HS Football players dropping like flies - would you let your son play football?

[DeadlyDynasty]

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/11626686/high-school-football-player-dies-suffering-head-injury-third-recent-death

3rd death in less than a week. Couple this with all the CTE awareness lately and shit is looking grim for the future of the sport--longterm:(

Would you be ok with your kid playin dat fooseball? If so, is there an age limit? My kid wouldn't play Pop Warner ball, tbh. He'll still be in private school during MS years, so I'd be ok with him playing there, far away from the 23 y/o Jamals of the world. HS (public) it's his choice, unless the wife steps in and nixes it.

[The Reckoning]

lol america will turn into a pussy soccer nation

[lefty]

lol america will turn into a pussy soccer nation
Yeah because wearing a shitload of protections and a helmet is really manly :lol

[JoeTait75]

I have a son and I would absolutely let him play HS football. He has my genes and I'm a lousy athlete, so I have a pretty good idea he wouldn't play beyond HS. So the odds would be against him sustaining any permanent physical damage. I'd be happy to see him play because it's a great experience. I played two years of HS and although I frankly wasn't very good I still got a lot out of it.

That having been said I would not let him play youth football. I think you need to achieve a certain level of physical maturity in order to be ready for the contact. And I don't like the way a lot of youth football programs are run.

[Infinite_limit]

lol america will turn into a pussy soccer nation
But toned with more proportional legs?

Playing only in High School is sufficient enough, if you aren't good enough to make it in basketball or baseball.

OP is correct. NFL is in serious shit because look at how tiny their talent pool already is. Nearly every single player came from American Universities. No successful Global expansion = NFL is currently in decline.

[cantthinkofanything]

But toned with more proportional legs?

Playing only in High School is sufficient enough, if you aren't good enough to make it in basketball or baseball.

OP is correct. NFL is in serious shit because look at how tiny their talent pool already is. Nearly every single player came from American Universities. No successful Global expansion = NFL is currently in decline.

Get ready for black NHL, black soccer, black tennis, and black baseball.

[The Reckoning]

But toned with more proportional legs?

Playing only in High School is sufficient enough, if you aren't good enough to make it in basketball or baseball.

OP is correct. NFL is in serious shit because look at how tiny their talent pool already is. Nearly every single player came from American Universities. No successful Global expansion = NFL is currently in decline.



NFL is still king. It's not going anywhere for a loooong time.

[lefty]

NFL is still king. It's not going anywhere for a loooong time.
of course it's not going anywhere

Thanks to so many fat fucks in Murica who would rather sit through 4 hour games because they are afraid of going out and meet people

[KoolAid Mans Brother]

Your son has a better statistical chance of getting injured or dying in a car accident than he does playing football. Where is the outrage for parents who let their teenage sons get their drivers license?

[DJR210]

of course it's not going anywhere

Thanks to so many fat fucks in Murica who would rather sit through 4 hour games because they are afraid of going out and meet people

:lol you're on a rampage

[The Gemini Method]

My better half asked me if I'd let any of my future kids play football and I said it would be hard to allow him, but I'd be supportive if it were what he chose. However, I would monitor him closely and if he were to be one of those that continuously showed signs of concussions, I'd have to probably err on the side of caution and have him retire from the sport. Hearing that whole Jovan Belcher incident and the impact that CTE might have had in that situation--though CTE sufferers rarely exult violent tendencies (Chris Benoit)--it still is something to be concerned with.

[The Gemini Method]

of course it's not going anywhere

Thanks to so many fat fucks in Murica who would rather sit through 4 hour games because they are afraid of going out and meet people


:lol you're on a rampage

Lefty has been on a rampage ever since the almighty Canadiens re-upped the Based P.K Subban, tbh. :cry

[Trill Clinton]

track,soccer, baseball and basketball for my son.

[lefty]

Lefty has been on a rampage ever since the almighty Canadiens re-upped the Based P.K Subban, tbh. :cry
PK :cry

[Cry Havoc]

My better half asked me if I'd let any of my future kids play football and I said it would be hard to allow him, but I'd be supportive if it were what he chose. However, I would monitor him closely and if he were to be one of those that continuously showed signs of concussions, I'd have to probably err on the side of caution and have him retire from the sport. Hearing that whole Jovan Belcher incident and the impact that CTE might have had in that situation--though CTE sufferers rarely exult violent tendencies (Chris Benoit)--it still is something to be concerned with.

Good answer.

Also given the number of kids who are pressured or feel pressured into using steroids to get that elusive DIII scholarship, I'd have some reservations these days. I went to a small high school that wasn't very competitive in sports, and several guys on the team were juicing. Kind of ridiculous.

