Should Kids Be Able To Play Football Essay

What Age Should Kids Be Able To Play Football?

Tyrell Cameron lined up for a punt return at his Friday night high school game. What he didn’t know was that that would be his last play. Tyrell died because of a hard hit which ended in his neck being broken. The sophomore for Franklin Parish high school was taken off the field on a stretcher and died later that night at the hospital. There has been a lot of debate recently about what age children should be allowed to play football, if at all. Head injuries are a main reason given to not allow young men to play. I believe that players can make their own decisions based on the risks when they turn 16.

Pop Warner, the biggest organized football organization in the world, allows five through fourteen year olds to strap on helmets and shoulder pads and play football. There were 225,287 youth football players in the pop warner association in 2012. Although this may seem like a lot of players, this number has dropped 9.5 percent since 2010. There are many factors that play a role in this decline. One is

Kids will be learning the basics of football and improve them without permanently damaging their bodies. The main problem in American football is how players tackle. The use of the helmet seems to allow players to use their helmet as a weapon instead of what it was created for: protection. Players lower their head thinking that the momentum will hurt the player they are tackling more than a “heads up” hit. In reality they are actually hurting themselves more, since the head and neck absorb the contact. The correct way to tackle is to keep your head up and make tackles using the shoulder. The Heads Up Football organization has taken initiative around the USA to inform coaches, parents, and players about the importance of safer football techniques. They also encourage teams to get a player safety coach who basically takes the role of an athletic