We went to Flag football this year up through second grade. No tackle until 3rd. Our numbers increased. I am going to make a few more adjustments to those age groups this year to improve and hopefully continue to increase numbers. Also, what I did is if a kid's parents really wanted that child to play tackle i considered the kid's age, size and parent situation etc.. I was pretty satisfied with the result.

Concussions in football have received all the attention but it appears to me that there are more concussions in almost every sport now than there used to be. Is there ever going to be a time when people say no soccer because of all the concussions? I have heard parents say they forbid their kids to do headers because of concussion worries

 

USA Soccer came out with rules about two-three years ago that no heading is allowed in practice and games at the 10U and under ages, and no heading allowed in games at the 12U ages. At 12U you can practice headers for no more then 5 minutes a practice. All youth soccer leagues must follow these rules.

I am very happy my son never played football. Basketball and Golf were his sports. Although, he will never experience the camaraderie and bonds, and friendships that football produced for me. He has friends and guys he hangs out with, but he doesn't have those guys that would lay down in traffic for you. I have team mates that I have not seen in decades, but when we do get together, we do not miss a beat. I also contribute that to the community that I grew up in.

 

Football, the military, certain fraternal orders and fire departments produce this type of friendship.