youth football

[DanBengalfan]

so my 6 year old got his football helmet today, he flips out when I try to put it on him to see how it fits or try to get him used to it.

Obviously, he can't play football if he can't wear a helmet. Anyone ever see a kid go through helmet anxiety?

 

[DanBengalfan]

oh well, got him to wear it for about 5 minutes. he had to calm down first.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Too funny.

We waited until our son was in 3rd grade before getting him into football.

 

[DanBengalfan]

yea, I try not to lead him into the sport I would pick (baseball)

gave them a choice of what was available in our town (football, baseball, soccer)
one kid chose football, his 5 year old brother chose soccer.
I think basketball becomes an option next year.

 

[Cincyfan78]

We started out with Tball this year for both our son and daughter (5 and 6).

The hardest thing is the attention span, or lack there of. I thought my Son, who is older, did a pretty good job of trying to maintain focus for the most part. My daughter was a challenge, but by the end of the season, she had improved a lot.

I just didn't feel comfortable putting my youngest son into football yet. I think (personally) that it's a bit too soon to start throwing around his head and knocking it up against other kids'. Having watched one of my older sons play for the past 4 years (3rd - 6th grade) helping to coach, and seeing some of the hits kids took even at the younger level while waiting for our games, I'm glad that we waited.

It's so hard for a 6 year old to understand why he can't use his head to tackle. By about the 3rd-4th grade range, the kids really understood not only how to tackle, but WHY they had to tackle that way.

I don't think there is really any right or wrong way to go about it. All this "head" stuff is just a sign of the changing times. Players at every age level are getting bigger and faster and stronger than ever before. The kind of hits that happend in the late 80's and early 90's were glorified because they rarely ever happened. It took the right play, and the right angle, and the right speed and all of that. Now, with guys so big and so fast and so strong, every play is like that. It's no wonder that there are more and more issues related to head trauma know than before.

 

[DanBengalfan]

yea, they went to a Saturday only pre-t-ball camp for 8 saturdays.

They had moments of fun, but by the end of it, they hated it and it gave them the impression that baseball was tedious and boring, so we ended up not doing t-ball at all this year.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Yep. Agreed with you there. It does take awhile for kids to catch on to baseball's pace.

I think it's why soccer is so popular with kids. Everyone is on the field and everyone pretty much chases the ball around the field. Especially really young kids. Hard to screw that up, and everyone is involved and active the entire game when they are on the field.

Even in football, kids that don't play both ways lose focus when they are on the sidelines. With nearly 30 kids, we had a pretty much a full 11 starters on offense, and then a whole different set of kids for the 11 on defense which was a HUGE help in getting all the kids in for playing time and so forth. We also wore a lot of teams down because they would only play 15-18 kids regularly and we had fresh kids rotating in with kids who only played one way. Especially in those early year games when it's still 80 degrees on Saturday game day.

 

[redbengal1000]

In my community we don't even start kids with football until 7th grade in junior high. We have a youth camp, but nothing organized until then, possibly due to us being a small farming community. Seems to us that if kids start too early, they drop out because they feel they don't like it before they even get a taste of what it truly is. By the time they play in 7th grade they're excited and just about every male goes out.

Works for us, our varsity football teams have had great success the last 10 years or so. Three state titles in the last five years without any kind of pee-wee/pop warner football, not to say one method is better than the other.

 

[DanBengalfan]

the schools I went to were big enough that I didn't even bother to try out for sports. Milford is sorta like that.

he might decide to play another sport next year, which is fine. Just hope it isn't that weird sport where they run around with nets and try to throw the ball with them, that looks like crap.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I think 3rd or 4th grade is about as early as I would want my kid(s) to start. At that age, they are old enough to fully understand the concepts of what football is about and how to approach it the correct way.

When they are 6, they are just running around in circles and trying to pile on eachother.

