Football and What It Costs.

[Azrael]

Terrific work here by Greg Bishop and Kris Jenkins.

www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/sports/football/kris-jenkinss-view-of-life-in-the-nfl-trenches.html?hpw

 

[YankeeFan]

For those of you who have young kids, will you let them play football?

I used to laugh at parents did so. Now, I'm not nearly so sure. Closer to leaning the other way.

 

[playthrough]

Not bad, but I've read more brutal stories on life in the NFL trenches.

 

[Boom_70]

Agreed. Terrific work. Left me wanting more detail on some of morsels that Jenkins spoke of including his put downs of Mangini, John Fox, TO and Ocho Cinco.

Figured it would be usual fair of bitter former player banged up and unable to live his post player life. Not even close.

The NFL should hire Jenkins to run their new player indoctrination program.

Most insightful thing he said was how important that strength and conditioning was to a lineman.

 

[Double Down]

As far as sports writing is concerned, Greg Bishop is consistently doing some of the best work of any newspaper guy working.

 

[LongTimeListener]

For those of you who have young kids, will you let them play football?

I used to laugh at parents did so. Now, I'm not nearly so sure. Closer to leaning the other way.

Taking this to mean you used to laugh at people who kept their kids out???

I know few people who will allow their kids to play. My son would be a good candidate -- he is 9 yo and weighs a fairly solid 110 pounds, lots of bulk and strength but he is so slow when he plays hoops, soccer etc. we would let him play in high school if he maintains this size, but we wouldn't let him play before then.

And I can honestly say that if you told me now he would end up with a Division I scholarship, I would not let him play now. Too much lasting damage on the body.

One very disturbing thing is, I have talked to a lot of youth and HS coaches who still think this concussion talk is much ado about nothing.

 

[YankeeFan]

For those of you who have young kids, will you let them play football?

I used to laugh at parents did so. Now, I'm not nearly so sure. Closer to leaning the other way.

Taking this to mean you used to laugh at people who kept their kids out???

Yes. Thought they were being overprotective.

I know few people who will allow their kids to play. My son would be a good candidate -- he is 9 yo and weighs a fairly solid 110 pounds, lots of bulk and strength but he is so slow when he plays hoops, soccer etc. we would let him play in high school if he maintains this size, but we wouldn't let him play before then.

And I can honestly say that if you told me now he would end up with a Division I scholarship, I would not let him play now. Too much lasting damage on the body.

One very disturbing thing is, I have talked to a lot of youth and HS coaches who still think this concussion talk is much ado about nothing.

See, I might go the other way.

As little kids, the size and speed is unlikely to be enough to cause damage. By high school, the game can be pretty fast, and the collisions can do dome damage.

Obviously, it only gets faster in college, the players get bigger, and the cumulative effects come into play.

 

[Boom_70]

For those of you who have young kids, will you let them play football?

I used to laugh at parents did so. Now, I'm not nearly so sure. Closer to leaning the other way.

Taking this to mean you used to laugh at people who kept their kids out???

I know few people who will allow their kids to play. My son would be a good candidate -- he is 9 yo and weighs a fairly solid 110 pounds, lots of bulk and strength but he is so slow when he plays hoops, soccer etc. we would let him play in high school if he maintains this size, but we wouldn't let him play before then.

And I can honestly say that if you told me now he would end up with a Division I scholarship, I would not let him play now. Too much lasting damage on the body.

One very disturbing thing is, I have talked to a lot of youth and HS coaches who still think this concussion talk is much ado about nothing.

Not much ado about nothing but overblown.

If you wait until your kid is in HS he is at a disadvantage of not being used to contact. He will be going against players who already made peace with that aspect of game at age 8.

Year in and year out youth teams lose more kids to injury outside of football than in . Kids get more banged up in gym class and unsupervised playgrounds.

 

[LongTimeListener]

SI had an article awhile back about a researcher on Ohio who was finding that the cumulative effect of the thousand little hits of youth ball is greater than, and exacerbates the effect of, the big hits in high school.

 

[Lugnuts]

For those of you who have young kids, will you let them play football?

I have a toddler the pediatrician says will be 6'4".
Built solid.
First word was ball.
Strangers look and him and remark, "Whoa, looks like a little football player!"
Around about junior high, the school coaches will come after him.

The answer is not no, but hells no.

Isn't basketball the most wonderful sport?

 

[Boom_70]

SI had an article awhile back about a researcher on Ohio who was finding that the cumulative effect of the thousand little hits of youth ball is greater than, and exacerbates the effect of, the big hits in high school.

