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If you had or do have a young son would you let him play American Football? (1 Viewer)

Would you let your son play football?

  • Yes

    Votes: 67 44.1%

  • No

    Votes: 85 55.9%
  • Total voters
    152
E-Z Glider said:
I think the NFL will be fine. They pay a lot of money and the biggest/strongest athletes will always be willing to take the risks to be in the NFL. You will definitely see a decrease in quality/participation at the high-school and even college levels though.
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That will eventually impact the quality and popularity of the NFL.

They will be fine, but I think their meteoric rise to the top is reaching its summit.

 
jonessed said:
That will eventually impact the quality and popularity of the NFL.

They will be fine, but I think their meteoric rise to the top is reaching its summit.
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To a degree, I suppose. My point was that the best players (the ones who are really good and love everything about football) will continue to play. You will just see less of the players who maybe shouldn't have been out there in the first place.

 
My boys are 14 and 12, Both have played since they were 7.  My oldest played his freshman year of high school this year.  My youngest has already had a mild concussion at 10 years old, but has been fine since.

They start young, and I think it is a great idea.  When they are that age they are smaller, slower and less aggressive.  That is the proper time to tech technique, proper hitting, proper tackling and falling.  To start them later, when they have hit puberty, have testosterone corsing, and some kids are a foot taller then the next, it is too late.

Around here it is a growing sport, but hockey still rules.  You are just as apt to get hurt playing hockey then football.  Even basketball and soccer get their share.

I am more satisfied that both boys have found an activity that they are passionate about, and gets them out of the house, away from screens, and making new friends.  With indoor training, camps and 2  seasons, they play from Feb-Nov. 

 
dutch said:
Flag football is the way to go when the kids are young and still learning the sport.  Teaches them play design, movement of the game and gives them time understand the rules of the sport.  Once they reach about thirteen or so you add in pads and tackling.  

At that point I'm okay with letting my kid play for reelz.
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Hell my son broke his nose playing flag football then played regular football and didn't see 1 issue all year long on either team.  He is 9 fyi and broke nose when 7.

 
cincredfan said:
Hell my son broke his nose playing flag football then played regular football and didn't see 1 issue all year long on either team.  He is 9 fyi and broke nose when 7.
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I played 4 years of high school football without any significant injuries. The only concussion I got in hs was in the spring of my senior year during a pick up game after track practice (knee to the head). 

 
The future of football will he fine based off shear numbers. There are 320,000,000 people in the country. About 50/50 male/female. 66% aged 15-64 (massive demographic but only official one I could find). That's 160,000,000 with 2/3 to come to roughly 107,000,000. There are 32 53 man NFL rosters for a total of 1696 NFL players.

That's 1 NFL player for every 63,000 men in this country. And naturally, the cream will rise to the top, which is to say there won't be much of a dropoff in talent. Football will be fine.

 
We've had this talk and I feel we sound like many in the middle here, where it's not simply binary. I'm ok with him playing any sport he so desires but I may put caps on him while he's growing up and cannot make informed decisions for himself. (Ex. He can play flag football young and we'll talk tackle when he's in high school if he wants to play).

 
I appreciate all of the discussion in here. Good stuff.

I've been coaching youth flag and tackle for the last 8 years. My son played on the 6th grade team last year; I was the head coach. We have two teams that split as evenly as possible, 19 on one team and 19 on another. We ended up with a pretty big knee injury to one running back and a hip to another running back. Tough to watch that happen at this age.

On the flip side, we haven't dealt with concussions issues much yet. We teach heads up tackling, as stressed by USA Football. That has seemed to help some. I think I've seen one concussion over the last three years of tackle.

However, there is some merit to the guy that was discussing putting your kid out there to deal with an adult's BS. There were a couple of teams in our league that decided not to split their teams evenly like we did, even though that league mandates that you should when you have the numbers to do it. Our last game of the year, we had 17 players available. The other team showed up with 32. We played undersized O lineman and and they got man handled by bigger faster players. We were down 22 - 0 at half and couldn't block anyone. We mentioned to the ref at half that it would be nice if other kids on their team got to play and he basically laughed us off. That opposing coach only removed the starters for one series, on which we scored. Put the guys we couldn't block right back in. In fact, his biggest best O line were still on the field in the 4th up 32 - 6 with two minutes left. I commented on this for all to hear and was called a 'whiner' by the opposing coach. This is 11 year old kids. I was livid, and took this all the way up the league ladder, but who knows if anything will come of it.

