Dangers Of Football

Football: A Game of Dangers

Imagine being out on a field in the high heat of a summer afternoon. In full pads and a helmet, getting ready to start a 2 hour game. Teenagers of various heights and weights, all running at each other defending the football. Massive linemen collide with lean running backs. Players running back and forth a 100 yard field. Now imagine being tackled, being tack to the ground by one or more other players. Helmets colliding, ankles twisting, and backs smacking the ground. Tackles like this happening 120 times in one game. This repetitive action can cause serious damage to anyone playing the sport. Concussions, improper safety equipment, and even fatalities, are the many aspects and outcomes of football, for these reasons
It’s possible to get a concussion from falling off your bike, or going down when walking on ice on a parking lot. However “playing football increases the chance of getting a concussion by 75%” (Sports Concussion Institute, 1). Those odds are extremely high for an activity that is supposed to be fun for teens and kids. The more times someone gets a concussion, makes it more likely to have serious effects down the road. The odds of a fall in everyday life situations giving someone a concussion is no where near as great as playing football. “A stationary player can be tackled at a speed of 25 mph” (Sports Concussion Institute, 1). The average high school linebacker is around 6’1 feet tall and weighs about 210 pounds (Go Big Recruiting, 2). Image getting hit with a 210 pound object at that speed! If a parent allows teens to play such a brutal sport, they should look at the statistics first. There is usually 120 plays in a football game, which gives a player 120 chances to be tackled. Hits like this that happen repeatedly are why the chance to get a concussion is 75%. “A concussion can be caused by a direct blow to the head or an indirect blow to the body” (Sports Concussion Institute, 1). Players that get tackled by the lower half of their body may be in pain but may not get tested for a concussion since they weren’t hit in the head. Some may say that schools are on top of treatment when athletes get concussions by using impact tests
Just about every school has a football team and kids start playing in pee wee leagues before they even reach high school. The lessons kids learn by being a participant in a sport are very important for both social and physical development. Kids learn how to work together as a team, how to strategize, and build friendships. The coaches become role models and the players want to listen to what the coach says and to please the coach by trying their hardest. Physically, kids get tons of exercise while practicing and conditioning for sports. The desire for competition is usually in both player and parent. However, there are other sports that give a child all the same benefits of being a part of a team that are much safer than football. Swimming is one of the safest sports anyone could play. Swim teams build the same team work skills that football does and the physical benefits of swimming are great. In a 2 hour practice a swimmer can burn around 1,180 calories (Wood, 1). The sport is non-contact so the chances of injury are very low. Swimming is a great way to exercise and build coordination. Another sport that meets all the social and physical needs of football is tennis. Tennis a great way to build teamwork skills. Not only can tennis help with socialization, it also helps with individual growth. Tennis can be played in doubles or singles. Playing singles lets the child thrive on their own and demonstrate all the skills they learn