Audio: The Solid Verbal - Would you let your son play football? with bonus MGoSurvey...

that football increasingly becomes a sport that we watch poor people playing. To some extent that's already the case. I realize that the people at the very top make big money, but I once heard someone say (was it in one of those bball movies like Soul In the Hole?) that 1 aspiring kid in 20,000 makes it. Figure could be wildly off and still make the point--fair amount of carnage.

Maybe technology can improve everyone's odds, but everyone has a spinal column and our heads swing on them in all kinds of useful ways that smashing somebody tends to ignore. 

Fairly painful subject. I really love watching Michigan football. And I have been surprised by how this debate is reaching people. My bro-in-law, who has a certain grunt-love for mansport and hunting, was talking yesterday about how glad he is his kid plays baseball. To a real extent--and I speak only for myself--letting your kid play football is putting him in harm's way.

I'm a maybe. 

First of all, he'd need a growth spurt since he is the smallest boy in his class by both weight and height. 

Kicker sounds good to me.

 

I think letting your kid choose is the best move as a parent. It's always best to let them do what they enjoy so they get the most out of it. I can't deny though that I would enjoy the (very slim) possibility of seeing my son in the winged helmet.

my 2 year old already says he's going to play football for Michigan, so who am I to crush his dreams. I played in high school and a year in college, may have had a mild concussion once, tore ligaments in my left foot, broke a finger or two, sprained my knee and my back hurts a lot but I wouldn't trade the memories and fun I had playing for anything and hope my son feels the same.

You just have to teach the kids to play intelligently. Hands between the pads. No orse collars, "flying" tackles or headhunting, know your limits and your position. If anything feels wrong, you come out until you and other professionals are POSITIVE that it is okay. Always wear your gear properly, and if your gear doesn't fit right, get new gear. Never forget that the goal is to win by scoring or defending the BALL. Not the other player.

Look at a kid like Jordan Kovacs. Not the biggest. Not the most athletic. Hits a LOT. But he also knows how to play properly, makes big plays and does not suffer for them. Can you imagine how exciting and awesome football would be if every kid were coached to play as well and as intelligently as Kovacs?

Yes, I will let him play football.  I was fortunate ebough to play for 3 years in HS.  I was recuited by the varsity coach when I was a freshman walking down the hall one day.  I was lucky to play a lot of sports growing up but playing Football was the most fun I had that could not get me arrested. 

The funny thing is I had a consussion playing youth hockey, a concussion on my alpine ski racing team and 2 concussions playing college lacrosse.  Not one playing football.

If he was looking to play beyond high school at a high level, only as a kicker.  D-III college ball wouldn't bother me, but playing for Michigan would.  The high level game has gone beyond physical and turned into a machine into which you feed your body.  Of course it isn't like I can tell my son what to do after high school though, but I'd discourage it as much as possible.  

I played a lot of football at many levels and the game is in my blood.

I have a son who just completed his high school career.   Twice I watched him get carted off the field with concussive related injuries.  The last time was his first game as the starting QB his junior year.

I've also coached football for a lot of years.

I believe the guys from my era and before have been subjected to a lack of understanding about concussions and adequate equipment.  But I alo think people are using cases like Duerson and  Seau and applying their circumstances to kids in high school.  Personally, I think that's flawed.  Today's high school players A) have much better technologically advanced equipment and B) aren't hitting with near the force that those guys were.  I don't think you can use Mohammed Ali or any of these other guys who have repeated blows to the head while competing at the highest level of their sport as an indication of what MIGHT happen.

I'd let my son play football because how can I tell him no after I raise him with an obsession for Michigan Football.  I haven't taken a piano lesson since '99 but if I sat down in front of a piano today there is only one song I can still play, The Victors. 

 

The key is soccer at a young age to help then develop good footwork and then around 6/7th grade move to football.

 

Plus by the time my sons (I'm not married so they are hypothetical) play the helmet technology will be improved and concussions will be way down.

If my [theoretical] kid wanted to play, I'd let him. A lot of it has to do with my parents not letting me play, but I think the head injuries are overblown. Yes, it's a serious concern and yes, I'd like to see the game do more to protect players. However, football is a great way for a kid to stay healthy as are most sports. If my kid develops a passion for it, no way am I going to stop him. Also, I think sports but football in particular helps develop life skills that will help him later on. So yeah, I'd let my kid play. 