 

[jwil007]

My son will be entering his 6th year..he broke his tibia 2 years ago from a cheap shot to the leg after he had 10 tackles 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles...They targeted him...Needless to say the team we played their commissioner of their teams, HC of the team we played and entire staff are all gone. My sons med bills were paid and he had free use of athletic and rehab facilties for 1 year...he came back last year DOMINATED and suffered a freekin concussion in game 7 with 3 games left...He's a physical little mofo...I offered him a year off told him "I dont want you to think Dad is making you do this if you want to take a year off or try something else you can" His reply......"Dad when does practice start" I breed warriors not wimps.....lol....Now he moves on to a much more competitive team full of smucking beasts like him instead of team with only 4 or 5 where other teams can tee off on the most physical players....Told him to go out there and "Do Your Job" -Marv Lewis.. LOL

 

[Cincyfan78]

The next Odell Thurman?

 

[jwil007]

I'll take his skills but not the "off the field" BS LOL...He's brought home a 3.85 all year (5th grade) and 4.0 all year (6th grade)...Active in church and we talk about today's issues all the time...On top of that I ride through the hood so that he can get a look at what he can become if he makes the wrong moves...the homelessness, gangs and low income neighboorhoods scares the hell out of him...and thats EXACTLY what I want!...If anything comes across his mind he has real visions of the shit from me showing him what its like...He gets back to a 3300sqft house, his own room with TV, Cable Box, 360, Cell Phone and laptop and says.... "Let me keep doing my homework and stay the hell out of trouble" ZING! It all starts in the home....I truly believe that. Fathers have to be around and we have to teach the right message!

 

[Cincyfan78]

I'll take his skills but not the "off the field" BS LOL...He's brought home a 3.85 all year (5th grade) and 4.0 all year (6th grade)...Active in church and we talk about today's issues all the time...On top of that I ride through the hood so that he can get a look at what he can become if he makes the wrong moves...the homelessness, gangs and low income neighboorhoods scares the hell out of him...and thats EXACTLY what I want!...If anything comes across his mind he has real visions of the shit from me showing him what its like...He gets back to a 3300sqft house, his own room with TV, Cable Box, 360, Cell Phone and laptop and says.... "Let me keep doing my homework and stay the hell out of trouble" ZING! It all starts in the home....I truly believe that. Fathers have to be around and we have to teach the right message!

I don't think I could agree with you more on that statement Jwil. So many of those homes you see when you make that drive through the broken part of the town is due to guys not stepping up to the plate and providing good role models for their children, being around at all for their children, and taking an active role in their upbringing.

 

[kramer1]

My kids first football practice is Monday. He's 6. It's gonna be freakin awesome.

Some of y'all are pansies when it comes to your kids. They'll be fine. Let them play.

 

[DanBengalfan]

don't think our kids will play each other. you are on the west side or something, we're on the east.

 

[cincygrad]

My son will be entering his 6th year..he broke his tibia 2 years ago from a cheap shot to the leg after he had 10 tackles 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles...They targeted him...Needless to say the team we played their commissioner of their teams, HC of the team we played and entire staff are all gone. My sons med bills were paid and he had free use of athletic and rehab facilties for 1 year...he came back last year DOMINATED and suffered a freekin concussion in game 7 with 3 games left...He's a physical little mofo...I offered him a year off told him "I dont want you to think Dad is making you do this if you want to take a year off or try something else you can" His reply......"Dad when does practice start" I breed warriors not wimps.....lol....Now he moves on to a much more competitive team full of smucking beasts like him instead of team with only 4 or 5 where other teams can tee off on the most physical players....Told him to go out there and "Do Your Job" -Marv Lewis.. LOL

How old was your son when he took the shot to the leg? And, what the fuck is wrong with people? Cheap shots in little league football?

 

[kramer1]

don't think our kids will play each other. you are on the west side or something, we're on the east.

I live in Colerain Twshp, but he lives with his mother in Carlisle.

 

[jwil007]

How old was your son when he took the shot to the leg? And, what the fuck is wrong with people? Cheap shots in little league football?

he was 10 and never cried...he just said "Dad this really hurts" He shed 1 painful tear on the xray table and never boo hooed...... He is a tough kid..but 2 years later the leg is stronger than what it was before the injury...I bought this new concussion style helmet for him this year and he is impatient to get started hitting....Enough conditioning...lol

 

[DanBengalfan]

so far so good. he's made it through a week of practices, he only cried because his mom forgot to give him asthma medicine yesterday.