The use of head to head contact at any level in football, should be illegal. There is no reason as to why you cannot keep your head up your body square and make a proper tackle. Coaches teach you how to make the proper big hit, without using your head at all. You put yourself at risk and the person you are hitting by lowering, or keeping your head straight up to make head to head contact. The proper way to tackle is made up of a 6 step process. Step 1 is to breakdown, buzz means to set your feet in a good balanced position, correct body posture for the hit, shoot into the hit, wrap up, and finally drive your target into the ground. But, players like to hit head to head to injure, or just look “cool.” Although it’s impossible to completely eliminate injuries from the game of football, helmet to helmet contact should not be allowed for three main reasons: it causes too many life threatening injuries, players are trying to hurt other players so they can’t finish the game, and it causes brain damage. Causes life threatening injuries Hitting players head to head cause way too many life threatening injuries for both opponents. On Bill Brink’s "Tackling the Issue of 'proper' Tackling," Robert Cantu was quoted saying, “football teams should practice without helmets.” That would be the best way to teach players to avoid head-to-head collisions, avoiding life threatening injuries(Brink). The problem coaches have with that is they think there players will develop bad tackling habits. But Cantu, argues that tackling isn’t all physical it’s a lot of mental toughness and muscle memory. The head to head collisions don’t just come from tackling, it also comes from blocking, blind siding, and pancaking. On Bill Brink’s "Tackling the Issue of '... ... middle of paper ... ...eah. "Coaches Train Students on Concussions, Safety." Coaches Train Students on Concussions, Safety 29 Sept. 2010: n. pag. Print. Dapp, Scot. Proper Tackling to Reduce Concussions. N.p., n.d. Web. Finder, Chuck. "Brain Experts Develop Game Plan for Football Concussions." Brain Experts Develop Game Plan for Football Concussions [Pittsburgh] 13 Mar. 2010: n. pag. Print. George, Louie St., III. "Prep Sports Notebooks: Injuries Unfortunate, but Inevitable in Football." Prep Sports Notebooks: Injuries Unfortunate, but Inevitable in Football [Duluth] 12 Sept. 2013: n. pag. Print. Healy, Melissa. "Head Injuries in One Football Season Cause Measurable Brain Damage."Science Now. Los Angeles times, 11 Dec. 2013. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. Hobson, Hal. "Brain Damage in American Football Linked to Head Trauma." New Scientist. New Scientist Health, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
The average NFL player takes up to 1,000 blows to the head throughout their football career. Some of those blows can have the force of a sledgehammer (“RealNatural”). Based on a research study by Dr. Jesse David, there were 265 concussions reported in the 2012 season, during the 2011 season there were 266 concussions, and 270 concussions in 2010 season (Kacsmar). It has been known that repeated blows to the head can cause long-term brain damage since at least the 1950’s, long before most of the NFL players had begun their careers (“RealNatural”). Past infractions of the NFL have already resulted in over 4,500 forme...
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.
The targeting rule will help to reduce the number of head injuries received by football players, both in college and the NFL, that lead to lifelong health issues. As Geoff Calkins from The Commercial Appeal notes in his article about Brian McCrary, there are many former college football players who suffer from moderate to severe brain damage later in life due to playing college football and having received targeted hits. The long-term effects of these head injuries suffered in the game are just being understood and acknowledged (Johnson). Andy Staples, from Sports Illustrated, notes that the targeting rule is the committees attempt to recognize the problem and help to make football a safer sport. The main purpose of the rule is to “save players’ brains” from permanent damage, with the secondary purpose to help make the sport safer (Couch). Football is a contact sport, but with this ...
Players are using their heads as a weapon which is careless, dangerous, and should be banned from the sport. A lot of time and money has been invested in improving football helmets. Quinn and Brachmann emphasizes that “There’s a strongly held belief that no matter how much time and money is invested into research and development there will never be a helmet that is truly concussion-proof ” (Quinn and Brachmann). Helmets have been effective in preventing skull fractures, but not concussions. Helmet manufacturers are researching and trying to develop safer protective head
First, the rules that are enforced are a great way of making the game safe for the players. There are rules like, not being allowed to tackle certain ways. For example, if you tackle someone from the back by pulling them, then that is said to be an illegal tackle. It is also said that it is illegal for someone to pull on others facemask when tackling. There are many others rules that are enforced in the game. Another one is the rule that says, Head to Head is not allowed. What that basically is that you cannot tackle someone by contacting your helmet to the opposing player. This rule makes it greatly safe because it reduces the numbers of injuries that occur to the head and the neck. The head is the key part of the human body. When someone hits another player with the helmet in the head, it reduces the risks of concussion and that can result to serious and severe body failures, including being...
A. Subpoint: Many people do not like to focus on the violent nature of the game. Big hits and tackles are frequently praised and seen on top plays. But there are too many cases where these big hits result in serious concussions.
