I feel like the more we learn about concussions and CTE the more dangerous it is for young kids to play football. The article does say CTE data shows correlation, not causation, to playing football. However, the more hits you take, the more likely there is damage. Seems like common sense. Opinions in the article suggest CTE is affecting far more people than anyone wants to accept and CTE may affect up to 40% of amateur athletes playing contact sports.

From Scientific American:

It’s the cumulative g-force to the head over years that puts people at highest risk, says Daniel Daneshvar, a neuroscientist and chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mass General Brigham and Harvard University. Daneshvar co-authored the study that found that one in four NFL players had CTE with Nowinski and others, and he also played football through college.

Much of the damage may be done before players reach the big leagues. One study found that around 70 percent of head hits occur in practice. If youth teams practiced like the pros, confining full contact to once a week, impacts could fall by more than half, Daneshvar says.

Buckland and Nowinski say there should be no full contact before high school, or age 14—better still, Buckland says, pick a sport that doesn’t involve getting hit in the head. If you still have a burning desire to play tackle football, minimize your hits, Strelzik adds.

Scientific American

Is football too dangerous for kids’ brains?

A new study found that one in four professional football players who died between 2016 and 2021 had CTE—a degenerative brain disease—but what about children who play these sports?

Is football too dangerous for kids' brains?

Would not be surprised to see all football, grades 5 & under, become predominantly flag in the future.

15 minutes ago, ChiefSmoke said:

Would not be surprised to see all football, grades 5 & under, become predominantly flag in the future.

The article is calling for everything under 14.

I would love to see just as much research done on soccer and other sports to see what that data looks like. It seems like the majority of CTE studies focus on football, but it's very possible that soccer players who have played the sport for most of their lives could also develop CTE. I think basketball and other sports would be worth studying more closely as well.

There is still so much we don't know about CTE. It may turn out that it shows up in athletes across a variety of sports, especially after years of participation and repeated impacts.

That's really my main point: there just hasn't been nearly as much research done on these other sports. What if, after studying athletes from soccer, basketball, and other sports over many years, we find similar issues? That could drastically change the conversation. Instead of looking at CTE as primarily a football issue, we may realize it is a broader issue involving long-term participation in multiple sports.

I'm not saying that football doesn't have risks. I just think we need more research across all sports before we fully understand the bigger picture, and may not just be a football thing.

Based on this research, I would say confirmed targeting plays should carry stiffer penalties like have to sit out two games and 2nd targeting call your suspended for rest of season. If last game then carries over to next season. I know they are making better helmets and helmet covers than what they had for people used in study.

With the way soccer players hit the ball off their heads they probably could have CTE over time as well.

7 minutes ago, Tigerpride94 said:

Based on this research, I would say confirmed targeting plays should carry stiffer penalties like have to sit out two games and 2nd targeting call your suspended for rest of season. If last game then carries over to next season. I know they are making better helmets and helmet covers than what they had for people used in study.

With the way soccer players hit the ball off their heads they probably could have CTE over time as well.

If it is going to be two games there will need to be a robust review process.

I wonder about soccer too which is what @futurecoach was also pointing out. The studies need to be more comprehensive.

Along with all of this.... Heavy kids & the increasing number of kids on medication. Dehydration makes kids more susceptible to concussions. Medication combined w/ poor nutrition / sleep habits are tough. To truly do what football players do and do it right, especially in the heat, cutting corners off the field can carry a heavy price.

Studies also show that taking creatine monohydrate can reduce chance of concussions. Dietician's now recommend it for all people to take especially old people who don't get enough through diet.

1 minute ago, Tigerpride94 said:

Studies also show that taking creatine monohydrate can reduce chance of concussions. Dietician's now recommend it for all people to take especially old people who don't get enough through diet.

I just finished my 33oz creatine fruit punch flavored drink!

22 minutes ago, theguru said:

If it is going to be two games there will need to be a robust review process.

I wonder about soccer too which is what @futurecoach was also pointing out. The studies need to be more comprehensive.

I should have clarified since meant college and pro where they have replay. No review in high school makes it tough penalty to enforce unless obvious.

I think the hard helmet is likely a cause of CTE. There was a study, I think from Wisconsin, of guys who wore leather helmets in the 1950's. No CTE was found. The hard helmet makes the head a weapon to use and doesn't prevent the jostling of the brain from the head collision that actually causes the damage.

It's been a while since I read the article, but a study came out in which they looked at a couple of D1 programs and put sensors on their helmets to see if they could get an idea of what was going on. It turned out that it wasn't the prototypical massive hit, like when a defensive back gets a big run and uses his head as a weapon, that caused the most damage. It was more due to the linemen banging their heads into each other on every play. The collisions weren't as big, but there were a lot more of them and that added up over time.

5 minutes ago, 24Rocks said:

It was more due to the linemen banging their heads into each other on every play. The collisions weren't as big, but there were a lot more of them and that added up over time.

Like most things in life when they are not done in moderation.

3 hours ago, ChiefSmoke said:

Would not be surprised to see all football, grades 5 & under, become predominantly flag in the future.

No, I know that a few youth programs in NKY are debating over it now.

I believe that there's validity to this study and unfortunately I'm not surprised. I absolutely love football, always have and will, but it's very hard to argue the statistics with this in several ways. Thinking back to the brain study results of Junior Seau, Aaron Hernandez, and a lot more now in addition, it's hard to deny or not believe. When this is factored in with how early onset with other forms of dementia are also happening more commonly and with younger age onsets reducing, it's scary to think about. Cognitive and neurological matters are no joke.