How do you prove unique intangibles to those who have never participated?

 

I don't have a great answer, but one thing we do is get our players in front of prospective players and their parents and share their experience. We do this specifically at recruit night.

 

I had a nonfootball Titan at the house recently and went through some different pictures, old video, game balls, stories, etc. He understands it because he had played and his dad played.

 

But, you are correct.... It is difficult to communicate.

I grew up in upstate NY. The big sport on campus was not football, but ice hockey. I can tell you from having played and watched both sports for a long time, the collisions in hockey are much more violent that football. We are are also talking about a sport where fighting is a condoned component of the sport.

 

Concussion Rates in Football, Hockey and Lacrosse Rising | MomsTeam

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/sports/hockey/02concussions.html?_r=0

 

Here is some data on concussion rates. The only point relevant disagrees with me some what, but there does not seem to be as much data on hockey. In addition, you also carry out sticks and skates that can be used as weapons in a moment where self control is completely gone.

 

"I was the only guy to ever take off his skate and try to stab somebody".

 

- Happy Gilmore

Another aspect of the concussion discussion that is being underplayed is the fact that all the CTE cases have been found in deceased NFL players. These are guys who played football at least a decade longer than the vast majority of High School players. Also, there still is not a reliable way to test for CTE in living athletes... Therefore, the science is incomplete.

 

Truthfully, concussions and sub-concussive impacts are a real danger to players of all sports, and probably more so to some (including football).

 

Some of my thoughts on the subject:

 

1) We do start contact football too soon. In my opinion, 3rd and 4th graders do not need to be playing full contact football. Even 5th & 6th is a stretch for many. You can do a lot to teach certain fundamentals when they are young without full contact.

 

2) Lost in the hulabaloo, and pointed out by Coach B, are the many positive benefits of playing any sport. To be fair, I have heard a lot of doctors and neuroscientists in the media recently saying this very thing. Our young people are put much more at risk by the pervasive inactivity of American life than they are by playing football.

 

3) I am a football guy, so I am obviously biased... However, I think our sport does a better job at teaching and/or uncovering some basic values our society sorely needs. As the perfect team sport, football teaches the importance of teamwork, tenacity, and dependability. It also can be a place where young men discover their physical courage, as well as dealing with adversity. Perhaps the greatest thing I learned playing the game was the ultimate importance of picking yourself up when you get knocked down and focusing on the next play... What more important lesson can young men learn than that? The power of persistence and focus.

Here is the issue, football is the sport that is getting the attention for the concussion issues. We all on here understand that there are just as many risks as other sports especially soccer, but the light is shine on football because of the NFL.

 

The NFL is a powerhouse for entertainment. MLS and even Premier league soccer does not have nearly the same following as the NFL so the media chooses not to focus on it as much. As long as football dominates the media it will be football that takes the burden of the concussion issue.

 

Sadly with our society instead of investigating things on our own we just go with what we hear and so people hear football is bad for our kids heads and stop letting them play. And instead make them play soccer which leads the statistics for concussions. We need to educate ourselves better but the media doesn't profit off of education it profits off story lines. And the NFL makes better storylines than any other sport so football will continue to be under the microscope.

Here is a good article:

Despite rising concerns over concussions, this doctor prescribes football | Star Tribune

 

1- The benefits of football far outweigh the risks.

2- Comparing HS football to the NFL is ridiculous.

I grew up in upstate NY. The big sport on campus was not football, but ice hockey. I can tell you from having played and watched both sports for a long time, the collisions in hockey are much more violent that football. We are are also talking about a sport where fighting is a condoned component of the sport.

 

Concussion Rates in Football, Hockey and Lacrosse Rising | MomsTeam

 

Study Shows Hockey Concussions Are Underreported - The New York Times

 

Here is some data on concussion rates. The only point relevant disagrees with me some what, but there does not seem to be as much data on hockey. In addition, you also carry out sticks and skates that can be used as weapons in a moment where self control is completely gone.

 

I'm surprised hockey isn't more popular in Kentucky since, apparently, teeth are optional.

 

Good reminder @ChiefSmoke. I agree that the benefits outweigh the risks in most cases.

I grew up in upstate NY. The big sport on campus was not football, but ice hockey. I can tell you from having played and watched both sports for a long time, the collisions in hockey are much more violent that football. We are are also talking about a sport where fighting is a condoned component of the sport.

 

Concussion Rates in Football, Hockey and Lacrosse Rising | MomsTeam

 

Study Shows Hockey Concussions Are Underreported - The New York Times

 

Here is some data on concussion rates. The only point relevant disagrees with me some what, but there does not seem to be as much data on hockey. In addition, you also carry out sticks and skates that can be used as weapons in a moment where self control is completely gone.

My friend's son was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers because he had talented fists. He retired at 26 toiling in the minors because of numerous concussions.