“At least 60% of youths compete in some sort of contact sports”(Statistic Brain).This statistic shows that little more than half of adolescents in the US compete in contact sports. Although concussions are a big risk in contact sports, youths should have the opportunity to compete in contact sports.
The only difference between the past and present of contact sports is the safety. “In the following viewpoint, the authors discuss youth contact sports and the risks of concussions, arguing that the benefits of youth sports outweigh the injury risks. They examine the health risks associated with football and compare those risks to the benefits of playing, both for children in youth football programs and professional football players. Maroon and
Since safer plans have been included into a variety of contact sports , youths should be able to participate.In this evidence it explains how contact sports have gotten safer over the years.“We believe in medical technology advancements, thoughtful rule changes and safety protocols to protect players of all ages. Increased levels of public and private investment in concussion prevention and management research should be a national priority”(Bailes). From the perspective of surgeons and former athletes they talk about how they believe contact sports will be safer. This proves that youths should have the opportunity to compete in contact sports because it’s gotten safer over the years. “Improved tackling technique in football. Equipment innovations in energy-dispersing pads, telemedicine and technology to reduce brain cavitation inside the skull—known as “brain slosh”—will enhance the safety for young athletes”(Bailes).Bailes explained how they improved the way tackling became more technical. He also explained how the pads are more protecting and able to absorb more energy . By the pads in football being able to absorb more energy from the hits that means that the equipment got better which proves how much safer it’s
The reason it would help youths academically is because they would be more focused on their academics and sport.“Investments of money and people-power can help remove most of the obstacles to meaningful participation, but it will take the will of government and partnerships between business, the academic community, and youth sport leaders. Boston, Detroit, and the California bay area are setting the example for programs every city in the nation should imitate”(Lapchick). This evidence supports that youths should compete in contact sports because it speaks about how some cities are setting examples for programs that provide academic help and the sport itself in one. Apparently, most student-athletes don't ignore academic preparation even if they believe they will make the pros. The Harris survey was the first conclusive evidence that concerned athletes and school administrators have finally reached these young people after a decade of messages begging them to balance academic and athletic goals”(Lapchick). This piece of evidence supports that youths should have the opportunity to compete in contact sports because it explains how student-athletes today balance out sports and their academics. Participating in sports and balancing academics is hard but, studies show that student-athletes academics scores are higher. Overall youths should be given the
Are young children putting their health and even their lives at risk if they partake in the sport of football? Some claim that the American sport is far too dangerous and the risk of concussions and injuries far outway the pros of the physical sport, while others insist that technological improvements and new regulations have made the sport safer. Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of history and education at New York University, argues in his paper, “We Must Stop Risking the Health of Young Football Players,” that football is a sport that is too dangerous for the youth. He states his belief that technological improvements in helmets and changes in the rules of the sport have had little effect on reducing injuries and that nothing has worked.
For the safety of the players in the present and future, a stricter concussion protocol should be required at all levels of football. Though improvements have been made, the game of football is constantly changing and the protocol needs to keep up with the changes. Today’s athletes are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before: "Size and physical conditioning techniques in sports at all levels have evolved to create an intense athlete. They 're able to create more force, power and speed than ever before and that leads to harder hits and a greater number of hits" (Neporent). These advances in training have led to a more dangerous sport. The protocol has improved in recent years along with an emphasis on player safety, but the increasing numbers of players with long-term effects of concussions show there is still work to be done.
Children who are active recklessly engage in activities where injuries can occur. Nobody can predict when or how seriously anybody will get injured during an activity, however, the risks of children playing tackle football is prevalent where the dangers are imminent. The game of tackle football on a youth level is dangerous for children since they are developing physically and mentally. According to an article from The Atlantic, “America’s most dangerous football is in the peewee leagues, not the National Football League” (Barra, 2013). According to a journal article, “sports injuries account for approximately 23% of pediatric emergency department injury related visits” (Podberesky, Unsell & Anton, 2009). “Of these sports injury-related
Herring, Stanley A., and Kathleen R. Bell. "Youth Sports Concussions, An Issue of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics." Google Books. Ed. George H. Kraft, MD,MS. Elsevier Health Sciences., Nov. 2011. Web. 08 May 2014. .
Since football’s inception, it has been considered a manly sport. Young boys have been encouraged by their parents to participate in the game. For many boys, it is considered a rite of passage. However, football is a dangerous sport. A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found, “an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007” (Nation 201). These reported injuries include sprains and strains, broken bones, cracked ribs, torn ligaments, and concussions. A concussion usually happens when a player takes a hard hit to the head or is knocked unconscious on the playing field, and if not diagnosed and treated quickly, a concussion can result in death.
