Article on youth tackle football: Staci Fitzgerald, wife of NW Coach, has a 10, 13, & 14 year old playing ball
There is a solid Chicago Tribune article this afternoon dealing with youth tackle football.
LINK: How Stacy Fitzgerald — whose 3 sons play football and whose husband coaches at Northwestern — defends a game under siege [Note: I subscribe to the Trib, so I don't know whether or not this link will work.]
It is almost long form journalism, and there are quotes and conversations with many, both for and against youth football. Here is part of what Stacy Fitzgerald thinks:
Stacy tells parents who inquire about football: Come to a game.
“They’ll ask: ‘Is my son gonna get hurt? What’s it like?’ I say when they are younger, everything is low impact. That’s when you learn the proper technique,” she says. “They come out and watch it and say: ‘This really isn’t bad. They are learning and have a great time.’
“The camaraderie, being a teammate … you have to work as a group of 11 to make a play run. In basketball four can spread out and one can drive. But that’s the biggest seller — it really isn’t what they’re seeing on TV.”
Prawdzik [fellow football parent] says six players on Brendan’s team [Pat & Stacy Fitzgerald's 10 year old son] have suffered injuries — three from bike accidents, two from hockey and one from football.
This was our personal experience as well. Our 18 year old son, currently about 5'11" and 160 pounds, realized mid-high school that he just wasn't fast enough or big enough, which contributed to hanging up his cleats. But he absolutely loved youth football. Many of his closest friends played together on the same team for about 6 years.
Every parent has to make their own decision on what is best. But I definitely fall in the camp of believing that youth football does not have grave danger for kids. Here's a quip that I can verify from personal observation:
On a gray September morning, Stacy sits alongside a football dad named Chris Prawdzik. Her youngest son, Brendan, is playing fullback and defensive end for a featherweight team.
Kids this age look more like lollipops in their helmets as they bop around the field. Compared with the college and pro football you’re accustomed to seeing, the tackling appears to be in slow motion. And the whistle blows almost as soon as there’s contact.
I figured this was better content than yet another hand wringing post asking about QB play or coaching or why the offense isn't working.
October 10th, 2019 at 8:59 AM ^
what about all the other sports, soccer for instance, that have an equal or higher rate of concussion? we should be paying attention to the issue, but people have gotten OCD on the sport of football and they have lost perspective on the fact that many sports have the issue - soccer being the most serious and world-wide culprit. but because most perceive no danger from the other sports then nobody cares and there's no hand-wringing over them.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:09 AM ^
Exactly, but CTE is linked to sub-concussive repeated blows, like heading a soccer ball over and over again.
I don't believe the football concussion rates at all, but we all have to decide if the risk is worth it for ourselves.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
This is the point I feel so many people are missing. The big issue (for me as a parent) isn't, is my son going to sprain his ankle, or even get a concussion. It's what will the effect of hundreds of hits with or to his head be?
October 10th, 2019 at 2:37 PM ^
I do think we need cohort studies though. Football's been around over 100 years. Over 50% of the men in my family played. None showed signs of CTE; their 'life success rates' for lack of a better word we the same as the others in my family. A *TON* of kids have played youth football over the decades, never getting beyond HS. If we were causing rampant brain damage you think we would see more overt evidence.
October 11th, 2019 at 10:38 AM ^
This is my opinion as well. Wouldn't there be a complete epidemic of adults walking around with brain damage with as many kids that have played tackle football over the past 50-60 years??
October 10th, 2019 at 9:19 AM ^
US youth soccer has banned heading the ball in age groups below U11 or U12, primarily to eliminate the high incidence of clashing heads that was a major cause of concussions. If a player does head the ball, even inadvertently, it's a free kick.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:59 AM ^
Yep and as a USSF I know this and have been yelled at about this rule, SOB.
October 10th, 2019 at 1:47 PM ^
Show me a youth football game where there is “high contact”? lol . These are little kids running into each other and falling down. You do what you think is best though. I think football and general masculinity will survive without your offspring
October 10th, 2019 at 8:51 AM ^
"I have no problem with my child playing football but if they do, they're going to play out of i-formation exclusively, goddamnit." - Pat Fitzgerald, probably.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:04 AM ^
Pat Fitzgerald married the right woman.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:07 AM ^
Getting on the road with people who lack spatial awareness is more dangerous than playing football.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:56 AM ^
5'11" and 160LB is big enough for Varsity football. Speed is a different story though.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:46 AM ^
You're completely right. There were other challenges, shall we say. I definitely think he could have and would have made the team through high school, and would have seen the field a fair amount as a junior or senior. At the same time, he did realize he had limitations. (Motivation and hard work are a challenge for everyone!)
