cdumler7
Well-Known Member
I've been texting with George about this since it happened last night so he knows I feel bad and all that good stuff that yall are leaving, but I just wanted to make one note and since Bryce was in 8th grade I am not saying in this case.
But as much as I love football and liked to play it in HS and college it really bothers me that kids are playing tackle football before the age of 7th grade nowadays... I had two concussion in HS, and still to this day suffer from an injury in my shoulder that I suffered returning a punt in HS.. My point isn't to feel bad for me as I am over all that (cept my concussions might explain some of my mental issues you all witness) for the non KFFLers that was a joke (at least to me. Mingo and SpringStein may say it is true) and I live with the back injury bothering me, but I just can't imagine with all the injuries just in HS alone that people are encouraging kids to play tackle football as early as age 6.
off my rant!
My dad went on full ride wrestling scholarships to college...He said that when he was in college was when little kids wrestling was beginning to develop and his college coach said that was the beginning of the ruining of their sport. He said it would of course produce some great wrestlers but that more injuries would begin to show up and more kids would learn to hate the game starting so early in the process. So far he has been correct. I went as a kid and quit after a few days as I went against a kid that had been doing it for years and he ended up hurting me pretty bad so never did the sport again.
I am now seeing it in the town I work in as they are starting little kids football at age 5 and I think starting tackle football as early as 2nd or 3rd grade. I can't imagine some of the health issues some of these kids are going to have later on because of this decision. Back in my day you played football in your back yard with your friends otherwise you were not exposed to football until middle school. I wish it could be that way again but with these schools realizing the only way to compete in high school is to start them that early they seem to be willing to sacrifice the health of the students for that of winning Championships.
I actually ran into this past year where I took on our girls basketball coach because she had in my opinion stepped over the line in her position as coach. She was starting the girls in practice as young as 5 and scouting them for high school. She would pick about 5-7 girls out of every class that she required to go to camps and practice on a regular basis clear back in elementary school. She then told the other students they might as well quit because she wouldn't invest in their lives and could care less what they did. In high school these girls practice all year round almost every single day. Parents are required to spend thousands of dollars every summer to put them in summer leagues. We have girls who I as a counselor and my wife as well have had to deal with some major depression and even suicidal thoughts all because our town and this coach push these girls to such limits. This is going beyond the physical side of things and what it does to the body but teaching these kids from such a young age that winning at all costs just destroys many of these kids. Ok better stop before I really get myself riled up about this.