[KL2]

I wonder if kids are simply getting too big, they're getting bigger/stronger/faster which'll lead to violent hits. It's waaay easier to get jacked these days thanks to the internet, so much knowledge and info.

[spurraider21]

there's no way i'd let my kid playing football. unfortunately he will have armenian gees, not ideal for football.

[spurraider21]

Your son has a better statistical chance of getting injured or dying in a car accident than he does playing football. Where is the outrage for parents who let their teenage sons get their drivers license?
in some places driving is a borderline necessity to function. football is not

[Malik Hairston]

I wonder if kids are simply getting too big, they're getting bigger/stronger/faster which'll lead to violent hits. It's waaay easier to get jacked these days thanks to the internet, so much knowledge and info.

Yep, it's also much more common to find kids juicing these days at 16-17, from what I hear..

Current athletes are just way too big and strong to play football, the body isn't meant for this shit, tbh..

Football is a dangerous sport regardless, as people were suffering from CTE long before they became too big and too fast for the game, but it's only getting worse with the increase in size/speed..

They really need to make advancements in PED testing and begin to implement this shit IMO..

I don't think the NFL is going to suffer, though..yes, they'll lose on the rich kids of the future that have the option to pursue other sports, but there will always be the poorer kids that need football to make money and save their families from poverty..

[Clipper Nation]

But toned with more proportional legs?
Faggot: confirmed


Playing only in High School is sufficient enough, if you aren't good enough to make it in basketball or baseball.

OP is correct. NFL is in serious shit because look at how tiny their talent pool already is. Nearly every single player came from American Universities. No successful Global expansion = NFL is currently in decline.
The talent pool itself isn't the problem, the problem is when CTE/concussions (which arise from football not being a pussified "sport" like povertyball) begin to severely limit the talent pool as less and less parents allow their kids to play....

[Clipper Nation]

Yep, it's also much more common to find kids juicing these days at 16-17, from what I hear..

Current athletes are just way too big and strong to play football, the body isn't meant for this shit, tbh..

Football is a dangerous sport regardless, as people were suffering from CTE long before they became too big and too fast for the game, but it's only getting worse with the increase in size/speed..

They really need to make advancements in PED testing and begin to implement this shit IMO..

I don't think the NFL is going to suffer, though..yes, they'll lose on the rich kids of the future that have the option to pursue other sports, but there will always be the poorer kids that need football to make money and save their families from poverty..
I don't see the link between PED's and CTE, mainly because CTE isn't necessarily caused by roid-fueled "big hits," it's caused by the accumulation of smaller and less severe hits over time....

[The Gemini Method]

Good answer.

Also given the number of kids who are pressured or feel pressured into using steroids to get that elusive DIII scholarship, I'd have some reservations these days. I went to a small high school that wasn't very competitive in sports, and several guys on the team were juicing. Kind of ridiculous.

For sure. I had a friend, well a younger friend, who was already being scouted by Paul Hackett at USC and many thought he was juicing but he vehemently denied that he was on the juice and as a friend of his at that point of more than 5 years I gave him the benefit of the doubt. However, the pressure he was under from his dad and the male members of his family was extreme. They were white and middle to upper middle class so they weren't exactly down and out. He went on to play for the Trojans and did have a brief career with the Lions I believe. I believe he quit the game because he couldn't stay healthy. Being that my gf is mixed, I sometime dream if our kids would have any athleticism. I know on her side she was a track girl in high school and half of college but on my side I played freshman football and stepped away from the game after a pretty non-descript sophomore year. So if there was a TGM jr. I'd hope he choose basketball or baseball but I wouldn't discourage him--just be vigilant.

[Cry Havoc]

For sure. I had a friend, well a younger friend, who was already being scouted by Paul Hackett at USC and many thought he was juicing but he vehemently denied that he was on the juice and as a friend of his at that point of more than 5 years I gave him the benefit of the doubt. However, the pressure he was under from his dad and the male members of his family was extreme. They were white and middle to upper middle class so they weren't exactly down and out. He went on to play for the Trojans and did have a brief career with the Lions I believe. I believe he quit the game because he couldn't stay healthy. Being that my gf is mixed, I sometime dream if our kids would have any athleticism. I know on her side she was a track girl in high school and half of college but on my side I played freshman football and stepped away from the game after a pretty non-descript sophomore year. So if there was a TGM jr. I'd hope he choose basketball or baseball but I wouldn't discourage him--just be vigilant.

I'll take heat for this on this forum for sure, but I'd encourage my kid to play soccer if any sport. There isn't as much competition, the level of contact is lower, being 260lbs can actively hinder you (thus taking away the incentive to dope for DEM GAINZ), and it's a sport that's due to explode in the US. It's already becoming one of the major sports in the Pacific NW, so I feel it's only a matter of time until it starts spreading.

http://analysefootball.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/panorama.jpeg

It's also a sport you can play well into your 30s at a high level.