October 10th, 2019 at 1:40 PM ^
Is football a cut sport where you live?
In SE Michigan the only time I've heard of a public high school football (I don't have any experience in the catholic league but I imagine it is the same) team making cuts was when Southfield HS and Lathrup HS merged to form Southfield A&T and the new combined football team had like 120 Juniors and Seniors show up for the first day of camp and the coaches had to cut some kids down to 95 heading into the season.
For most high school programs if you show up to every practice and keep your grades up you are on the team.
October 10th, 2019 at 2:46 PM ^
October 10th, 2019 at 10:01 AM ^
My son is a HS senior and has been playing tackle football since the 5th grade, loves it. Does he get banged up and hurting the day after a game absolutely. Been injured a couple times, knee sprain and ankle fracture in addition to bumps and bruises. Nobody complains when he gets drilled in the back or other part of his body with an 80+ fastball! The equipment is much better, game safer and much less hitting than in the past. No other game teaches the life lessons that football does.
FYI, know which sport causes the most injuries to girls? Cheerleading! Never see any articles or bans on that, thank goodness.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:31 AM ^
As a soon to be parent and huge football fan, I've gone back and forth on the whole tackle football thing. Personally, I played some sort of football from kindergarten through high school, but I didn't start tackle football until I was in 7th grade. Prior to that it was exclusively flag, because that was all my school offered at the time. I used to always think I missed out on some years of "real" football from having to play flag for so long, but now I think this is the exact route I would want my kids to take. I just have a hard time finding the benefits that tackle football has over flag football at that young of an age.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:39 AM ^
The easiest thing to do is to go watch some youth games in the Fall, especially at the younger ages when the kids are "lollipops." Talk to coaches and parents there, and then make your own mind up with your wife on what is best for your family. The other part of it is what your kid wants to do, and their body size and shape, etc. Let's be real: many kids have zero desire to play football, don't want to be tackled or to tackle someone else. Other kids enjoy it. There's no single right answer for everyone. This isn't like debating cigarettes: even people who smoke know it is bad for you. There are definitely pros and cons to playing football.
My advice? Watch some games and try it out. You and your kids will figure it out quickly.
Oh, and I will tell you that I loved watching football and practice a lot more than sitting through ballet with one of my daughters.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
I would recommend for anyone considering football for their children to watch the PBS frontline documentary from about ten years ago.
Until the moment I watched it, I had my son on the football path.
I am still saddened by my decision not to let him play because I love football. I was a middle linebacker and fullback in high school and never left the field. I smacked my head every play against someone usually bigger than me. So, it was a pretty sad moment when I made the decision. I had been looking forward to him playing football since before he was born.
Each parent should study this on their own and make a decision. I don't think Stacy's opinion is a good source for a decision.
Science may determine that gene factors contribute to CTE as much as the brain impact. I think we will know more in 30 years, but at the time I made my decision I just didn't feel it was worth the risk based upon what science knew at the time. I still don't think it's worth it, and I hope I am wrong because I love football.
I was fully prepared for broken arms and such. But it was the possibility of slight brain damage over time that scared the crap out me. Brain damage probably explains many of my crappy posts in this forum.
October 10th, 2019 at 11:13 AM ^
But of course she would say that.
And Mother says he’s a role model
October 10th, 2019 at 12:31 PM ^
Another article on the “war on football”. I’m glad Pat Fitzgerald’s wife and family are not buying in to all the scare tactics and are playing the best sport on earth
I get it. Not all boys are cut out to play football. It’s an aggressive, fast running, collision sport. Some boys don’t feel comfortable in that kind of environment
What I dislike very much is parents not “allowing” sons to play football that wanna be out there participating. That’s what’s hurting participation and causing high school teams to not even have a JV team, or cancel a varsity season halfway through due to low numbers.
October 10th, 2019 at 1:31 PM ^
I saw this on the board yesterday and hesitated to respond. I have received some really angry responses when I tell people I don't let my boy play. He's lightning quick and strong and would be a hell of a running back.
