In stadiums, parks and fields all across America, many youth participate in a journey through defeat, heartbreak, hard work, and success. Practicing for hours, rain or shine, to be able to snag that game winning touchdown in the back of the endzone. Although football comes with many risks and dangers, I strongly believe that kids and teens should be allowed to play football because it promotes leadership, teamwork, and requires significant amounts of exercise and cardiovascular activity, and other contact sports are just as dangerous. Many of the leaders and team players of today are built from the foundation of a young football player. Football turns young kids into great leaders and teammates. In an article on time.com Jon Butler, the executive …show more content…
This game requires immense amounts of exercise and cardiovascular activity. In an article on Youth Football Online.com it states, “Football is a physically demanding sport that will have the kids exercising every practice and game.” Football is filled with physical activity from running sprints, to lifting weights, to just simply playing the game. It is one of the best sports to get physically fit from. I feel myself working the hardest I ever have when I’m on the field. You endure multitudes of different types of training during football making it great for your health. Compared to other sports, it by far requires the most work all …show more content…
Football isn’t even the most dangerous contact sport that you could play. Other high school sports have recorded just as much, or even more concussions than football. In an article on WebMD.com Robert Preidt writes that, “Between 2010 and 2015, the concussion rate was higher in girls' soccer than in boys' football, the findings showed. During the 2014-2015 school year, concussions were more common in girls' soccer than in any other sport in the study.” Despite being viewed as one of the most dangerous sports, football does not even have the largest rate of concussions or the most serious concussions. In fact, in another study on Fox Sports.com, soccer was seen to be responsible for more of the serious concussions. Concussion numbers can be dropped with attentiveness and responsibility as kids play the game of football. Most concussions in youth football are a result of the player being irresponsible or intentionally violent while they play. But, new rules are in place that diminish this style of play. The amount of concussions can be reduced, and organizations are working on making football a safer game to play. In an article on the New York Times Marvin Washington, a former NFL player, says, “I know this is contrary to public opinion, but the game of football is safer than it has ever been, and is evolving into an even safer game.” The safety of football players at all
Football is one of the most popular sports in the United States, and it’s viewed as the most exciting and intriguing American sport. Many football players have highly affected the lives of their fans; they are looked upon as role models and they are admired and worshiped by many. Football’s biggest event, the Super Bowl, brings in many viewers each year. Football attracts many people of all age groups and its widely played in high schools, colleges, and professionally. It seems like any normal sport—but is it safe?
Are young children putting their health and even their lives at risk if they partake in the sport of football? Some claim that the American sport is far too dangerous and the risk of concussions and injuries far outway the pros of the physical sport, while others insist that technological improvements and new regulations have made the sport safer. Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of history and education at New York University, argues in his paper, “We Must Stop Risking the Health of Young Football Players,” that football is a sport that is too dangerous for the youth. He states his belief that technological improvements in helmets and changes in the rules of the sport have had little effect on reducing injuries and that nothing has worked.
The majority of children who play football will not avoid the inevitable and most likely sustain an injury to their body. However, there are some positive attributes for children to learn when participating in youth football. Some positive attributes children will learn are physical fitness, discipline and structure, and the importance of teamwork. The aforementioned attributes are favorable for children where they will learn to be young men, adapt to life, and adjust to different circumstances off the
Football is not a dangerous sport for high schoolers to be playing. It is played to show others what great team work is all about. Football will always have hard hitting and injuries involved. But it is a great way to get into a good college. Great warm-up exercises before a game are great way to be ready for the game.
Since football’s inception, it has been considered a manly sport. Young boys have been encouraged by their parents to participate in the game. For many boys, it is considered a rite of passage. However, football is a dangerous sport. A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found, “an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007” (Nation 201). These reported injuries include sprains and strains, broken bones, cracked ribs, torn ligaments, and concussions. A concussion usually happens when a player takes a hard hit to the head or is knocked unconscious on the playing field, and if not diagnosed and treated quickly, a concussion can result in death.