[Aztecfan03]

I'll take heat for this on this forum for sure, but I'd encourage my kid to play soccer if any sport. There isn't as much competition, the level of contact is lower, being 260lbs can actively hinder you (thus taking away the incentive to dope for DEM GAINZ)
It's not quite the same, but a lot of track people have gotten caught for PED's.


It's also a sport you can play well into your 30s at a high level.

Unless you are Landon Donovan.

[Avante]

Absolutely!

No thought about it at all.

[cantthinkofanything]

I'll take heat for this on this forum for sure, but I'd encourage my kid to play soccer if any sport. There isn't as much competition, the level of contact is lower, being 260lbs can actively hinder you (thus taking away the incentive to dope for DEM GAINZ), and it's a sport that's due to explode in the US. It's already becoming one of the major sports in the Pacific NW, so I feel it's only a matter of time until it starts spreading.

http://analysefootball.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/panorama.jpeg

It's also a sport you can play well into your 30s at a high level.

In the metroplex, there is as much competition to get to the top level of soccer than there is as football.

[Cry Havoc]

In the metroplex, there is as much competition to get to the top level of soccer than there is as football.

It probably varies by area. Where I grew up, no one played soccer. There weren't even teams to try out for.

[cantthinkofanything]

It probably varies by area. Where I grew up, no one played soccer. There weren't even teams to try out for.

I'm sure you're right. Even in some decent size cities, like Lubbock, Tyler, and Abilene, they have teams that drive to Dallas every weekend because there isn't enough competition.

[101A]

I did let my boy play, but I would strongly advise against if we had it to do over again.

By his Sophomore year he was 6'2", 230 (Playing weight - he wrestled at 215). Had long arms, so his bench wasn't that amazing ~350 - 375 Max, but he could squat over 800. He ran a 4.65 at camp prior to his Sr. season. 230 lbs running like that, he was a freight train, and he wasn't THAT unique. THEN, final scrimage that year, playing end, he came around the tackle, got the quarterbacks jersey with his left hand as he tried to slip out of the pocket, got the sack, and then the fullback fell backwards onto my boy's leg. No more ACL. No football, no wrestling (he was a state qualifier here in Pa his Junior year - a really big deal up here), AND no enlistment into the Navy - where he had qualified for their Nuclear program. After surgery it took two years to get the requisite waivers to actually get in (where he is now).

His senior year, out of 40 Varsity players, SEVEN went down with either concussions, or life-altering injuries to joints or backs. A single season -over 17% of the players! You multiply that by three or four years of varsity??? The chances of getting a SEVERE injury are very high. The actual benefit to him? Negligible. Sure he enjoyed himself, and made friends, but so has my daughter and other (younger) son - not a football player.

If professional athletes want to put their bodies out there; they understand the risks. I don't however, think we ought to be sanctioning this carnage in our public schools. If other sports have similar numbers (through personal experience I don't see it), then our children shouldn't be participating in those either.

[Blake]

Yeah because wearing a shitload of protections and a helmet is really manly :lol

Would you let your son watch a soccer game in an eastern European stadium?

Not me, even with a helmet and a gun.

[cantthinkofanything]

Would you let your son watch a soccer game in an eastern European stadium?

Not me, even with a helmet and a gun.

WRONG! you would wear a helmet and panty hose and carry a water gun filled with wine cooler.

[The Gemini Method]

I'll take heat for this on this forum for sure, but I'd encourage my kid to play soccer if any sport. There isn't as much competition, the level of contact is lower, being 260lbs can actively hinder you (thus taking away the incentive to dope for DEM GAINZ), and it's a sport that's due to explode in the US. It's already becoming one of the major sports in the Pacific NW, so I feel it's only a matter of time until it starts spreading.

http://analysefootball.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/panorama.jpeg

It's also a sport you can play well into your 30s at a high level.

I would probably do the same. I wished I stayed in AYSO and went into soccer more than football and baseball. I wasn't going to be the next Pele but I think I would've gotten a small school scholarship out here in SoCal maybe at UC Irvine or Pepperdine. Perhaps that is even wishful thinking. But no harm in wanting to ensure your son(s) are safe. That post up above is a story told all too well.

[DPG21920]

It probably varies by area. Where I grew up, no one played soccer. There weren't even teams to try out for.

Soccer is incredibly competitive to play at the College or Pro level. Even in the US.

[illusioNtEk]

Don't let your son be a fucking pussy... Beat his ass when he's bad and tuff him up. Feed the mother fucker and teach him to respect others.

Work out and hang out with him and teach him everything a man should know.