Also, the Ban College Football debate is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen.

He will be headed into 9th grade next fall. He has played since 3rd grade. Although I understand health concern, I feel the lessens learned through teamwork and competition as well as accountability outweigh the risk.

I was one of those kids whose parents keep them out of organized sports. That's an oversimplification:  I did run track and cross country. But I didn't get to play basketball, football, or baseball.

My mother was the one who drove this, and I resented her for years because I didn't play. Finally, you get over it, but I regret her choice. We were a white family living in the inner-city of Chicago back in the 60's. She was afraid of gangs and what could happen if I was at the park without adults around, so I wasn't allowed to roam freely. Guess you could say she was the precursor of the helicopter mom. Anyway, if you don't start playing most sports at a young age, unless you have exceeding natural athletic ability, you are hopelessly behind.

The second reason I didn't play had to do with that natural athletic ability (or lack thereof.) I was average: neither particularly fast nor slow, strong nor weak, coordinated nor uncoordinated. Just another more or less average boy, like most of us. Problem was, my mom was a jock. She grew up in Texas, and swam and dived, played baseball, basketball, and volleyball. Volleyball was her forte, and she was tall, and mean. Eventually, she coached collegiately, until getting married and having kids relatively late in life. Mom realized that her kids were somewhat average, and would probably never play at the highest level. And so, she pushed us in other directions.

As a result, I never had the opportunity to learn on the field, to develop friendships and relationships with teammates, to be put through the drills and the discipline, to have those experiences some of you had. I do not regret not being a professional athlete. Very few have the talent or drive or luck to make this happen. But here's the thing. Boys and girls like to dream, and when you're a kid, you dream of being an astronaut, or a fire fighter, or a football player, or basketball, etc. And so you play. Eventually, most kids realize they aren't strong enough, or big enough, or fast enough, or driven enough, or they get injured, and so they quit. Which is just fine. But they had the exercise and experience in the interim.

Because I am 6'4", and weighed about 190 pounds, I wish I would have been able to play. In the overall scheme of life, how well I blocked or tackled or ran the ball, or caught the ball wouldn't matter a bit. After all, how often does someone over 50 tackle a grown man? It just doesn't happen.

However, this overlong post is meant as a warning to those of you who would keep your young children from an experience they may well treasure for a lifetime. Very few of your kids will make it to high school, even fewer to college ball, and a miniscule number to professional football. I simply believe that your fears of concussions and neurological damage are overblown, especially for children between the ages of 7 and 12.

yes

My oldest is 8 and he has played 3 years and says he will play again this fall. I'm more aware and concerned that I used to be due the research that has been done more recently. Virginia Tech did a study with a sandlot league in a neighboring county last year. But I'm not concerned to the point that I will make him quit. Proper technique needs to be stressed and going forward we will probably change the way we practice to reduce the risk of injury, since most of the big hits that kids take are on the practice fields.

Honestly?  Probably not.  I played football a bit in pee-wee, and distinctly remember the time I stopped was after getting booted in the head when I was trying to tackle a kid.  Wasn't bad form or anything, but just a kid fighting for yards and me trying to stop him.  Had a headache, and realized that I was never going to make millions playing it, and I just didn't like the feeling I got from being hit.  Maybe that makes me a wuss, but whatever.

If my child truly loves playing it (and I'm getting close to that age when I need to make those types of decisions), I'd support him or her to an extent.  But honestly, there are other sports where you can get the same level of competition without the dangers of lasting injury.  Hard to dispute that in light of what we've seen recently.

The recent high profile cases here:

Dave Duerson

Junior Seau

These guys played ball in the 70's, 80's and 90's. Their formative years were all in the 70's and 80's. The equipment and mindset of coaches and players is SO different from what it was then. Unfortunately, it's impossible to look into the future and see if the current tactics are effective, but It'd be like saying you won't let someone drive wearing a three point safety harness because old fashioned lap belts were highly ineffective.

Before I'd let my daughter be a cheerleader.

I'll let him play, but by golly if he gets cut from the team, gets a bruise, or gets called an obscene name....I'm suing somebody for a million dollars in actual damages and 10 million in punitive damages. The emotional scarring is the worst, I say, the worst!!