But when I ask those people if they've seen the documentary that started all of this, they all say no.
I don't let him do a lot of things he wants to, like sit on instagram all day or eat ice cream before diner.
This is not about being tough or America becoming a weak society. It's about science showing more and more evidence that human brains aren't made to recover from trauma.
But I will say, my daughter's boyfriend is a star running back for our high school and I go and watch his games. Football has changed since I played. Much less head contact.
October 10th, 2019 at 2:52 PM ^
October 10th, 2019 at 4:44 PM ^
I don't approve of her boyfriend playing... he's a good kid and I worry that it looks like he might get a scholarship. I go because he doesn't get much support at home.
I know I am a hypocrite by loving football
for some folks the benefits out way the risk. Basketball is a great sport too, that's were I steered my boy.
I really hope that they find a way to diagnose and improve treatment. But right now I just can't let him play. It sucks for me actually.
I am not judging anyone who decides to play
October 10th, 2019 at 2:04 PM ^
"Every parent has to make their own decision on what is best."
Amen.
I 'coach' (I'm a Dad who volunteered to help out the head coach) my son's Pop Warner team. For two years it has been overwhelmingly positive. We've had no injuries last year, and luckily none this year.
My son and the boys really seem to have come together as a team. It's fun to watch them come up with nicknames for each other, and play around. And as they all came together in a middle school this year, it was great for them to have a group of guys to hang out with. It's been a lifeline of sorts for my very anxious son.
Before I could coach I had to take a concussion course, get a background check, and look at videos on proper tackling. The head coach demonstrates it and we try to reinforce it.
Anything can happen, of course, but I'm satisfied that enough precautions have been taken. As far as impacts/collision goes its almost more difficult to get them to hit at all with any aggression.
The head coach is a great guy who is great about teaching the game to the kids. He's not a yeller or a screamer (for the most part) and really works well at explaining things to the kids.
*sigh* But every time the in laws or some friends get together I have my people telling my son 'Oh you need to stop playing that it's so dangerous' or 'You're going to get a concussion and brain damage, you should play soccer or basketball'. 'Is your Dad forcing you to play?' and the like. They very rarely talk to me; just my son.
Its infuriating.
I totally accept that there is more and more risk the older the kids get, and the harder they hit. And Div 1 ball on up has to have the risks taken very seriously. I read as much literature as I can. And playing football was 100% the kids idea. I was forced to play, and I hated it.
It's rude and disrespectful to tell a kid essentially 'You're Dad doesn't really care for you, he's putting you in danger'. It's way out of line to do so to a kid who already has anxiety issues.
I don't question their choices to let their sons and daughters play Hockey, or Soccer, or whatever. I wish they'd leave my family alone.
October 10th, 2019 at 4:56 PM ^
I am not judging even though I made a different decision. A lot of people don't look into the risk before deciding. There are tons of benefits to playing. Football (and other sports) kept me straight growing up. Without football I might be in prison, who knows.
October 10th, 2019 at 5:46 PM ^
I just read your post again... It would piss me off too if people were talking to my boy like that
The opposite happened to me, after I moved here to Portland, one of my neighbors who has a kid my son's age and happened to be the local youth coach wanted my boy on the team immediately after seeing him in the neighborhood. I told him I decided to not let him play and he was upset with me. Same thing happened in the gym the other day. I am training my boy with weights for his freshman basketball season and a 'friend' in the gym speculated my boy must be a good player.
Both times, I felt judged and in both instances neither had seen the frontline documentary that led to all this. The neighbor actually bragged about how brave his boy was (4th grade at the time) because he had taken on a huge linebacker (or lineman) and was knocked out.
At the time, I was really surprised that semi-school based programs had started tackle football in 4th grade. When I played we started in 7th.
I will say, they have made it safer because pussy scientists cried that there may be a brain injury problem. Those same scientists said cigarettes were bad and for years people denied it.
it's not unlike the climate change "debate"
I wish you and your boy the best.... playing football and skiing are the two most fun things I've ever done. In some ways I envy you. I don't judge others about this. And yes, I am a hypocrite for watching football. Hopefully they find out that genetics are the biggest factor and can screen people out who shouldn't play. Until there is more information, I decided against it.
October 11th, 2019 at 8:02 AM ^
"I wish you and your boy the best"
Same back to you. I totally and completely respect your decision. It's not an easy one; and I'm sorry people gave you some flack for it.
