“No one should put a helmet on...before high school. There’s just no upside, and a ton of downside"

[rchawk]

Yes, in Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, some league start tackle football in 3rd grade. For the MYFA in Cedar Rapids, it starts at 4th Grade. They do have weight limits on ball carriers and how far defenders can be from the line of scrimmage, but you still get some pretty good pops happening on the field.

I started playing football in third grade, age eight. My best friend Randy and I stood in line to sign up with the two-team peewee league. Little did we know that the men at the table signing us up assigned one guy to the Colts, the next guy to the Jets. My Dad and Randy's Dad went to all of our six games, their sons on opposite teams. We beat the Jets five times out of six, thanks to the randomness of the line we were standing in.

Pretty sure I suffered my first (probable) concussion two years later when I was ten and playing for the Redskins. There were four teams by that time. In a practice I collided helmet to helmet with Mike Smith. It was excruciating pain in the head like I had never felt before. I remember nothing after that, not even Dad picking me up from practice and driving me home. Dad and I were told I was wobbly and Coach took me by the arm and had me sit down for the rest of practice.

I know, CSB. I loved playing football when I was eight and ten, and the next seven years. it was a lot more fun than school. If I had it to do over again I would not have missed it for the world.

 

[papabeef]

CTE exists bit it also exists in a lot of other sports and professions that isn't drawing the conversation as football. The fact of the matter is the suicide rate among nfl players is lower than that of the general population and just blaming it on CTE doesn't take into account things like depression, mental disorders, or drug abuse, all of which can also cause teams and damage to the brain.
There a risk in playing football. There's also a risk in playing soccer. There's a risk in skateboarding where incidence of death is higher than in the sport of football. There is risk in joining the military and you can just as easily contact CTE as a soldier as you can a football player.
Tyler sash's story is incredibly sad and tragic. We can all agree on that. I played football from the time I was 8 until I graduated high school and have coached it since. The benefits of playing the sport far outweighed any risk. None of us have a crystal ball to see how our kids will handle the sport. Doesn't mean you shouldn't let them play.
The best thing out of all of this is we are making real progress in the sport with concussion awareness and recognition and treatment. And we are also making advancements in equipment that are gonna make the sport safer and safer. All of these are great things.

the benefits will out weigh any risk .... until you come down with something bad , which i hope does not happen.

 

[Cougar63]

Won't let my kid play tackle football before 8th grade. I'll let him play flag football, though.

 

[ScoutRefugee]

I don't know what to think about it. I played football from 5th grade to 12th grade. I also boxed from 8 yrs old to 16 yrs old. I am 46 and I suffer no ill effects from those sports, other than some arthritis. Why do some people suffer from it but not me? Why can some people smoke for 60 years while others get lung cancer and die after 20?

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

7th grade should be the start for tackle football.

 

[Hawkeye3087]

Given where we are as a society I can't really support anyone that tells me the benefits of anything they did growing up outweighed the costs.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Given where we are as a society I can't really support anyone that tells me the benefits of anything they did growing up outweighed the costs.

Hmmm....Mmm-hmm.....Okay.....Hmmmmm..................Mmmmm-hmm...............


...........Yep tackle football should start in 7th grade. Thanks for playing.

 

[Y2KG21]

I have a grandson that began playing tackle football in the 3rd grade (yes you can play in Iowa - called "Pop Warner Football) and is in his final year, fourteen years later.. I estimated around 140 games not counting some JV action. Probably some 2-3 practices between games plus fall and pre-season camps. Two games left plus possible play-offs NAIA. Keeping my fingers crossed as he has experienced one concussion that we are aware of.
I think the Middle School years are the worse as some bodies are almost fully developed and some haven't begun to developed.. Some teams put their biggest player at running back even though he'll never play there in high school. Not all but some of the defense will be half his size. Not only dangerous but discourages the under developed player to continue.
I do like flag football for younger kids and wouldn't be opposed through Middle School.

 

[DavenportHawk8]

I think all these studies are turning off parents from football. I sat at my nephews last "Pop Warner game" this past weekend and saw the #'s were way down. I mean his team last year had 25 players and this year there were only 18. This is 6th grade, I wonder what it will be like the following years.

Talking to family friends where their school is thinking of dropping to 8 man (their enrollment is like 150+) but they can barely field an 11man team. How is the state going to be able to handle this? Larger school teams with only 20-30 players? Going to make it difficult to play 11man if injuries happen.

I hate to say in 10-15 years there might not be any football. The #'s are decreasing at an alarming rate. Sucks because football is and always has been a great sport.

 

[ih8iast8]

Does Iowa still have a rule that says no tackle football until 7th grade?

Where I live, they play tackle in 2nd grade.

No. I know 5th & 6th graders that play tackle in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area. It isn't common & far more boys play flag football at that age.

 

[Big_Palooka]

Here in Florida, Pop Warner has a division of tackle with 5,6, & 7 year olds.

 

[TDJ7]

I didn't start playing tackle until 7th grade. My little brother, who is 26 years younger than me just finished his 6th grade season and has already played more tackle games than I did from 7th - 12th grade. They have them play 2 sometimes 3 games a week. Some of these coaches have zero clue.

 

[Y2KG21]

I think all these studies are turning off parents from football. I sat at my nephews last "Pop Warner game" this past weekend and saw the #'s were way down. I mean his team last year had 25 players and this year there were only 18. This is 6th grade, I wonder what it will be like the following years.

Talking to family friends where their school is thinking of dropping to 8 man (their enrollment is like 150+) but they can barely field an 11man team. How is the state going to be able to handle this? Larger school teams with only 20-30 players? Going to make it difficult to play 11man if injuries happen.

I hate to say in 10-15 years there might not be any football. The #'s are decreasing at an alarming rate. Sucks because football is and always has been a great sport.

If they drop to 8 man they won't qualify to compete in play-offs.

 

[dciowa]

Pulsed laser and traumatic brain injury treatment. Read studies at your leisure.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pul...rome..69i57.4150j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8