This incident might just do it for me. Not sure I want to coach next year, and not sure I want my kid on the field either. 

 
Bull Dozier said:
I played football growing up, and loved it.  My kids got into flag young, and both started tackle in 3rd grade as they do around here.  Both played 3rd and 4th grade and gave it up (I was scrawny as a kid, and they got that from me, so they were generally just getting pummeled and didn't enjoy it).  It didn't break my heart to see them give it up.  I saw a fair amount of concussions in those few years in other kids, and saw a high school player have to give it up after his 3rd concussion.

My older son is now in 8th grade and has to decide in the next couple of weeks if he wants to play high school football in the fall.  I'm leaving it up to him, certainly not encouraging or discouraging him, but won't be heartbroken if he decides not to play.
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Timely bump.  My oldest played freshman football this past fall.  He was one of the two QBs, and they each took turns playing a half.  Long story short, he suffered two concussions during the season and his football career is over.

The first one came during practice of all places.  The freshman coaches were...not very good, to put it mildly.  They didn't think the kids were being physical enough during the games, so they did a bunch of live hitting (I believe in excess of what high school league rules allow, but I believe freshman sports aren't official in MN, so there might not be any rules to break.  I'm unsure on that).  Well, they were doing full speed live hitting kick off/kick return.  You know, one of the most dangerous parts of the game.  My son, all 5'10" and 125 lbs of him was in the front middle of the kick return.  He runs back to set the point on the front line, turns, and some kid with a full head of steam from the kick off team plows into him.  Head hits the ground, gets up dizzy, headache, etc.  It takes him longer than the minimum to come back (and I held him back from a couple of steps of the ptotocol, because I didn't want him rushed back).  He misses two games.

Comes back for the last game of the season.  Plays QB in the second half.  Less than a minute left of a blowout loss.  Coach calls a pass.  He moves in the pocket, can't find anyone so scrambles up the middle.  Sees a trio of defenders so he slides.  Big LB almost twice as big dives into him as he's sliding, and his head hits the ground again, violently, and I'm there to watch as he lays on the ground motionless for what seems like forever.  Learn later he blacked out.  Started the process over.  No games left, so nothing left to miss...except he is held out of captains practices and "warm ups" for the basketball season, so he misses the start of that.

No more football in my house.

 
Ditkaless Wonders said:
Hell yes.  Actually I am in the process of trying to get an ovum from JJ Watts mother and some Calvin Johnson sperm with which to fertilize the egg.  The resulting son will be fed nothing but pineapple, raw beef, deer antler velvet, and mangos.  I will bathe him every night in GGH (Gigantopithecus Growth Hormone) and will have him strapped to the same wheel young Conan was strapped to.  I will make Todd Marinivich's father look rational in comparison to how hard I will push.  At 21 I will release my creation on an unsuspecting world.

If the resulting baby is a daughter I will just have to figure something out.
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If you are going that far finding the male sperm should not be to much of an extra cost.

 
Henry Ford said:
A neuropathologist has examined 111 NFL players' brains.  110 of them had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/football/nfl-cte.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
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I thought I read when they expanded it to HS and college players, it ended up being 175 of 202. Still not much better and doesn't look good for the sport at any level. I have a son right now, he's 1, so have a long way to go. But no chance he's playing football at any level. Hope he likes baseball lol

 
My 2 boys (14, 10) play soccer. We never specifically forbid football, but never said "Hey, wanna try football?". 

I'm under no impression that soccer is free of concussions, but definitely there is a reduced risk. I teach them to be very careful on the headers (head to head & head to elbow/shoulder contact) and if there's any doubt just let the other guy get it. Same goes for putting a head on a rocket shot or goal kick. Chest it or let it go.

 
I was ok with my 16 year old playing HS football. I am not so sure now. I have to be honest, kid loves contact sports and has had only 1 concussion when he was 10. Pretty sobering news. 