The 'I'm going to swoop in and in a 30 second conversation judge your parenting' over stuff like this is insane to me; and a real sore point.
October 10th, 2019 at 6:00 PM ^
You honest to god have family and friends that make those comments to your son?? I would literally tell them to fuck off and not to dare worry about what MY son is doing. You need to eliminate those friends from your life.
October 11th, 2019 at 8:07 AM ^
Yup. Mom of one of my sons friend (who is a nice lady but for a couple of issues about which she has no filter) just goes on and on and on about how dangerous it is while my son is there. The irony is that her kid plays hockey. Safer? Maybe. Safe? Don't know.
Everyone does it when I'm not there. In a couple instances I had to work and the kid got singled out.
I had to issue a general ban on the in-laws talking about it after my son was in tears in my car one day talking about it. I heard back 'Well, they're just concerned'. Concern means talking to me face to face. Concern doesn't mean singling my anxious kid out when I'm not there and stoking his fears because they're convinced they're right and they can achieve their goals by any means necessary.
As you might have guessed, its a soft spot for me. The guilty parties though don't limit it to just this. They are in general a bunch of self-entitled micro-managers who get *very* upset if anyone questions them.
October 10th, 2019 at 2:44 PM ^
One other thing; and maybe I'm out of line saying this, but what the heck. Bolivia is nice this time of year.
If you are *very against* football, and think it is dangerous based on all the data that you see, do you watch it?
Because, at that point, I don't understand.
My BiL won't let his son play. He talks on and on about the dangers. Then he plops on the couch Saturday and Sunday and watches.
To me that is almost like going to watch a gladitorial match. 'Hey, I know the people are really hurting themselves and others, but it's SO COOL!'
October 10th, 2019 at 2:56 PM ^
October 10th, 2019 at 3:14 PM ^
It's funny how people will cry about football when
1.) I've seen FAR MORE debilitating injuries come from basketball games at times, and
2.) If you're going to freak about about trauma, and especially head-related trauma, it's time to take a look at soccer, where the chances of concussion are as high as, if not higher than, football.
The other problem is that reforms HAVE been enacted, but it's really too soon to tell whether or not they've made a difference. You can't enact a reform at the beginning of one season and expect a total turnaround at the end of the season.
October 10th, 2019 at 3:34 PM ^
CTE is not about concussions, FYI . That's what most parents don't get.
I for one don't believe concussion rates in any sports, my son got pushed in soccer after a play, bounced his head off the ground going backwards. They did the concussion test and he passed easy, they stated he was good to go. 1 hour later he is throwing up and can't even sit up his head hurts that bad. In the ER and yep he has a concussion.
When we are talking about youth football 12 and under it's a different deal. Every time they fall and their heads bounce off the ground those are all "blows" to the head. I read a report where they put sensor in helmets. A youth football game a player averages 60 sub-concussive blows a game. Think about getting hit in the head 60 times.
I supported the no heading in soccer for 12 and under. As a ref if you took heading out you would eliminate majority of concussions in the game. They happen when players go to head the ball and don't go straight up, girls are worst at this in soccer.
Everyone needs to make their own choice, my issue is there is not nearly enough information to make the choice today, we simple don't know. Yes I played football and no I will not allow my son to play, simple because I don't know what the risk is today.
https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2018/01/18/study-hits-not-concussions-cause-cte/
October 10th, 2019 at 4:08 PM ^
You make some excellent points. Though, as I stated before I'd love to see a cohort study.
If youth football = subconcussive hits, and subconcussive hits = CTE, then you'd expect to see *rampant* brain damaged kids over the past several decades; and I don't believe we are. But that's why this study needs to happen.
I do also wonder about simple playground antics and things like that. We had to keep my kid and his buddies from playing rugby and tackle football on the sly at his original elementary (there was a small grassed in area behind some trees). I wonder what a sensor would say there?
Again, not disagreeing with you. It's not a simple subject. But I do think we need more data.
October 10th, 2019 at 3:40 PM ^
I had three kids that played youth football from 8 to 12 years old. Best time ever. Kids loved it and our whole family was involved. However, one of them had 3 concussions. Two still play in high school but I wouldn't let them play youth football if we could do it again.
They've broken bones in both AAU basketball and travel baseball but bones heal. Should have waited to start them in football.