'Concussion' doctor in NYT op-ed: No high-impact sports until age 18

There was a 49er lineman as well, IIRC.

 

I wonder what other things kids that age should avoid?

 

Interesting article about how the NFL shut down the ProCaps.
Helmets Preventing Concussion Seen Quashed by NFL-Riddell

 

Would be awfully tough to do any conclusive studies ... you'd have to kill a random sample of players who didn't play with them and then kill a random sample of players who did. Would imagine it'd be hard to get a big sample size for that one.

 

It won't be long that all hitting will be taken out of youth hockey in Canada. It has already been removed from all levels except rep hockey.

 

It does seem inconceivable.

My best guess as to where it ends up is a hard ban on tackle and helmets until ninth grade, and perhaps mandatory time on frosh/JV (i.e. only two years of varsity football). I also think there could be minimum roster sizes at the HS level, which would end programs at a lot of schools. Having a team of 30 or 40 kids dramatically compromises safety.

 

Those might help with a blow to the head (like a baseball) but they won't prevent a concussion. Those are often caused by a violent hit. Your brain moves inside your skull and smacks the bone. No matter how much padding you have, the brain is still going to move around if your head is hit or stops suddenly.

 

Go the Aussie Rules/rugby route and get rid of hard-shell helmets and move on with football.

 

In a similar vein, you could do away with the facemask.

 

Exactly -- leave facemasks where they belong -- on the front of D1 softball players' helmets!

 

Paterno always advocated that.

 

Not to determine if they were effective at preventing concussions.