My boys' high school just dropped football

[Eric15]

Football won't die off, the way it is played will change. Kids shouldn't and hopefully won't put on pads until the high school level.

I wonder if doing away with kickoffs one day could be a reasonable compromise. My understanding is that a disproportionate number of serious injuries happen on kickoff returns.

 

[Hoo's That]

I wonder if doing away with kickoffs one day could be a reasonable compromise. My understanding is that a disproportionate number of serious injuries happen on kickoff returns.

It would be a start, but it still doesn't address the continual headbanging of line play that could lead to CTE. I seriously doubt the late Mike Webster for the Stillers was involved in many kick off returns, but he's regarded as Patient Zero for CTE.

 

[Finwad32]

I wonder if doing away with kickoffs one day could be a reasonable compromise. My understanding is that a disproportionate number of serious injuries happen on kickoff returns.

I think you'll see a day where all drives after scores and to start a game/half start at the 25 yd. line.

 

[Finwad32]

It would be a start, but it still doesn't address the continual headbanging of line play that could lead to CTE. I seriously doubt the late Mike Webster for the Stillers was involved in many kick off returns, but he's regarded as Patient Zero for CTE.

The real issue... you can never do away with line play but you've got to do away with using helmets to initiate contact.

It's already taught that way.

Also why I am a big proponent of doing away with helmets as we see them now. I think if you use the helmets that you see in most 7 on 7 tournament now you'll see a drastic reduction in head injuries. And you can still dress them up to look pretty or have the team logo.

 

[sufandu]

Is there a football position that is more or less likely to have CTE later in life?

I haven't seen anyone say anything about that. My guess is that it's too early for the research to get that specific.

 

[bnoro]

The real issue... you can never do away with line play but you've got to do away with using helmets to initiate contact.

It's already taught that way.

Also why I am a big proponent of doing away with helmets as we see them now. I think if you use the helmets that you see in most 7 on 7 tournament now you'll see a drastic reduction in head injuries. And you can still dress them up to look pretty or have the team logo.

100% agree. Think football would be a lot safer with less padding, as crazy as that sounds. Soft padding rather than hard shells is what we need, in both shoulder pads and helmets.

 

[hungrychuck]

Yep. Not baseball.

Definitely not baseball. For better or worse, that sport is going, going...gone.

All signs point to soccer.

 

[Bayside44]

Definitely not baseball. For better or worse, that sport is going, going...gone.

All signs point to soccer.

MLB attendance has never been better.

 

[Fly Rodder]

MLB attendance has never been better.

It's a dying sport!

 

[Faegan]

Here is a good interview of Robert Cantu from Inside lacrosse, who describes the impact of subconcussive contact on long-term brain health:

"What we’re seeing in our study at the Center for the Study of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy at BU, we’re seeing that the athletes that end up with CTE seem to end up with it based on the total amount of brain trauma they sustain, not the amount of concussions. So we find athletes that have taken thousands of sub-concussive blows but only a few concussions might be at great risk than athletes that have 10 or 11 recognized concussions but are playing a sport that is not at risk for repetitive head injury."

Lots of good insight in there.

Particularly found this interesting:

"Is lacrosse a wise choice for parents considering a sport for their son?
Yes, I think lacrosse is a great sport and a great option for kids. Personally, I think if a kid had to focus on a sport in the spring that lacrosse is a great one. The reality is that the same kind of kids that like to play football in the fall like to play lacrosse in the spring. If they start picking up concussions, we sit down with parents and, “If your child’s been fortunate enough to get over his most recent concussion and we can consider going back, you can’t keep exposing him to this type of trauma year-round. You have to pick one and, of the two, lacrosse would be the safer.”

 

[TheCusian]

People like watching baseball, especially in person with a beer in hand. But my boys *hate* playing baseball.

They watch soccer on youtube all day. Small sample size - but the world is getting smaller via the internet and soccer is the world's sport. My kids can ID LeBron, Curry, Messi, Renaldo, etc. But wouldn't know a MLB baseball player if he was wearing the gear in our house.

 

[Delmar]

It would be a start, but it still doesn't address the continual headbanging of line play that could lead to CTE. I seriously doubt the late Mike Webster for the Stillers was involved in many kick off returns, but he's regarded as Patient Zero for CTE.

Unless I'm wrong, Webster was a long-snapper, too, and in on the punting game. I saw a penalty called this pre-season when someone hit the snapper. I guess that's a new penalty, or I just haven't been paying attention.

 

[Delmar]

No. The soccer boom will continue

You're probably right given how poorly baseball promotes itself. WS games starting at 9:30, the growing length of the games. They have made mistakes at every turn.

