Youth Football Research Paper

758 Words2 Pages

Should parents let their children play football? Football is the epitome of blue-collar America. It is known as America’s favorite game. Some parents believe that youth football is not an organize sport that young athletes should participate. Some reasons given for not allowing youth to play football are that football players are at a high risk for concussions, their injuries will have long – lasting effects, and then you have the “helicopter parents”, who try to shield their children from any problems. Kids have to learn to overcome fears and obstacles on their own somewhat to mature into functioning highschool students and adults. There are more pros from participating in the game of football, or any organized sport, than cons. (Dave, …show more content…

Through the game of football young children will learn life skills through the discipline of the game. The structure of the game fosters important life skills, such as leadership, goal-setting, and time management skills. (Griffis, 2015) Enduring the rules of football and comply with the instructions given by the coaches teaches them discipline. The competitive aspect of the game helps the players learn how to deal with disappointment, develop resilience, practice good sportsmanship and learn how to grow from constructive criticism. (Griffis, 2015) Confidence and self-esteem also comes from playing football. With football being a fast paced game, the young players will develop a good deal of concentration and become …show more content…

For most parents who are against the sport, this is the majority of the reason. One reason football is said to be too dangerous is because of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, otherwise known as CTE. It is a deadly brain disease that can develop from the repetitive hits and tackles young football players experience. (Osborne, 2014) There are more positive health benefits than negative health benefits that come from playing any organized sport, such as football. Research has shown that physical movement can affect the brain’s physiology by increasing cerebral capillary growth, blood flow, oxygenation, production of neurotrophins, growth of nerve cells in the hippocampus, neurotransmitter levels, development of nerve connections, density of neural network, and brain tissue volume. (Truesport.org) Improved concentration, creativity, and memory also come from the physical exercise that football provides to the players. Some parents feel that afterschool physical activity programs will take away from their child’s academic performance, but according to truesport.org, there has been research that discovered that sport participation, an interscholastic sport, an individual sport, or any after school physical activity program does not have a detrimental impact on students’ academic

More about Youth Football Research Paper

Open Document