[Biernutz]

[QUOTE=Cry Havoc;7606223]I'll take heat for this on this forum for sure, but I'd encourage my kid to play soccer if any sport. There isn't as much competition, the level of contact is lower, being 260lbs can actively hinder you (thus taking away the incentive to dope for DEM GAINZ), and it's a sport that's due to explode in the US. It's already becoming one of the major sports in the Pacific NW, so I feel it's only a matter of time until it starts spreading.

You never get concussions in soccer. No way that a soccer ball traveling at 50+mph and the player uses a header will it injure him. No concussion
there . soccer supporters are living in some fantasy world..... And no blown out knees like football. The only thing that will injure soccer players
is the firecrackers and flares shot from the stands .......

[Chinook]

Nah. Basketball seems to be the way to go.

[Biernutz]

Nah. Basketball seems to be the way to go.

Golf..could be the next Tiger

[leemajors]

I'll take heat for this on this forum for sure, but I'd encourage my kid to play soccer if any sport. There isn't as much competition, the level of contact is lower, being 260lbs can actively hinder you (thus taking away the incentive to dope for DEM GAINZ), and it's a sport that's due to explode in the US. It's already becoming one of the major sports in the Pacific NW, so I feel it's only a matter of time until it starts spreading.

http://analysefootball.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/panorama.jpeg

It's also a sport you can play well into your 30s at a high level.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/sports/soccer/researchers-find-brain-trauma-disease-in-a-soccer-player.html?_r=0

[Chinook]

Golf..could be the next Tiger

Definitely worth a try if I marry a Thai girl.

[Cry Havoc]

You never get concussions in soccer. No way that a soccer ball traveling at 50+mph and the player uses a header will it injure him. No concussion
there . soccer supporters are living in some fantasy world..... And no blown out knees like football. The only thing that will injure soccer players
is the firecrackers and flares shot from the stands .......

Holy false equivalency batman. Did you really just compare a non-sentient ball weighing under 10 pounds to a 280 pound lineman running at 20+ mph who's actually trying to maim you? So if you got your choice between taking 5 shots from a soccer ball and letting Ray Lewis tee off on you 5 times in a row, you'd take the former?

EVERY sport has injuries. If that's the argument you want to make you should never let your kid outside. The point of the discussion is at what point are the injury risks too severe or the competition too encouraging of a player to take altering substances to achieve higher levels of ability?

[Cry Havoc]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/sports/soccer/researchers-find-brain-trauma-disease-in-a-soccer-player.html?_r=0

From that very article: Soccer is a physical game but rarely a violent one. Players sometimes collide or fall to the ground, but the most repeated blows to the head may come from the act of heading an airborne ball — to redirect it purposely — in games and practices.

Everything is a risk. Not playing sports or being active will almost certainly make a person obese, which is a health risk in and of itself. Are you really going to argue that you think it's better for your grey matter to put on pads and get hit by guys who way upwards of 300 pounds than hitting a ball with your head and the occasional bad collision?

[FkLA]

I dunno that article seems kinda misleading. From the sound of it these three kids (RIP) weren't exactly healthy to begin with. It'd be a lot scarier if a perfectly healthy kid died directly from a collision--the sport would probably shutdown if something like that became a common occurrence so I don't think parents would have a choice.

[DeadlyDynasty]

I dunno that article seems kinda misleading. From the sound of it these three kids (RIP) weren't exactly healthy to begin with. It'd be a lot scarier if a perfectly healthy kid died directly from a collision--the sport would probably shutdown if something like that became a common occurrence so I don't think parents would have a choice.
Agreed, but in their particular cases how do you know they aren't healthy till they take a shot? If something is dormant or they're asymptomatic their whole life, there's really no way of knowing. They were just unlucky

[Cry Havoc]

Agreed, but in their particular cases how do you know they aren't healthy till they take a shot? If something is dormant or they're asymptomatic their whole life, there's really no way of knowing. They were just unlucky

It takes away some evidence to the hypothesis of soccer being a serious health risk for youth, though.

[chunticakes]

Those were bs deaths, tbh. An aneurysm? Yeah, the kid had a pre existing condition. Shit like this has been going on forever, the only difference is that social media magnifies it in this day and age. Football merely precipitated these kids' deaths, they already had undiagnosed medical conditions going on to begin with...

[chunticakes]

Agreed, but in their particular cases how do you know they aren't healthy till they take a shot? If something is dormant or they're asymptomatic their whole life, there's really no way of knowing. They were just unlucky

Yeah its unfortunate. Football gets blamed which isn't fair IMO. Shit, you can't diagnose an aneurysm until it ruptures. The few times they do catch them prior to them rupturing is by accident...

[Venti Quattro]

Are they all quarterbacks?

[Robz4000]

Yop, I prolly would. Though with all this recent info coming out I may have to think it over a bit more.