The Off Topic Topic

[Barrister]

Appreciate the concern, but the coaches and the league are Heads-Up certified and it is strongly enforced (remarkably similar to how anti-spearing rules were enforced in the youth league I played in in the 80s).  There's always risk of course, but I'm not going to keep him in a bubble.

I'm not going to question you on your choices for your son, but there is a middle ground between "playing contact football at age 7" and "living in a bubble".



Timmy is old enough to play hockey this year.  There's no contact for several years, but put uneven skaters on slippery ice and there's lots of possibilities for heads hitting the ice.  Not sure what I'm going to do (plus hockey is really expensive).  Probably just going to push on a decision and sign him up for skating lessons this winter.

Plus, he hardly set the soccer world afire this past summer.

Haven't there been some studies that soccer produces a bunch of concussions/head injuries too?

Think it has to do with heading the ball.

Timmy's foot hardly ever made contact with the soccer ball, never mind his head, so I think he'll be okay.

[DGuller]

Think it has to do with heading the ball.

Timmy's foot hardly ever made contact with the soccer ball, never mind his head, so I think he'll be okay.

[derspiess]

I do occasionally get a feeling that Tommy would do well in soccer.  First time he saw a soccer ball he seemed to instinctively know how to handle it.  Plus he's half-Argentine.

But he'd be bored to tears.

[Barrister]

I do occasionally get a feeling that Tommy would do well in soccer.  First time he saw a soccer ball he seemed to instinctively know how to handle it.  Plus he's half-Argentine.

But he'd be bored to tears.

How can you deny him his other national sport!

[crazy canuck]

I know there is a strong cultural pull to do this in the US but I would really give this a second thought.

The data coming out about brain trauma playing football, even at low impact speeds, is some scary stuff.  It is all cumulative so the worst part is you wont even know he is suffering injuries from the minor hits he is taking.

Similar evidence for rugby and hockey.  They are all high risk sports.


edit:  I should tell you it was enough for us to pull our youngest out of football and rugby at the age of 12.  After one season of both he had two concussions and probably more minor ones that were never actually diagnosed.

Appreciate the concern, but the coaches and the league are Heads-Up certified and it is strongly enforced (remarkably similar to how anti-spearing rules were enforced in the youth league I played in in the 80s).  There's always risk of course, but I'm not going to keep him in a bubble.

So were the coaches my son had.  They were all very good coaches and they taught the fundamentals well.  The problem is that playing heads up, technically sound football does not prevent brain trauma entirely.  It is the sudden stops, even with the head up, that do damage over time.  A researcher affiliated with UBC is one of the leading experts on this in the world - he started primarily examining hockey.  It is as a result of his work that most minor hockey leagues now prevent any body checking at the younger ages.

Again, drawing from my experience.  The two concussions we know my son received were both from legal, technically sound hits.  And in both collisions he was the one initiating the contact.

[dps]

Trust me, having seen him play sandlot football and roughhouse with his cousin and friends, league football can't be any worse.

That was the case for me and my friends growing up, but I thought kids were more coddled now.

[Valmy]

And in your latest news about White People's Problems:

I don't even understand what he is trying to say.

[Admiral Yi]

I don't even understand what he is trying to say.

He's saying he's a weenie.

[Valmy]

I don't even understand what he is trying to say.

He's saying he's a weenie.

Yeah I am pretty sure there are plenty of male feminists who do not get all neurotic each time they do something guys are supposed to like. He is just neurotic. Why he felt the need to publish an article like he had something profound to say is something else.

[Admiral Yi]

Yeah I am pretty sure there are plenty of male feminists who do not get all neurotic each time they do something guys are supposed to like. He is just neurotic. Why he felt the need to publish an article like he had something profound to say is something else.

"No longer mere Ph.D. students, we have become bros."

[katmai]

@beeb it is more from when two players go up to head the ball and hit each other more than heading soccer ball


@derspicy I'm not joining in parenting (considering I'm not one) but do you think you want him playing in a few years when the speed is faster and collisions more intense?

And you should let your half beaner boy play futbol!

[MadImmortalMan]

I got three one dollar coins from the Indiana Turnpike today. One Abe Lincoln, one Sacajawea and one Susan B Anthony.

[DGuller]

From my experience playing soccer when I was younger, your head does have a high risk of hitting things it shouldn't.  Goalies are particularly abused, and get kicked in the head and bang into goal posts (if you have real goals) quite regularly.

[Syt]

[Monoriu]

Translation:

My life here is very bad.
The work environment is bad, and there is very little welfare.
But don't worry, there are only about ten people who are seriously injured everyday.  I am very careful myself.
We opened a small business, which is doing well.
Although I don't know much English, I still understand a bit what the whites say.
Hope I can be successful here!  I will work hard here, and take good care of my health.
Are you alright?
Miss you so much, hope we can see each other again.