Headers in youth soccer are also damaging.

 

[LongTimeListener]

SI had an article awhile back about a researcher on Ohio who was finding that the cumulative effect of the thousand little hits of youth ball is greater than, and exacerbates the effect of, the big hits in high school.

Headers in youth soccer are also damaging.

I know, and I don't teach them when I coach (10U to this point). Danger does not even approach that of football, though.

 

[YankeeFan]

Going too far?

School bans all but nerf/sponge balls:

Administrators at Earl Beatty Jr. and Sr. Public School in Toronto are also citing safety as the reason the school has banned soccer balls, footballs, volleyballs and tennis balls from the schoolyard.

"It is a school issue of safety. I am the principal, I care for the kids' safety and I have that decision making right," Principal Alicia Fernandez told CTV Toronto on Wednesday.

In a letter issued to students, Earl Beatty officials refer to incidents where students, staff or parents have been hit with a hard ball on school property. Parents have been urged to swap hard balls for softer, spongier ones in a bid to end those types of incidents.

"Any balls brought will be confiscated and may be retrieved by parents from the office," the letter said. "The only kind of ball allowed will be nerf balls or sponge balls."

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111119/toronto-school-not-first-to-mull-ball-ban-111119/20111119/?hub=TorontoNewHome

 

[goalmouth]

NFL brutality is like a nursing home scandal--always there when you need it. This kind of story has been written on a regular basis since the Sixties by Jerry Kramer, Pete Gent, Dave Meggyesy, Bill Curry, etc.

And, you'll find retired athletes from all sports -- and contractors, truck drivers and ballet dancers -- whose bodies are broken and crippled.

 

[RickStain]

For those of you who have young kids, will you let them play football?

I used to laugh at parents did so. Now, I'm not nearly so sure. Closer to leaning the other way.

Nope. The injury risk is too high and the reward too low, and the evidence is just beginning to mount that the repeated hits of any contact sport do cause long-term brain injury.

My son will not be allowed to play football or hockey, sadly. Fortunately, genetics probably took him off those teams long before I did.

 

[Versatile]

For those of you who have young kids, will you let them play football?

I used to laugh at parents did so. Now, I'm not nearly so sure. Closer to leaning the other way.

Taking this to mean you used to laugh at people who kept their kids out???

I know few people who will allow their kids to play. My son would be a good candidate -- he is 9 yo and weighs a fairly solid 110 pounds, lots of bulk and strength but he is so slow when he plays hoops, soccer etc. we would let him play in high school if he maintains this size, but we wouldn't let him play before then.

And I can honestly say that if you told me now he would end up with a Division I scholarship, I would not let him play now. Too much lasting damage on the body.

One very disturbing thing is, I have talked to a lot of youth and HS coaches who still think this concussion talk is much ado about nothing.

http://www.chron.com/sports/article/Youth-football-less-dangerous-than-thought-2156582.php

It should be pointed out that there are many doctors who think the concussion-CTE connection is a fabrication and a way for Boston University to get continued funding.

 

[MonsterLobster]

I've written a handful of stories about concussions and done a lot of research into it, and the topic fascinates me. There is so much mounting evidence for the long-term effects of even low-grade but repetitive head trauma (think offensive linemen on every play) that I imagine things like football will be looked at with the same way people see smoking - no one can say they don't know the terrible effects and you're taking your health into your own hands if you do it. I really wonder if in 20 years tackle football won't be replaced by flag football at the youth level and we'll see that continue up the line with that generation to the pro level. Sounds insane, I know, but really look into some of the research. It's scary, scary stuff.

It really bugs me when a football player or hockey goes out and misses two weeks with concussion symptoms and people are calling him out for being weak. I think hockey fans are slightly ahead of the curve on the concussion issue, but they can both be pretty bad if you read comments on stories or look up an injured players' name on Twitter. Every once in a while I'll start talking to someone about the research, the alleged CTE connection, etc., and they look at me dumbfounded and say, "Well, I still think he just got his bell rung."

I'm just glad I have a 2-year-old daughter so I won't have argue about whether or not she should be playing most of the high-risk sports.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Surprising he's so down on FieldTurf.

 

[Double Down]

I honestly think the "meet-me-halfway" solution might be to keep kids playing flag football until, say, eighth grade. At least then they're not taking as many brain shots when their brains are still developing.

 

[Brian]

Get the kid punting and placekicking early. It's a nice route to a scholarship and very little sloshing of the brain.