Argumentative Essay Football

A huge dilemma parents are faced with nowadays is should they let their kids play football? The risk is obvious but children still want to play their favorite sport. Parents take different points of view when dealing with this subject. Some folks want their kids to pursue their true passion, but others want them out of harm’s way. This is an ongoing controversy and football teams all over the nation are working to make the game safer. Parents should allow their children to play football because they genuinely love the game. Firstly, football players absolutely adore the game they play. Football season is the time of the year they prepare for and look forward to annually. As former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner wrote, “I love the strategy,
the competitiveness, the discipline and the effort required to succeed as a team.” All football players nationally would agree with this statement. There is no better feeling than lining up next to your teammates and getting the job done. In addition, the contact of the sport is what players love about it. There’s a certain thrill that comes with delivering the perfect tackle. It excites teammates as well as yourself, which is immensely rewarding. More specifically, football truly is a brotherhood. Players all support each other and then swarm the person who made the tackle, interception, or forced the fumble. These athletes will push themselves to the limit for their teammates and the other players will reciprocate this. All the pride that comes from this enriching sport provides the athletes with experiences they will forever cherish. Secondly, Football teaches life skills that follow the players throughout their lives. These life lessons include important traits such as commitment, dedication, perseverance, time management, and discipline. Players have to be completely dedicated and committed to football because if not, they will lose ground to the ones that are. They have to show up to practice everyday and work hard to improve. This affects the time they have to work on academics, so they learn to manage their time effectively. In addition, athletes need to persevere through failures to meet their goal of success. Everyone is going to come up short at a certain moment but what really matters is how they bounce back. One last vital trait football teaches is discipline. Discipline is apparent in football when players are watching the ball on defense, following the snap count of offense, or simply continuing to work hard when the coach is not watching. More importantly, the skills learned from football translate to everyday life. Everyone in life is going to have to overcome adversity and that is where perseverance comes in handy. Having already persevered in football makes it that make easier to do it in life. Dedication comes in the form of simply staying on pace whether it be at school or work. This plays right into discipline because dedication will make people show up but discipline is what really makes them finish the task at hand. Discipline is extremely important because someday when these former football players are on their own, they need to have the inner drive to stay on top of their work load. There may be situations where no one will be there to support them, which is why learning self-discipline will be beneficial. One last skill that football teaches is the ability to make sacrifices. These athletes have to show up to practice five to six times a week, which can affect their time for personal activities. They have to be able to give up something they love to do for pleasure, like watching TV, for the game of football. By sacrificing their television pleasure, they can focus more on the essentials like academics and athletics. (Briarcliffe.edu) Having learned all of these life traits on the football field will prove to be productive for these players as they move onward into their future aspirations. Thirdly, football ensures that these athletes stay in shape, which most of the time leads to better academic achievement.
By vigorously exercising, the players are maintaining physical and mental strength. A study from 2006 showed that football players between the ages of twelve and seventeen scored almost fifteen percent higher academically than those who didn’t play a sport. (Norlander) The football players are keeping their minds sharp by exercising when they could be playing video games or something of that kind. My personal experience lines up with this claim as a sizable portion of my team are at the top of their classes. Another reason football is beneficial to academics is the added emphasis on focus. On the field, players have to concentrate deeply on the technique the coach is teaching so they can perform at a high level. Without this focus, they might miss a certain skill and let their team down when it comes to applying what they missed in competitions. In the classroom, focus is the same on the field just with different topics. The student athletes are taught various subjects at school so they can ultimately prove their proficiency. The proficiency is demonstrated through an exam or project in the classroom whereas on the field, it is showed through games. Football is physical demonstration as opposed to school which is mental, but how you achieve your final goals remains the
same. In contrast, many feel as though the injury risk of football outweighs the benefits.
The biggest concern that parents have is with concussions. Every year a fixed amount of players experience this injury, but with proper treatment, the greatest risks can be avoided. As brutal as some people see football, the ultimate goal is truly safety. All football coaches are required to be concussion certified, which allows them to take a player out of the game if they show any symptoms. At practice, coaches teach the players the right technique to perform well but also remain safe. For example, coaches relay not to tackle with your head down, as that is extremely dangerous for both parties. In addition, there are now certain practice restrictions that prevent constant hitting. This allows the players bodies, and more specifically their heads, recover.Players also now have access to concussion helmets, which are specially padded to prevent these injuries. This aids in the decreased risk as does proper technique. As a football player myself, I have some personal insight I would like to share. Every year on my team people get concussions. These players have to see a doctor and then work out a recovery plan. These specific plans air on the side of caution, as they are tremendously lengthy. When their time is up, they can then return to practice. My coach doesn’t then throw them into action, but instead weens them back into it. If this certain protocol is followed, players should return
healthy. There has been times where people have quit football all together because they were scared of the injury risk. Throughout the years, the core of my team has remained the same. We all love the sport and relish the contact. Personally, my two most severe injuries have actually come from baseball. I broke my hand going for a diving catch and broke my orbital bones and nose from a baseball to the eye socket. The most hurt I’ve even been from football is dehydration or a pulled muscle. I genuinely believe that with the right equipment, coaching, and treatment, players will not suffer any lasting conditions from football. In conclusion, parents should permit their kids to play the game of football that enhances their lives in many ways. These players get to compete with their band of brothers and that is exceedingly enriching. The constant support and encouragement help the athletes form companionships that could last a lifetime. Football also teaches numerous life skills that will come in handy later in life. For example, commitment is necessary to be successful in anything you ever want to do. Players learn this by showing up everyday to practice and doing their jobs. This applies to life aspirations as when the players get jobs later in life, they will have to committed and arrive to work everyday. Another reason football is beneficial is the exercising component. The athletes push themselves so that they can succeed in competitions. The exercise allows their minds to stay sharp as well as their bodies. Improved academic achievement is a direct result of this as the focus learned in football closely correlates with that in the classroom. For all these reasons, parents should permit their children to play football.