 
The risk is there but really undefined in terms of how much. Regardless of whether the risk is 10% or 70% anything above 0% in my wife's and my opinion isn't worth it for playing HS football.

 
i played hs football and hey brohans i turned out fine well except you know so hey if you want your kids to be like the old swcer i say sign em up take that to the bank bromigos 

 
Luckily my son isn't into football too much.  He is much more a baseball player, and that's where is passion lies.  He's been asked to play by coaches/friend's dads - but there is no desire.  The closest he gets is flag football, which he does for fun in the fall to break up the spring/summer ball schedule vs winter workout schedules.

Pretty sobering statistics here.  I'd have to wonder how many families who are staunch football families will overlook or push this to the side?  Are HS football rules not well documented/observed?  Based on BP's story above, I'd have to think that not many practices are as supervised or governed well.  What about the youth leagues?  The younger kids which can't/don't move as well with all the pads/helmets on?  They may not be able to control themselves as well and fling their bodies into other players.  I'd be surprised that there aren't more issues...maybe under-reported?

 
I may propose some other events to replace fantasy football and tailgating at KU and Chiefs games. I really have no desire to support football in any way. 

Who is up for a game of bags and some BBQ before the women take the pitch at Rock Chalk?

 
I played four years of HS football (starter 3-4 years).  I never once saw a concussion although i wonder if they just did not diagnose them the same way back then.  For those of you that have seen multiple and blackouts, that would be it for me.  No more football.  I loved playing it growing up but, the facts are just scary. 

 
Buckychudd said:
At a younger age, the speed and size isn't all that great....you don't see many hard collisions, injuries, or concussions.  I understand there is a risk, but honestly I love the sport and so do they.  If either get multiple concussions I would intervene and not let them play.
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Agreed.

My son started playing tackle football in the 1st grade.  It is hard to believe he has been playing now for 8 years and the start of the 9th season is upon us as he enters high school.  When he wanted to start playing, I left the ranks of coaching high school and started coaching the youth league.  I was his coach from 1st through 6th grade.  If he was going to participate, I wanted to be part of the learning environment.   We made a conscious effort to teach the safest techniques we could.  We made a conscious effort to avoid mismatches in drills.  We actually did very little full go contact in practice in those 5th/6th grade years.  The younger levels are a lot more cute than violent, but as you climb to 4, 5, 6th you definitely start to feel the game changing.  The problems in those middle years seemed more pronounced for the "new" kids as they just aren't used to it/don't know what to expect and thus they play timid which is not good.  I have certainly seen a few kids get hurt over the years.  My son managed to stay pretty healthy (only injury was a strained back in 6th grade year that forced him to miss 2 games) and he absolutely loves playing the game.  I can definitely understand people's apprehension, and do not hold it against anyone making the decision not to play for their child.  I know concussions are a significant concern, but I have witnessed as many, if not more, concussions the past few years in soccer, baseball and basketball than in football.  Risk is everywhere.

 
I played small college football and it basically helped pay for my college degree.

My son just turned 11 and his life goal right now is to play WR in the NFL (I was a WR).  I'm kind of a dream big type of guy, so I've encouraged him and helped him work on his skills.  That said, he has played in flag football leagues for 3 years, but we have kept him out of tackle football...until this Fall.  We are getting his pads and helmet checked out on Thursday and then he will be introduced to the world of real football starting then.

I played WR & Safety in HS and then WR in college.  The vast majority of my collisions came when I was in blocking as a TE.  I can count on one hand the number of times I took a shot near the head as a WR at any level and am fairly certain I never got a concussion (did get one playing basketball, so I know what they are like).  A player who truly plays on the outside will likely not see half as many collisions as the lineman, RB's, TE's and front 7 defenders.  Not sure how I'd feel if he wanted to be a middle backer or fullback, I'd probably hold him back a little longer at least but he isn't built for that.  He will be long and lean until he is old enough to get fat and out of shape like me.

tl:dr - Yes, my son is 11 and he will be playing tackle football this Fall.

ETA - I didn't play organized football of any kind until I was in 8th grade.

