In regards to the safety of high school football Undoubtedly, football is one of the most popular and iconic sports of America. But the rough play of the game could cause serious concussions or life damaging injuries to high school students. Along with inadequate safety equipment, injuries may go undetected due to fear of being benched and kept off the field. Even with proper care, the risks of head-trauma-induced diseases are still great. These are serious risks for the 1.4 million high school football players that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Football might be one of the most popular sport in the united states, but the risks of life-changing brain damage and the lack of proper safety equipment has made it extremely unsafe …show more content…
High school football players are suffering more serious injuries as a result of inadequate equipment. With the teenage brain being less developed and more easily damaged, concussions are more dangerous for teenagers. While it could be argued that Pop Warner football in Terrence Holder's article ' With Proper Oversight, Youth Football Is Safe' has less instances of serious injuries than college and professional football players, their usage of equipment's is meant to offer greater protection for college level players. Pop Warner's usage of this equipment and their astonishing success shows just how inadequate the equipment meant for high school level players are in …show more content…
According to the article 'Hard Knocks' from The New York Times Upfront, this "culture encourages playing through pain and taking a hit for the team, many teens don't want to risk being put on the sidelines by telling their coaches when they think they may have a concussion". This culture that is created by the community has influenced teens to prioritizing the game over their personal health. With concussion being more dangerous for teenagers, purposely avoiding proper treatment can harm them even more. The football community also seems to put an empathize of things differently than other sports such as " We count the pitches of every baseball player to ensure a small number do not develop shoulder and elbow problems- and yet we don't count how often children get hit in the head playing football", stated by Dr. Robert Cantu, a professor of neurosurgery at Boston university. Even coaches are influence to have the idea that "practice should include a great deal of contact" as stated in Terrence Holder's article. Increased amount of physical contact increases the chances of injury and brain trauma. This culture has created
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.
“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,
The article titled “Concussions increasingly common on the football field,” was found on the Alabama News website. This article takes a look from the coaches perspective when he finds that four of his players have suffered from concussions on his high school football team. The coach from the Greenville high school football team Josh McLendon, raises concern about football and practicing the sport. He talks about his players injuries and how most of the concussions occur during practice. Even though the team works hard to change practice routines and rules, they are not able to prevent concussions from happening. The article talks about symptoms that players do not notice. Often times a player will feel dizzy and he will just assume he took a hard fall, but players start to get blurry vision, dizziness, and headaches. Before players would hide their injury and play through it, but with the heavy effects concussions have had on retired football players, McLendon urges his team to speak up when they start to feel ill. He hopes that other coaches will learn from him when they stress the seriousness of concussions “Wouldn’t tell the coach, wouldn’t tell a parent, it would just kind of go away. But know since we have made people more aware of it I think they’re coming to the forefront of it a little more,” athletes who do not hear about the severity of something will not stop to think
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 especially. In addition to that piece of nega...
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.
Concussions can spring from practically anywhere; at home during cleaning, playing catch in the yard, or even slipping and falling. One of the most common reasons concussions happen is from sports, most often from football. It should be common knowledge on the symptoms of a concussion and what to do to help it heal, especially coaches. Because of the mindset that coaches give towards their players and the spirit of the game, athletes do not report their injuries to their coaches. One reports states, “The culture of sports negatively influences athletes’ self-reporting of concussion symptoms and their adherence to return-to-play guidance” (Waldron). This means that athletes could have any injury, not just a concussion, and they would be afraid to tell the coach because they are afraid of getting taken out of the game. More coaches, however, are starting to come around to educating the team and support staff about head injuries. Some coaches are actually sitting their teams down and making them watch a video on what happens during a concussion. In one report, the athletes said that after they watched the video, “they would be su...
The Columbus Children’s Hospital was the first to compare injuries between college and high school players. I can infer this when I read this from the text, “Four out of every 1,000 high school football exposure resulted in an injury, while eight out of every 1,000 collegiate football exposure resulted in an injury.” In conclusion, I could say that yes, high school football is dangerous. Most of its danger would come from not having the correct equipment, or running plays with too many head hits. If coaches would reduce plays with head hits, punish those that hit too hard for no reason in need, and provide better gear, high school football would be safe.
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
Football, one of the most popular sports in the U.S., is also the most dangerous; it holds an astounding half a million injuries nationally due to the sheer violence and brute strength used against another player in the sport, and, although it is believed that these injuries can be prevented, there is nothing stopping another player from recklessly hurting another except their will-power, this is why football should be banned from high schools.
Football Is Not So Dangerous Football is considered to be one of the most dangerous sports to play. As time has gone by, more and more parents are rethinking letting their kids play the game. Kids are prone to head injury while participating in football, but Ed Riley has another point of view on this situation. He seems to believe football is not as dangerous as everybody thinks it is (Riley, 2014). So, he used the internet to express his feelings on if parents should be worried about their kids playing football.
The number of risks in life is countless. Although some risks are avoidable, the majority of risks are ones that everyone encounters. It is hard for people to avoid things in life like driving a car or flying on a plane. The reason people are not afraid of risks like these right now, is due to the current safety and precautions these types of risks have currently. Things like the current research and technology make it safer for people to take everyday risks.
Football is America’s sport. In many American households, Sunday afternoons are dedicated to watching professional football on TV with family cheering on their favorite team, and going to a football game is the ultimate fan experience. Children idolize the best football players and want to grow up and dream to play football just like their heroes. Youth tackle football is a part of American culture, and the age of starting tackle football seems to decrease as time has progressed. More kids at a younger age are being exposed to football that involves extreme physical contact, especially constant contact with the player’s head.
Sports fans and everyday news followers are probably aware of the horror stories behind brain injuries associated with American tackle football. The evidence overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that past techniques and lackluster rules have created a hazardous playing environment. However, are traumatic brain injuries an inevitable result of playing tackle football? While there is always going to be some level of risk, changes in the game can dramatically reduce the prevalence of head injuries in the future.
Based on studies and research, prevention of sport injuries will be a long journey to fix the problem. Reciprocated concussions can stimulate long-term impairment that hinder a return to play and have a long-term impact on the capability to function properly and enjoy life. Reducing lifelong trauma from sports injuries in youth requires a public health solution allied to that used to battle smoking and drunk driving. An accommodated, varied advancement including mindfulness, education and change of the rules is a required necessity. Unneeded hazards and brutal personal contact in a sport is essential to be “de-normalized” by guidance and informational operations.
The once loud stadium is brought to silence with what could have been a “deadly” hit. Some boys are out on the field to have a good time, but other players are playing to hurt and demolish their opponents. This is when the reality of how safe a player actually is comes into play. While children play football becoming overheated, broken bones, and head injuries are major concerns as to why football should be considered an unsafe sport.