Will you let your kid play football?

Robert J Sakimano wrote:

CheesySpartan wrote:

Thats an actual show.  It's based in TX.

really?

you mean I didn't just randomly throw three words together that happens to be the name of a TV  show where kids play football.. in a thread about kids playing football?

I'm just surprised you've ever heard of/watched the Esquire Network

CheesySpartan wrote:

Robert J Sakimano wrote:
really?

you mean I didn't just randomly throw three words together that happens to be the name of a TV  show where kids play football.. in a thread about kids playing football?

I'm just surprised you've ever heard of/watched the Esquire Network

I watch that "Brew Dogs" show periodically.. it's somewhat entertaining.

if I had a son, I wouldn't encourage them to play football but it would be hard to discourage them, too. I suppose I would try to redirect them to another sport.. or at least wait until I felt like they were a bit older to start (12 years old or so). I think by that point, you could tell if it was a genuine interest or something they felt compelled to do for other reasons.

oddly enough, in East Lansing, youth football and leading into middle school doesn't seem wildly popular.. it tends to show on Friday nights in the fall at the high school, too.

I'd tell the kid "Do what makes you happy" and then I'd say "You're not my son, why are you asking me?" because I don't have children.

Robert J Sakimano wrote:if I had a son, I wouldn't encourage them to play football but it would be hard to discourage them, too. I suppose I would try to redirect them to another sport.. or at least wait until I felt like they were a bit older to start (12 years old or so). I think by that point, you could tell if it was a genuine interest or something they felt compelled to do for other reasons.

oddly enough, in East Lansing, youth football and leading into middle school doesn't seem wildly popular.. it tends to show on Friday nights in the fall at the high school, too.

It showed BIG TIME last year at the local college too.

Vlad wrote:

Robert J Sakimano wrote:if I had a son, I wouldn't encourage them to play football but it would be hard to discourage them, too. I suppose I would try to redirect them to another sport.. or at least wait until I felt like they were a bit older to start (12 years old or so). I think by that point, you could tell if it was a genuine interest or something they felt compelled to do for other reasons.

oddly enough, in East Lansing, youth football and leading into middle school doesn't seem wildly popular.. it tends to show on Friday nights in the fall at the high school, too.

It showed BIG TIME last year at the local college too.

oh no, you didn't..

Herbie Green wrote:I thought football was a horrible sport to play anyway. After playing basketball and individual sports I couldn't find much allure in it. I always wanted to be directly involved in the action. I think that is why I grew bored with baseball as well.

I don’t know what "problem" you are referring to but I think it is english. Basetball is a team sport but you are constantly in on the action on offense and defense and all players touch the ball.

Robert J Sakimano wrote:

Vlad wrote:

It showed BIG TIME last year at the local college too.

oh no, you didn't..

Oh yes I did!!

Robert J Sakimano wrote:

Vlad wrote:

It showed BIG TIME last year at the local college too.

oh no, you didn't..  

Love that youtube

My short answer for my 3 yr old is NO. I played through HS. Got my bell rung countless times as did my teammates. I've watched my nephews and their teammates get knocked out, bells rung, dozens of times seeing maybe 20% of their actual contact. I have a close connection to the Boston University research end of CTE as well and no way its worth it in my opinion with the info I've seen. Love to watch the game. To each their own of course

Hurricane Izzo wrote:Holy Balls!

I made the mistake of starting a thread on the RCMB that I'm excited that my 2nd son is getting fitted for his varsity jersey today. I may have made the mistake of sliding a bravo moment (called non-players pussies) into the post. The bravado part was a mistake, but I've never been crucified like that in my life.

I certainly understand that football is a violent game. I don't make my kids play, but they fucking love it and I won't apologize for loving watching them play. They are really good and Friday night has become a big deal for me.

What the hell has happened to people? I guess it was the same few people attacking me, and maybe they are here too and will jump on me as well, but I was shocked that absolutely nobody defended letting their kids play football.

Anyone?