Athletics in American schools have always been controversial for many reasons. Some of these reasons include health concerns, safety precautions, and academic significance. Daniel H. Bowen and Colin Hitt wrote an article titled, “High-School Sports Aren’t Killing Academics” to present the factors of positive correlation between success in athletics and academics. I believe that athletics in high schools not only benefit students socially, but also academically.
The article shares with the reader that children who join competitive sports at a young age can learn discipline and healthy habits when performed right. Jordan strongly suggests athletes, coaches and parents need to be properly educated on safe training techniques and know how to read their children when they have an injury. This way the young athletes can join in on as many sport teams as they want. Over the recent years many regulations and laws have been passed, such as The Lystedt laws that “mandate a gradual return-to-play protocol to better protect youth athletes in all sports from the risks of preventable concussions”(Jordan). This will protect the players who do decide to specialize in one sport at an early
“Concussion rates for children under the age of 19 who play football have doubled in the last decade, even though the overall sports participation has declined” (Youth Football Concussion Statistics). Football is extremely popular in American culture. Children all across the world love watching and playing the sport. However, many studies have shown numerous possible long term effects of starting the beloved sport when young. Undeveloped brains have a harder time recovering from bumps and blows that occur during playing time. After examining the long term effects of children playing football, it is clear that the tradition of tackle football in youth should be held off until the brain is more fully developed,
Contact sports in America, like football and boxing, carry a rich history of the spirit of the game, and the feeling of victory. These games bring us together as we cry out and cheer for our team or fighter as they deliver the winning touchdown, or the knockout that brings them the undisputed champion belt. However, these players are facing injuries that can destroy their career and affect their brain for the rest of their lives. We shouldn’t outlaw contact sports, but we should force safety to become more important. If we want to keep our players safe and continue the tradition of the contact sports we enjoy as a country, then we must evolve our safety in sports, and change the way we view contact sports as a country.
High schools should discontinue football programs because of the abundant amount of concussions in young athletes. According to a study conducted by the Institute of Medicine, high school football players suffer 11.2 concussions for every 10,000 games and practices while the rate for college players stands at 6.3 (Breslow). The nearly doubled rate of high school players shows evidence that high school football players face a bigger concussion risk, which can affect their developing brains and cause long-term symptoms. Additionally, Retired NFL stars who also sustained numerous concussions have battled with
Since 1958, American Football has been growing, in both popularity and as a sport, to become a dominant force in the country. As a result, more and more families are allowing their kids to play the game in leagues across the country and are not concerned with concussions. Even though people who defend the game will say the science is not yet definitive, tackle football should be banned for kids under the age of fifteen because concussion injuries are on the rise among the youth and the coaches are not yet trained to handle this injury.
As can be seen by the preceding information, high school athletics can have a positive impact on a student’s life. In contrast to the positives, high school athletics can be seen in a negative light. “Concussions [from athletics] cause structural brain damage” (Solotaroff 7). Even though nobody is said to get a concussion in Friday Night Lights, they are very frequent in football and in other sports today. They occur all the time in football.
“Maybe I´m stupid or whatever, but to me if I got a concussion, if I could see straight and carry a football, then I´m not telling anybody”, Ricky Williams, NFL Football player. The argument about whether kids should play football or not is an important topic to argue. People need to understand that the concussions and other injuries are more serious with young kids. The problem is that many people think that it could be stopped by not allowing kids to play at all. Although parents can reduce risk of injury by not allowing their kids to play football, parents should let their children play football because it lets kids follow their dreams, it helps kids become more mature and independant, and if kids use proper technique they can reduce injuries.
...an affect how kids do in school with the sports interfering with homework and studying time. Some teenaers focus more on sports than school in some cases while hoping for a sports scholarship. This can hurt their future. With so much focus on practicing with sports, school gets less attention than it needs.
From long practice hours, hot summer workouts, and many Friday nights, my personal observation of this dangerous sport is exceptionally prevalent. My initial experience of the damage that football brings came my eighth grade year when I witnessed a senior football player on my team try and eat a phone on the ride home after receiving a concussion in the third quarter of the game. Which is a prime example to defend the fact that football related injuries to the head result in people not “being all there.” Not only have I seen someone try and eat a phone, but I have also witnessed head injuries resulting in my own friend randomly yelling at me after a game for no reason, and also a friend trying to jump down a full flight of stairs thinking he was starring in a movie. The fast paced, high intensity contact that comes with playing football is nothing to think flippantly of when it plays a role on brain trauma, and the results of brain trauma.