Well, TheBoy certainly is... We got the notice that incoming fifth graders (which TheBoy will be; I have no idea how this happened...) are eligible to join the district's Youth Football league. He's all excited about playing football (I did manage to get out of him that "football gets the girls", dear lord I am not ready for this...) and is gung-ho to sign up to play.
I'm not so sure, though.
It's not so much about him getting injured, really. He's a tough kid, and I'm really not that concerned that football is too rough for him or anything like that. It's the level of commitment that worries me - this is where they start benching kids over a missed practice, things of that nature. I'm worried that his miniscule attention span will have him wandering off - or goofing off - while Coach is talking, and wind up with him getting benched for the next game. He's shown in both soccer and baseball that his interest level drops precipitously if he's not in the thick of things; I'm concerned mainly that where he's just starting out (and in the group of the youngest players on the field), he won't get the playing time he feels he deserves.
Some of it, too, has to do with the fact that I *hate* football - growing up, I had a football player's body and a basketball player's drive. I loved basketball with an all-consuming passion - I would practice shots in the driveway for hours on end, perfecting my layup and my foul shooting and playing in pick-up games in the town court whenever possible. A good friend down the street was also a rabid b-ball fan, and he and I used to recreate the legendary Bird/Jordan rivalry in his driveway court on pretty much a daily basis in the summer. But I was built far more like Tedy Bruschi than Larry Bird...
We're going to sign TheBoy up, figuring that at the very least he'll get a feel for football and whether it's right for him or not. He's tried all of the sports so far except hockey (and given that 4 AM ice time isn't uncommon around here, I'm fine to keep it that way), getting a taste for what he really likes (basketball), what he sorta likes (baseball), and what he does not care for (soccer). If it turns out that he likes football, he can still play basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring (if he still wants to play); if not, at least he tried it out. He won't know unless he plays, though, and I want to make sure that he gets his chance to try.
Guess I gotta learn how to throw one of the damn things, eh?
That is all.
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Jay,
There's a ballistics lesson in football . . . the tight spiral vs the wounded duck. The wounded duck is what happens to the bullet when there's no rifling, the tight spiral is the result of proper rifling. Once he's got that part down, take TheBoy for a range trip.
- Brad
Hi Jay. My son (he's 17 now, talk about time flying) started out in football when he was 8. Like your son he tried a bunch of different sports. He endured soccer, and hated baseball (way too slow, but football is his game. When they are starting out, coaching is the key. The coaches are teaching them how to hit and be hit safely. If you have any questions, I'd call the league manager, find out who the coach is going to be and talk to him/her. They should be able to tell you their philosophy on coaching and explain what they expect of the kids during practices and games. My son's first coach told the players at the beginning of every season his basic rules: 1) School comes first, get your homework done before practice. 2) He expected everyone to be at every practice unless they were sick/dr. appointment or called ahead of time. 3) Everyone gets to play a minimum # of plays a game (league rules). The more drive, willingness to learn, and heart you show in practice the more you play in the game. Hope this helps. Good luck. - J
Bird V Jordan?
Bird V Dr. J!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_on_One:_Dr._J_vs._Larry_Bird
Jay, in all seriousness, read up about football injuries to kids at school. I'd never permit any son of mine to play that sport, because of the gross lack of professionalism and due care displayed by most coaches. I regard it as an injury (perhaps a permanently disabling injury) looking for a place to happen.
Yes, I know, that'll make some folks mad at me. Wait until you've had to go with parents to a hospital, to hold their hands and help them as a doctor tells them their son will never walk again. It kinda changes your perspective.
It's the level of commitment that worries me - this is where they start benching kids over a missed practice, things of that nature. I'm worried that his miniscule attention span will have him wandering off - or goofing off - while Coach is talking, and wind up with him getting benched for the next game.
In my humble opinion, that's kind of the point.
What are games for, if not to teach us important life lessons as we grow up.
The fact that these life lessons are wrapped up in an enjoyable, albeit challenging, package is all the better because they are MUCH more apt to learn them well and properly than if the lessons are bounced off their hard little heads while sitting in the living room.