 
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SWC said:
i played hs football and hey brohans i turned out fine well except you know so hey if you want your kids to be like the old swcer i say sign em up take that to the bank bromigos 
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No diss to the old swcer, but I just flashed to Lawrence Taylor in Waterboy.

 
My youngest son will be 11 this year and is in his 3rd season of tackle football. For his first two seasons they played 6 on 6 and scrimmaged at the 35 yard line. There was 4 games going on at the same time on a standard sized football field. Games consisted of each team getting 6 offensive plays and if they scored a TD or turned the ball over via fumble or Int they went back to the 35 yard line. Each team got two sets of 6 offensive plays and the team that scored the most TDs won the game. These modified conditions allowed the kids to be eased into the world of tackle football imo. 

This season each team has 11 players on the field and they follow the standard football rules with special teams added (punts and field goals). Maybe we have just been lucky up until now, but football has been a rewarding experience for my son. The CTE article does make me wonder if we are doing the right thing allowing him to play though.

 
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I let them play tackle until this year.

When they are little, the worst of the worst hits are laughable gentle.  Getting big enough to hurt themselves or others now.

No more football.

 
Homer J Simpson said:
52% No votes?

Jebus, I'm not one of those "Wussification!" guys but this seems completely crazy to me.
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There is a point where the CTE-scare is real, particularly with teens and adults running into each other at full speed, but where is the data to indicate that it's a real issue for a kid that (for example) plays tackle football from 4th-6th grade and then quits?  Not letting your kid experience tackle football at this age seems like an overreaction. 

The problem comes when your son falls in love with the sport, gets good at it, and wants to continue to play through junior high and high school.  That's the point where I think parents (and the kid) have tough decisions to make.

 
Buttonhook said:
There is a point where the CTE-scare is real, particularly with teens and adults running into each other at full speed, but where is the data to indicate that it's a real issue for a kid that (for example) plays tackle football from 4th-6th grade and then quits?  Not letting your kid experience tackle football at this age seems like an overreaction. 

The problem comes when your son falls in love with the sport, gets good at it, and wants to continue to play through junior high and high school.  That's the point where I think parents (and the kid) have tough decisions to make.
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Kids can play flag football at that age if they love the sport. Tough to see what benefit there is to allowing them to tackle at all at that age, particularly given the health risks. 

 
My son started 7th grade last year at a new school where all of the boys have to play a sport all three seasons. He's a hockey/lax player, had never played football. The other two choices were XC and soccer, he chose football. I wasn't crazy about the idea but let him choose. I know he'll only play three years, in 10th grade they let you choose weightlifting for a season or two as kids specialize. And they don't let kids do three varsity helmet sports.

Anyway, it was a great experience. No better way for a group of boys all new to a school to get to know each other. The majority had never played before. And of the three sports he plays I'm worried the least about injuries in football. 

 
I have 4 sons, only one of which played football and he gave it up after 8th grade - as he entered high school he didn't want to risk getting injured and screwing up his passion for baseball.  Wish they all had played.  Nowadays too many kids play only one or no sports and I wish it was like it was back in the day when you were encouraged to play a different sport in every season.  Different times now is there is so much specialization.

 
Johnny Bing said:
Seems pretty straight forward statement from back in March.  i still stand by that statement.  There is just as much if not more risk getting behind the wheel of a car as there is playing football.  
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Or he could injure his hand building straw men. 

 
  I played and loved the game.  But I remember getting hit so hard that a wave of pain went thru my entire body (special teams are brutal).  The science is proving that we weren't meant to absorb these kinds of impacts.  "Shake it off" don't cut it anymore.  Those of you letting your kids do this need to look at the facts.  It isn't safe.  Doesn't matter how much fun I had playing the game.  The risks have to outweigh the rewards.  

 
squidrope said:
  I played and loved the game.  But I remember getting hit so hard that a wave of pain went thru my entire body (special teams are brutal).  The science is proving that we weren't meant to absorb these kinds of impacts.  "Shake it off" don't cut it anymore.  Those of you letting your kids do this need to look at the facts.  It isn't safe.  Doesn't matter how much fun I had playing the game.  The risks have to outweigh the rewards.  
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I think the rewards far outweigh the risks. What percentage of people who played through high school have CTE or other major life-changing health problems?

 
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