Thread: CTE. The Elephant in the Room.

Originally Posted by bajisima

Life itself is dangerous. So I really think wrapping everyone in a plastic bubble makes it boring. We can certainly find new ways of making things safer for players but not doing it at all isn't a solution. Hockey, cycling,rugby, lacrosse will be on the chopping block next. Lets stop taking the "life" out of life.

So no age restriction on tackle football for you?

Originally Posted by thrilling

So no age restriction on tackle football for you?

I would say maybe in the 11-12 year range. Its safer to learn properly at a younger age. There is nothing more dangerous than taking a 14 year old freshman and throw them into a world of tackling at the high school level where they are thrust into playing with 17-18 year olds that are way bigger than themselves.

Originally Posted by Spookycolt

With the tens of thousands or whatever the number is of people playing football each year I don't think this is all that big of an issue, certainly not something worth banning.

You are dead wrong about this. Every week now, at least one player on every NFL team gas to sit due to conclusion protocol. In years prior, these men went right back out there and did further damage. It is exceedingly common.

Yes, it is an enormous problem.

Originally Posted by Southern Dad

The problem is that as we continue to turn our kids into pussies that are afraid to get hurt (or liberals), is that when they get to college football or the NFL they are suddenly going to discover it's a bit harder than they thought.

This is all wrong, SD. I am a hunter, a fisherman, a muscle car enthusiast, a rock climber......there are a ton of activities that require you to be tough both physically and mentally. Why do we continually have to put our children in harms way? Back in the 1800s, parents would raise six kids, because two of them would die very young. That's the world of our grandparents. I don't want to remove swings. I don't want kids to stop exploring or stop being kids. I'm just saying that we are messing them up for life and we don't have to.

Originally Posted by bajisima

I would say maybe in the 11-12 year range. Its safer to learn properly at a younger age. There is nothing more dangerous than taking a 14 year old freshman and throw them into a world of tackling at the high school level where they are thrust into playing with 17-18 year olds that are way bigger than themselves.

Not sure why you did not say this in the first place. That was the premise of my OP. You do realize this would affect Millions of people what you are suggesting?

Originally Posted by thrilling

Not sure why you did not say this in the first place. That was the premise of my OP. You do realize this would affect Millions of people what you are suggesting?

I am not necessarily opposed to tackle football at earlier ages if proper training is given for the coaches. The way it is now many pop warner and local teams rely on parents for coaching and some don't care if they have any experience at all. Our local team was forever looking for coaching staff and would take anyone that volunteered. That could pose dangers for the kids playing. When my kid played, they began tackle football at 11 or so (5th grade) however the younger groups practiced tackling in practice. It was designed to get them ready for play when they were older. So by the time they reached 5th grade they knew how to tackle and what to somewhat expect.

Originally Posted by bajisima

I am not necessarily opposed to tackle football at earlier ages if proper training is given for the coaches. The way it is now many pop warner and local teams rely on parents for coaching and some don't care if they have any experience at all. Our local team was forever looking for coaching staff and would take anyone that volunteered. That could pose dangers for the kids playing. When my kid played, they began tackle football at 11 or so (5th grade) however the younger groups practiced tackling in practice. It was designed to get them ready for play when they were older. So by the time they reached 5th grade they knew how to tackle and what to somewhat expect.

If it is not safe, then you should stand up for what is right. Not for what would be right in a perfect world.

Originally Posted by thrilling

If it is not safe, then you should stand up for what is right. Not for what would be right in a perfect world.

Well the problem is some groups are quite safe and follow protocol and safety rules. Others just rely on volunteers. So to throw out a random age is problematic as some kids learn properly very young and others not at all. There used to be national or statewide rules for forming pop warner or little league groups. But now some others have popped up run by parents and benefactors and they just form their own groups. We have one here and its grown into 5 or 6 teams now. Parents would complain if their kid didn't get enough playing time in pop warner so they would get mad and group with others and form a new team with its own rules. Its problematic.

Originally Posted by Puzzling Evidence

This is all wrong, SD. I am a hunter, a fisherman, a muscle car enthusiast, a rock climber......there are a ton of activities that require you to be tough both physically and mentally. Why do we continually have to put our children in harms way? Back in the 1800s, parents would raise six kids, because two of them would die very young. That's the world of our grandparents. I don't want to remove swings. I don't want kids to stop exploring or stop being kids. I'm just saying that we are messing them up for life and we don't have to.

Yes, kids do activities that put them in danger of being hurt. That is part of growing up. We aren't talking about going back to the 1800's. However, what we are talking about it turning our kids into pussies. Total wimps. Why not just eliminate gym completely. Pass out the adult coloring books and tell the kids to go to their safe zone.

Originally Posted by Southern Dad

Yes, kids do activities that put them in danger of being hurt. That is part of growing up. We aren't talking about going back to the 1800's. However, what we are talking about it turning our kids into pussies. Total wimps. Why not just eliminate gym completely. Pass out the adult coloring books and tell the kids to go to their safe zone.

There truly are people out there like that and it saddens me. Let kids play and get their energy out. Let them be kids. They don't need to study and sit all day particularly the younger ones.

https://thinkprogress.org/recess-is-...267#.5mpn68q4s