The lessons are learned best when there are immediate, palpable and undesirable consequences.
For example, in football, one learns that they take much less punishment if they are actively dishing it out in return, rather than standing meekly and absorbing the hits.
Important self-defense mind-set lesson right there.
Another point: If they're going to play football, it's a great thing to get them into it as young as possible. Contrary to popular belief, football is a complicated game that requires intelligence and an in depth understanding of one's responsibilities in any number of potential scenarios and situations for any number of given plays.
My son decided to start playing too late and all the other kids were way ahead of him. He loved the game and stuck with it for several years, but he never caught up and always felt as if he didn't know what he was doing, relative to the kids who had started out at younger ages.
My son is 7, but the biggest kid in the class. He loves wrestling and tackling when we play, so we thought this might be a good outlet for him, cause he can hurt kids roughhousing on the playground. We signed him up for football here in NH, but I'm very nervous about injuries.
Well, I would say it all depends on the coach. If you have a frustrated Vince Lombardi living vicariously through school kids, then no, we're not playing. I had a track coach who was a great role model and coach, then I had a wrestling coach who was, let's say, not so much. I still am leery of some of these guys.
Best of luck to The Boy.
Heck with football, find out if there is a Junior Rugby league.
Who needs those sissy pads and helmets, anyway? Rest breaks between plays? Gone. Constant motion, fluidity in teamwork, check.
A growing source of scholarships, check.
Hunter
Alaska
If he enjoys it AND has good coaching, I'd say give your blessing but I'd keep a close eye. I referee high school and youth football and some of the collisions, even in the young kids make me cringe. Then the 2 kids get right up and go back to the huddle. I very rarely see bad injuries (but some do happen) and they're like mini tanks in all those pads. I'm in more danger than they are.
Having said that you cannot deny that people who go on to play pro football live on average at least 10 years (an astonishing 20+ years for linemen)less than non football players. All of those collisions add up over time I fear. So while I do believe it develops important concepts like working hard for a goal and teamwork, if it were my son I would hope he would not want to play high school or beyond that.
Finally, its also important that the not just his coaches but other team's coaches are teaching kids properly. And that referees are enforcing proper play, especially regarding helmet contact.
Wow, some strong feelings here! I'm a medical provider so apart from my experiences with my sons, I see literally hundreds of athletes a year.
Having raised two boys, both of whom played 3 sports, and having coached college level basketball, junior high football, and umpired and refereed at multiple levels, I continue to feel that football may be the best of all team sports.
My sons felt baseball was simply too slow, so they played soccer in the spring, football in the fall, and basketball in the winter.
They were accopmplished at all three. All league in two, and both had scholarship and/or offers to play football at multiple schools.
Football injuries are part of the game, but truthfully, in 30 plus years now, I've seen no head or neck traumas that caused disability in football. They happen, but they remain very rare, which is why they make the news.
I have seen one broken C2 vertebrae, but we caught it before it caused spinal damage. I have seen two basketball injuries that caused partial paralysis, and I have seen multiple soccer head injuries that I have significant worries about.
All that said, you still stand a much higher risk of death, paralysis or brain damage from a car wreck. Bicycle crashes remain more likely to cause injuries in his age group than anything else.
Most youth leagues require that every kid play a minimum of 1 quarter in every game, and most require more than that.
Hitting in football is explosive now, and its taught from a young age. Even proper technique isn't 100% protective, but my philosophy as a coach was simple: Hit with the top of your helmet, sit on the bench! Kids that did it more than once found that they played the offensive line, no matter what size they were...Amazing how even very young players figured it out rapidly!
Good luck. My wife and I still reminisce about Friday night football, and can hardly wait for our grandsons to get there! Not much in life is better than watching your son on crisp autumn night!
One word of caution, and it sounds like you already know this...Football is for the bold, and if a kid doesn't love it, no amount of encouragement should be used to persuade him to play.
Good luck, and we look for weekly reports!
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