 

[st_machine]

Everything is dangerous...life is dangerous.Girls soccer sounds pretty dangerous:

Female soccer players suffer the most concussions in high school sports: Study finds significant increase in overall reported concussions since traumatic brain injury laws enacted

I don't see any effort to do away with girls soccer gaining momentum.
People choose the facts they want to believe.
I personally think football is
much safer at the youth level: The kids are smaller and lighter, no one really knows how to hit that well,
and the kids overall are pretty rubbery.

 

[Bayside44]

People like watching baseball, especially in person with a beer in hand. But my boys *hate* playing baseball.

They watch soccer on youtube all day. Small sample size - but the world is getting smaller via the internet and soccer is the world's sport. My kids can ID LeBron, Curry, Messi, Renaldo, etc. But wouldn't know a MLB baseball player if he was wearing the gear in our house.

Baseball is pretty regional. My kids are all about Bryce Harper, Max Scherzer, etc but really don't know players on other teams.

 

[Hoo's That]

Everything is dangerous...life is dangerous.Girls soccer sounds pretty dangerous:

Female soccer players suffer the most concussions in high school sports: Study finds significant increase in overall reported concussions since traumatic brain injury laws enacted

I don't see any effort to do away with girls soccer gaining momentum.
People choose the facts they want to believe.
I personally think football is
much safer at the youth level: The kids are smaller and lighter, no one really knows how to hit that well,
and the kids overall are pretty rubbery.

Female volleyball players can get concussions, too, by falling to the floor or getting a knee to the head when 2 players go for a ball, but CTE is not just about concussions. I really wish folks would stop with the "But {fill in non-football sport here} has a lot of concussions, too," because concussions are a part, but not the only cause, of CTE.

You must have strictly monitored weight limits in youth football or there will be a lot of trouble due to the mismatches. At the HS level and above, there are no weight limits and you can easily have 200+ pound, D1 OL recruits going up against 150 pound (I'll be generous) LBs whose only football future is playing IM for their dorm/frat.

 

[reedny]

A school of 1500 students in Ellicott City, Maryland, Centennial High School, will not play varsity football this year. They can't field a team.

This is what's up ahead. Fear of CTE is going to radically change the sport. Parents are not going to tolerate the risk of brain damage for their children.

I'm listening to ESPN commentary on youth football right now with no serious consideration of CTE. The NFL is in complete denial about this.

Baseball is about to experience a renaissance.

They talked about touch FB last night on the Giant's (pre-season) game.

 

[skurey]

Soccer is an easy fix. No headers at the high school level.

 

[bigmike]

People like watching baseball, especially in person with a beer in hand. But my boys *hate* playing baseball.

They watch soccer on youtube all day. Small sample size - but the world is getting smaller via the internet and soccer is the world's sport. My kids can ID LeBron, Curry, Messi, Renaldo, etc. But wouldn't know a MLB baseball player if he was wearing the gear in our house.

My experience as well. I recall when my kids were younger and playing t ball, they couldn't stop looking across at the lacrosse and soccer games on the other side of the facility. I love baseball, but if my guys have to keep it going with their dollars, I fear the game may have seen better days.

 

[SU68]

The real issue... you can never do away with line play but you've got to do away with using helmets to initiate contact.

It's already taught that way.

Also why I am a big proponent of doing away with helmets as we see them now. I think if you use the helmets that you see in most 7 on 7 tournament now you'll see a drastic reduction in head injuries. And you can still dress them up to look pretty or have the team logo.

Get rid of helmets altogether. Play like soccer and rugby. Also get rid/reduce the ridiculous shoulder pads used today. They are also weapons.

 

[texascpa]

Everything is dangerous...life is dangerous.Girls soccer sounds pretty dangerous:

Female soccer players suffer the most concussions in high school sports: Study finds significant increase in overall reported concussions since traumatic brain injury laws enacted

I don't see any effort to do away with girls soccer gaining momentum.
People choose the facts they want to believe.
I personally think football is
much safer at the youth level: The kids are smaller and lighter, no one really knows how to hit that well,
and the kids overall are pretty rubbery.

I've been saying this for a while. Soccer isn't as free from injury as many would believe.

 

[texascpa]

They talked about touch FB last night on the Giant's (pre-season) game.

Gruden also had a passionate sermon on the benefits of football. It was a good speech.

 

[Eric15]

But wouldn't know a MLB baseball player if he was wearing the gear in our house.

Baseball has fewer household names right now than probably at any point in MLB history.

 

[sufandu]

Baseball has fewer household names right now than probably at any point in MLB history.

I'm not a baseball fan but would choose baseball for my kid if I had professional athlete magic dust.

 

[bigmike]

A friend's son attends a swanky prep school here in NJ. I asked him whether he thought that they would consider dropping football since schools like that are frequently very progressive. He said no, and that their Board of Trustees, when the topic of flag football was raised as a substitute, shut the discussion down in short order. I think ultimately that Mom's will have the final say there, although it may take a few more years.