The National Football League was formed on August 20, 1920. Players wore pads, not quite as protective as the ones today, helmets and legs pads. Even though their protective gear wasn 't all that protective they still made contact with the players of the opposing teams. As the years progressed the league made many changes to the rules due to player safety. They invented better protective gear for the players and they also made more strict rules regarding playing guidelines. The main goal of those rules, like the targeting rule that is so controversial today, is to protect the players. The targeting rule itself states that no player shall target and initiate contact against an opponent with the crown of his helmet, when in
The NFL is known for its gruesome de-cleating hits on players, but the rising number of concussions has stripped players from being able to make these types of plays anymore! After the 2011 lawsuit, the NFL realized that new player safety rules had to be enforced into the NFL rule book. Rules such as no crown on crown to the helmet outside the tackle box have taken away the element of “big hits” in a football game. 1Redskin’s safety Brandon Meriwether was fined $42,000 for a helmet to helmet hit on Packer’s running back Eddie Lacey. Thank God for technology, because back in the 40’s they played football with leather a helmet. Also the NFL stated a new rule that each NFL team has to have a neurologist placed on the sideline for every official game. Jet’s player Jeremy Kerley suffered from a mind boggling week one injury. Kerley passed the mandatory concussion evaluation and soon after returns to the team. Suddenly, the following same day Jeremy was diagnosed with a concussion. I agree with the saying taking one the team, but playing with a concussion is like playing with fire. Some big hitters in the NFL are viewed as dirty players because of their bone crushing tackles. A lot of coaches like to blame big hits for the fact of...
Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. It is played in a lot of different ways, fashions, and other countries. It can be a very brutal sport with players hitting at the intent to hurt one another. With these intents come great consequences. In recent years the head injuries involved with this brutal game play have been getting uncomfortably high. Many rules have had to be enforced for player safety, because of the increase of head injuries resulting in tragic effects on players both old and new. One of the injuries that have had the most devastating effects is the concussion.
Soccer players everywhere have heard the common phrase “Don’t let the ball hit you, you must hit the ball”. If players fail to put the phrase in action, brain damage can be caused first of all because the neck isn’t rigid, secondly because the eyes normally close, and thirdly because the wrong surface of the head is used (the top of the head is hit, instead of the forehead). All of this makes up the larger picture of brain damage, therefore heading should be banned in youth
While this may be true, it still doesn’t mean that you’ll get a concussion if you do one. Actually if a header is done right it shouldn’t really hurt at all. Soccer can be a dangerous sport, but if kids are prepared it doesn’t really have to be. Kids need to know what to do and when to do it, especially when it comes to headers. They are banning headers from soccer, but what about tackle football? Are they just going to take out the whole tackling aspect because of a chance of a concussion.
For example, “The N.F.L., which long denied that there was any link between the game and brain damage, has in recent years been promoting what it considers safer tackling techniques aimed at reducing head-to-head collisions” (Larned, CNN). This is important because it helps you understand the action being taken to reduce head to head contact in effort to reduce concussions in football at all ages. This shows that the more we study tackles and new techniques, the more we are able to take concussions out of football. In addition, Victoria Larned wrote, “It suggests that participants weigh potential health risks against the recreation benefits of proper tackling.” This shows that, in fact, many people are aware of the benefits gained by proper tackling technique. If kids are introduced to proper tackling techniques, the game of football becomes safer for both the tackler and the ball carrier. Teaching kids proper tackling will help reduce the amount of head and neck injuries in
When it comes to physical contact sports, there are two categories, collision sports and tackling sports. American football, ice hockey, lacrosse, boxing, and many more are considered collision sports. Tackling sports would consider rugby, Gaelic football, Australian rules football, and even soccer as some of the world’s tackling sports. A collision sport is way more dangerous than a tackling one. For example, in a football game, it is pretty typical to see players lose their helmet’s, ripped out of their jersey’s, and be taken off the field by ambulance. Reason being is because nowadays players feel like they are Iron Man...
Football is a relatively dangerous sport. In the game, the whole body is open to taking shots from opposing teams every play, but the most dangerous area to be hit is the head. Hits that lead to players having their heads
Though, with the improvement of helmets or moving back to an older version of the helmet can reduce the risk of concussions. First, according to the NCAA.org, “Responses to injury typically produce a sense of loss, (loss of control, loss of skills) fear, and anxiety/worry.” This shows that with the strong impact to the head social occur and produce the loss of different social skills and mental skills. As a cause to this, player’s are using their helmets as weapons because they know they do not have to be as cautious. However, this causes them to get hurt even more. Also, concussions cause deficits with speaking and learning skills. This evidence supports the claim because it shows that players are using their helmet as a weapon. Though, this is causing them to get more hurt. However, by improving helmets, players will not get hurt and deal with the social effects after a concussion. On the other hand, “If you want to prevent concussions take the helmet off.” According to Hines Ward: “If you Want to Prevent Concussions, Take the Helmet off,” Hines Ward a former football star says, “Play old-school football with leather helmets, no facemask. When you put a helmet on you’re going to use it as a weapon, just like you use shoulder pads as a weapon.” However, Ward concluded that they should just eliminate helmets and return to leather helmets because than players will feel more cautious. However, improving helmets will make