High school football may be dangerous but it is also a life altering experience. From what these boys can do out on the field to what they can become in life and all the things they can accomplish, putting it in peoples head that it is a dangerous sport is ridiculous. Yes, football can cause some serious injury but those chances aren’t very high and what are these boys going to get out of life if they never take that risk? Then end up asking themselves, “what if?” These boys should not let anything get in the way of what they want to do because even if they fail
In the article “Should Kids Play Football” from the Scholastic Scope on February 2015, writer Jennifer Shotz discusses both issues of the benefits and dangers of playing American football. For example, Jennifer Shots mentioned that tens of thousands of young football players get concussions every year. She states that most players return to the game after they are healed but some never return because their concussion was too severe to their health. On the other hand, the writer also discusses how football isn't the only sport that encounters concussions. The rules of football are always changing and each new rule provides a safer way to play the game. For example, the writer notes that Pop Warner has reduced the amount of practice time dedicated
Football is a sport that over the years has slowly taken over baseball as America’s pastime.What most likely comes to mind when thinking of American football is a fast paced sport that seems to grab your attention and never let go until the final nail biting seconds. This high energy contact sport can be entertaining and exciting to watch, but has underlying dangers especially for young kids that can be potentially fatal. Kids under the age of fourteen do not need to play tackle football due to the risk of injuries, particularly to the head, that occur when participating in the sport.
“Maybe I´m stupid or whatever, but to me if I got a concussion, if I could see straight and carry a football, then I´m not telling anybody”, Ricky Williams, NFL Football player. The argument about whether kids should play football or not is an important topic to argue. People need to understand that the concussions and other injuries are more serious with young kids. The problem is that many people think that it could be stopped by not allowing kids to play at all. Although parents can reduce risk of injury by not allowing their kids to play football, parents should let their children play football because it lets kids follow their dreams, it helps kids become more mature and independant, and if kids use proper technique they can reduce injuries.
Every sport has its tricks and ways of doing things the right way. You can assure anyone that the sport their child is playing is safe, because there is always a stronger, bigger, faster player than them. Personally, I believe football is a demanding sport that requires a lot of strength, and stamina. If you read the article “Hard Knocks” by Alan Schwarz, it gives a brief story about a young football player. “The autopsy showed that his brain was in the early stage of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, more commonly known as C.T.E.” Many football players die from this condition.
Not only do we know the effects of playing football at a young age, we also have real life stories that have occured to real people. For example, In 2006 a 13 year old named Zachary Lystatdt’s head hit the ground in a routine tackle. He was in pain, so the coach took him out of the game for two plays. He returned to the game and on the last play he collapsed. Zachary was rushed to the hospital and was required to have emergency neurosurgery. After this life changing surgery, 9 months later he was finally able to communicate. Now, he is still learning how to walk (Hamblin, James. “Football Alters the Brains of Kids as Young as 8.”)This story sets an example of why children should not be able to play contact sports until adulthood. Unfortunately, this is not the only sad story about a child who has had life changing effects from playing
Football, just another method to throw life away. Football is an extremely unsafe sport, yet it is glorified by several in the United States. A plethora of football players are impacted negatively by injuries that may occur just by playing an "innocent" little game of tackle football. It is necessary to consider all the dreadful outcomes that may happen before taking the chance to play. Young individuals shouldn't play tackle football due to the trauma it can cause to the brain, the injuries or occurrences that can lead to a harder life or even death, and it leaves the players to be less sharp in their old age. It is often thought that football is a harmless game for kids to enjoy. Nevertheless, the amount of health issues and injuries that can be caused by football is unbelievable and not worth the risk.
Some schools force students to participate in organized school sports. However, I believe that schools should not make this a requirement. Some students may have medical conditions, family situations that don't allow them to participate in organized school sports, or they simply may not have the time.
The goal of sports is to prepare its participants for life and turn them into well-rounded individuals. In school there are requirements. If students do not maintain a certain GPA they cannot play, and if they get into trouble in or outside of school they will most likely be put on a suspension or kicked off the team. In order to play they have to have clean records. This is just a few of the many benefits of teens participating in sports. Due to this, most teens will most likely not give into peer pressure and do something that may jeopardize their athletic standing. By being a part of something bigger than themselves, teens will focus harder in and away from school, which in turn helps them become prepared for adulthood. In sports, coaches are teaching teens how to make better decisions about their lives, as well as the sense of accomplishment of their hard work and a job well
The training and practices required to play professional football are intense. You have to wear uncomfortable pads and helmets and endure grueling practices in the heat of the summer and you have to lift weights every day (Green 174). You have to train no matter what position you play. What’s important about is how the position works and how it contributes to the game. Young boys must join high school football team, the road to football star begins in high school.