It's the pussification of America

Football for the poors basketball for the smart

Going to bump my own thread.
Hell Week finished this week for most High Schools. 5:45 am workouts Tue - Sat.
Super proud of my sophomore who finished #1 in his class and 3rd overall.

As an example - the squat drill is holding a 10lb plate in each hand and uniformly squatting it until touches the ground. My kid did 280 in 5 minutes. Top guy did 301. I'm pretty sure I could do 3.

I would encourage my son to wrestle. That way he'd know how to defend himself if he came into harms way. "Never fight a man who knows how to wrestle" a wise man once told me. I'd encourage him to swim or participate in track and field. Football players looked tough but most would throw a bunch of haymakers like 13 year old girls if you provoked them.

Bill Cain wrote:I would encourage my son to wrestle. That way he'd know how to defend himself if he came into harms way. "Never fight a man who knows how to wrestle" a wise man once told me. I'd encourage him to swim or participate in track and field. Football players looked tough but most would throw a bunch of haymakers like 13 year old girls if you provoked them.

Yep.
The sophomore I mentioned previously wrestled this winter to keep conditioned and build better footwork. He tried to muscle his way through. He got his ass handed to him.

My brother played all the way through 5 years of D1 football at WMU. Never got a single concussion. I would probably let my kids play at least through high school since the risk is a lot lower due to less impact force. If they incurred a nasty concussion or end up good enough to consider playing at higher levels, we would have a discussion about the risks but ultimately it's their decision.

AnomanderRake wrote:My brother played all the way through 5 years of D1 football at WMU. Never got a single concussion. I would probably let my kids play at least through high school since the risk is a lot lower due to less impact force. If they incurred a nasty concussion or end up good enough to consider playing at higher levels, we would have a discussion about the risks but ultimately it's their decision.

I don't believe your brother never had a concussion. But even if true, the on-going subconcussive hits to the head that are impossible to avoid and show no immediate symptoms until later in life are just as dangerous.

http://www.bu.edu/cte/about/frequently-asked-questions/

CheesySpartan wrote:

AnomanderRake wrote:My brother played all the way through 5 years of D1 football at WMU. Never got a single concussion. I would probably let my kids play at least through high school since the risk is a lot lower due to less impact force. If they incurred a nasty concussion or end up good enough to consider playing at higher levels, we would have a discussion about the risks but ultimately it's their decision.

I don't believe your brother never had a concussion. But even if true, the on-going subconcussive hits to the head that are impossible to avoid and show no immediate symptoms until later in life are just as dangerous.

http://www.bu.edu/cte/about/frequently-asked-questions/

I'm aware, I should have said that he never suffered a diagnosed concussion. He likely had a number of micro-concussions or whatever they are that cause CTE.

He's only 29 now, time will tell what sort of impact football had on his brain but he's doing just fine at the moment.

While the impact of football on younger brains hasn’t been studied as comprehensively, scientists at the Mayo Clinic Brain Bank last year discovered evidence of CTE in 21 out of 66 brains they studied that belonged to males who played contact sports when they were young. Perhaps most alarmingly, they studied 198 brains in the bank that had zero documented history of participating in contact sports, and none of those brains showed signs of CTE.
So while the research is still in the early stages, the connection between contact sports in youth and CTE later in life is pretty clear.
“You have to say it simply: It’s a bad idea to hit a child in the head 500 times,” Nowinski said.

https://thinkprogress.org/youth-football-concussion-crisis-f2fc701ca204#.ieggxovvq

Though the current research (which is still very limited) shows a reduced percentage of adults who only participated in contact sports as youths developing CTE it is still there (35%).  It appears to increase depending on years played.  The scary part is that of the 198 brains of adult males who DID NOT play contact sports at any time in their life NONE had CTE.

I always think back to a friend of mine who was our starting center in youth football for 4 years and was very good.  We went to the same HS and over the summer he announced that he would not be playing football anymore.  His mother would not allow it based on the information she had (she worked in the medical field).  Everyone thought that was crazy at the time (Early 1990's).  This is not something new in the medical world it has just been hidden/suppressed due to our culture's love of the game and of course the money been made off it.