Sociological Theories Of Youth Football

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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. As society learns more and more about the health risks of playing this beloved American sport increases with research …show more content…

Functionalist view sports in general as a social institution where boys and girls can build character, interact with others, promote physical activity, and provide many other functions in society. Sports can provide social stability within the community and keep social order. More specifically, youth football can give kids the opportunity to make friends as well as learn and develop life skills such as teamwork and sportsmanship. Youth football programs can function as a way for the community or all of society to come together for a specific …show more content…

In doing this, injuries, especially head injuries, will be decreased, and not a whole lot will be lost in the game with this decision. Young football players still have the opportunity to learn the sport and develop necessary skills in the sport like flag football programs that are far less dangerous. Youth football will bring back the focus on the functions sports provide in our society such as building character and life skills, socialization, promoting exercise, and having fun instead of the focus being on the dysfunctions of injury, competitiveness, unneeded parent involvement. Articles have been written that support both sides of the issue on tackling, but personally, I feel that even with proper safety knowledge and equipment, no young athlete is one-hundred percent safe from both physical and mental injuries. Research has shown the effects and dangers concussions and other injuries can have on young athletes, and I believe those have a bigger impact on society than the positive benefits that can come from playing tackle football as elementary-aged children. In reality in the future, there could be two paths for youth football lovers to have; tackle and flag. I see a trend going more towards flag even if youth tackle football is not banned because the impact of research and anti-youth tackle professional athletes can factor to convince culture to shy away from tackle at a young age. Look

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