This surprises me but then you watch the video and you see a kid getting destroyed.

 

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7601017/study-impact-kids-football-head-hits-severe-college-games

Youth football concussion level 8X than youth soccer, baseball, and basketball. Only hockey has a higher rate.

This surprises me but then you watch the video and you see a kid getting destroyed.

 

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7601017/study-impact-kids-football-head-hits-severe-college-games

 

I would guess this has more to do with developing stabilizing muscles (neck, shoulders, etc.) than because of velocity.

I would guess this has more to do with developing stabilizing muscles (neck, shoulders, etc.) than because of velocity.

 

Or it could be related to the skull and the brain at that age.

Or it could be related to the skull and the brain at that age.

 

True.

This is a real problem, from youth football, all the way through the NFL. The big hit is the one thing that gets the most praise from coaches, writters and fans. It isn't talked about much but you can't have a big hit without putting the facemask into the blow. Players are therefore encouraged to put themselves in harm's way from their earliest days until their careers are done. This seems to be especially true on the defensive side of the ball. Linebackers, corners, safeties and running backs, have the greatest opportunity to bring the big hit and many times their reputation as a player is highlighted by this ability. To me, the game would have to change a lot before we stop seeing so many concussions. Big hits are made by the front of the shoulders, upper chest and head. The brain sort of sloshes up against the inside of the skull during every hit, which has the effect of bruising brain tissue and breaking down fibers at the base of the brain stem from what I've read. Add to the equation the size, speed and power of say, the college level athlete, and it's something akin to two block walls coming together at 20 mph. Some of these injuries are no doubt due to cheap or faulty helmets, which is why if I had a son playing he would have the best money would buy.

You aren't going to find a bigger football fanatic out there than me, but I have always said that tackle football doesn't need to be allowed until the age of 11 or 12; 5th/6th grade for many reasons.

 

I have yet to understand the benefit of 7 & 8 year olds playing tackle football. Equipment doesnt fit, it flops around (which might have something to do with the force to the head, obviously), knee pads are shin pads. However, the one argument for playing tackle at that age is the fact that I had always heard and thought that kids weren't moving fast enough to really cause any type of blunt force?