the chest in just the right area and his heart stopped. I've read about this happening more often than you would think. All sports come with risks.
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  • Chillpr said:

    I was a cheerleader and coached cheer as well. In great programs, coaches are well educated on safety, rules and regulations, signs and symptoms, etc. That doesnt mean they all follow it and won't lean back on old school plays and tactics that are risky.

    I'm a sports fan in general and I don't favor one sport over next. DH played collegiate basketball and had more injuries in HS than college. Not saying that's common, but there could be many factors.

    Stats are def significantly different for injuries in contact sports vs non-contact. If your child came to you with a permission slip for lacrosse what would you say?

    Yes, coaches are well educated on safety, rules, etc.; but they're not the ones out there tackling my child.

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  • I was a cheerleader and coached cheer as well. In great programs, coaches are well educated on safety, rules and regulations, signs and symptoms, etc. That doesnt mean they all follow it and won't lean back on old school plays and tactics that are risky. I'm a sports fan in general and I don't favor one sport over next. DH played collegiate basketball and had more injuries in HS than college. Not saying that's common, but there could be many factors. Stats are def significantly different for injuries in contact sports vs non-contact. If your child came to you with a permission slip for lacrosse what would you say?
    Yes, coaches are well educated on safety, rules, etc.; but they're not the ones out there tackling my child.
    And it's convenient how fast the rules of safety fly out the window to win with some of them. Again, I don't worry about my child not knowing how to tackle, etc. I worry about the other team and coaches. 
  • A coach in our neighborhood brags about how many hits his son can take and how he can fake the questions they ask you if they think you might have a head injury. Granted, he's pretty extreme but I'm sure he's not the only coach like that.

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  • Yes. DH played football. Yes I know the risks. I played rugby and that can be worse than football. We have all girls so highly unlikely but if they ask, yes.

     

     

  • My cousin almost broke her neck cheerleading. F's cousin almost died playing baseball. There are risks with any sport (though yes, some are riskier than others). If my child showed genuine interest in any certain sport I'd never keep him from playing. If he did get seriously injured, we would take him out and have him try something else.

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  • Yes. DH played football. Yes I know the risks. I played rugby and that can be worse than football. We have all girls so highly unlikely but if they ask, yes.
    Our neighbors daughter played youth football for a season. She was a badass, but she had enough after one season and went back to dance. :)
  • A coach in our neighborhood brags about how many hits his son can take and how he can fake the questions they ask you if they think you might have a head injury. Granted, he's pretty extreme but I'm sure he's not the only coach like that.

    Coaches like that suck and he should not be allowed to coach youth sports.
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  • If there is a sport that has a high occurrence of TBI, yes I'm going to protect them from it. I'm not talking about breaking a leg or blowing out their knee {both of which have been done by DD's 9 year old classmates in various things}, I'm talking about spinal cord injuries and lasting damage from repeated concussions. 
  • KateMW said:



    Yes. DH played football. Yes I know the risks. I played rugby and that can be worse than football. We have all girls so highly unlikely but if they ask, yes.

    Our neighbors daughter played youth football for a season. She was a badass, but she had enough after one season and went back to dance. :)

    I'd think mine were badass if they did both or decided to play the violin or act in musical theater. I don't really care what they do, just want them to do something.

     

     

  • Oh she's a badass no matter what, but she was spectacular at football. 

    DD is a big musical theatre girl, so that's what we do here...maybe DS can pick that up as well. 
  • Chillpr said:
    @KateMV ok. Competitive cheer would not be your thing either then.
    No, for sooooo many reasons. 
  • I just read that article! I was about to post it. 
  • I'm pretty sure we'll be letting our kids play sports if they really want to. I know that if we get a son, that SO will want him to play football like he did. It'll be scary for me and I would have a talk with them beforehand about what is acceptable. I think that once the first injury occurs, I would ask them exactly how much the game means to them and decide from there whether it's worth the risk.
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  • Oh I know plenty about cheer. I cheered growing up and will still watch a cheer competition if I find one on ESPN. But it's not for us for a number of reasons.
  • I'm in the South, very popular here. We have a nationally ranked competitive gym here. It's well run, just not our thing. 
  • I was an athletic trainer through high school and in my first year of college. I worked with football all 5 years, basketball, wrestling, track and field, and some soccer and volleyball. Honestly, any sport my child comes up to me wanting to play, I'm going to mentally go through all the potential injuries that "go" with each sport. I cheered for 8 years and have lasting knee and shoulder problems due to it...However, I'm going to let him give it a try. I may be out in the crowd (read: as close to the sideline as possible to run out on the field to my baby if he stays down) panicking, but I won't tell him no. I will, however, look at the coaching staff and their responsibility to keep him safe. 

    Also, to note: The coaching/athletic training staff of the coach who believes you can "fake" your way through a head injury assessment needs to be fired. If you are actually given the true test, there is more than saying the months of the year backwards. There are physical and emotional assessments as well. Many players act quite strange with a head injury. A player who might be quite pleasant much of the time is chewing your head off. On the other hand, a very volatile player might be quite and subdued. It's quite similar to a DUI assessment, and shouldn't be able to be faked, if done correctly. That said, some coaches don't do them correctly and risk player's lives. So, for those who do allow their children to play in ANY sport. Make sure before they go back on the field that they are symptom free (physical, mental and emotional) for at least 5 days. 

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  • I swear, my son is only two and DH and I have already gone to town on this topic several times. The high school my kids will attend is known for two things...being a Blue Ribbon School Program and winning the state football championship every year.  Football is a huge deal there and, since it's a small school, most of the boys play (or they're at least on the team).  I think we've decided that we'll let him play in high school if he really, really wants to, but we'll try to encourage him to play something else instead and no youth football no matter how much he begs. 
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