It’s no secret that the sport of football is facing some strong headwinds. TV viewership and school participation rates are down. Growth in other sports is driving kids to other sports. Fears of long-term physical ailments, particularly as a result of concussions, are leading many parents to seek alternative activities.
My son is 9 years old and has been playing flag football for about 4 years. Inevitably, when discussing our kids and sports with other parents, the question comes up…“Will you let your son play tackle football?”
I don’t know the answer to that yet. What I do know is that a lot of kids are dropping out of football.
Dwindling Interest?
It’s hard to pinpoint one driving factor behind the decline of interest in professional football in recent years. Much has been written about the various factors. Health related issues. Political protests. Domestic abuse issues. Increases in popularity of other sports.
Whatever the reason(s), viewership may be on the wane. NFL viewership dropped 8% in 2016, and another 9.7% in 2017, according to ESPN, before registering a slight uptick of 5% in 2018.
As interest at the professional level declines, this is having a trickle-down effect on interest and participation at lower levels.
According to the annual High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), even though high school sports participation rose for the 29th consecutive year, participation in 11-man football fell for the second consecutive year.
Anecdotally, at a far more local level, participation in our local flag football league is falling as well. According to a coach that has been an integral part of our local league for nearly ten years, there were only five teams in this years’ 6-year old flag football league. This is down from ten teams only three years ago.
My son started playing flag football with a group of 10 to 20 of his friends in Kindergarten, about four years ago. Now in 3rd grade, the number of kids still playing has dropped to about 5.
As more of his friends stop playing, will he lose interest too? I don’t know yet. But he still likes playing, even though he is usually on teams with kids he does not know.
Growing Alternatives but No Love?
The NFHS study revealed that, while football is still the most popular sport by a wide margin, other sports are gaining in popularity, notably soccer, cross country and volleyball.
In Southern California, where we live, Lacrosse is also becoming more popular. It offers many of the physical attributes of football (running, catching, throwing, as well as some contact) but without the heavy pounding of football.
All of these alternatives are available to us, growing in popularity and (perhaps) safer than football, and you can play year-round. Many kids are shifting to these sports, and more schools are introducing them as alternatives to football.
I still believe, however, that the kid still has to like the sport he/she plays.
For example, my son played a season of t-ball and quickly decided it was too boring. Now in elementary school, all of his buddies play and are constantly trying to get him to join their club team. I have tried to get him to join as well, specifically thinking about it as a long-term alternative to playing football.
Finally, he acquiesced, probably to get me off his back. He went out and played well. All of his buddies were there, so he got to hang with them. The coaches had positive things to say about his play and ability.
All good, right? We’re going to give baseball a try, right? Nope. He simply has no interest. It’s football and basketball for him, pretty much in that order.
The Big Risk
Usually, when discussing the topic with other parents, the issue of concussions is the first thing brought up, and rightfully so.
A recent study published in the Annals of Neurology provided more ammunition in the argument against pre-teen tackle football. The study found that those who played tackled football before the age of 12 had cognitive issues on average 13.39 years earlier, and behavioral/mood issues 13.28 years earlier, then those that began at 12 or older. It also found that for each additional year earlier that someone began playing, cognitive problems began 2.4 years sooner and behavioral/mood problems 2.5 years sooner.
This is just one study, with a small sample size. However, it seems like more studies are being done and they all reach the same conclusions: football could possibly lead to long term neurological impairment, and the earlier someone starts playing tackle football the more susceptible they are.
All of these studies have led to pending legislation eliminating tackle football before the age of 12. States trying to pass such laws include: Illinois, New York, and California, though the California bill was pulled prior to a committee vote for lack of support. Clearly this is going to continue to be a hot topic of debate.
As a parent, it is getting harder to ignore the mounting scientific evidence. It is becoming more and more clear that repeated hits to the head, like those suffered in football and especially at early ages, can lead to long term neurological issues down the road.
Faced with that, it’s tough to allow your child to participate in something that you think may cause him/her lasting damage. Isn’t it? But we still do, or at least strongly consider it.
Taking a Time Out
My wife and I go back and forth on this issue. We don’t have to decide anything right now, but it’s definitely something we discuss.
Our son loves playing football and plays it full-out. No half-effort with him. He’s the type that will run the length of the field and dive at the goal line if he thinks there is even a remote chance to pull a flag. Coaches love that never-give-up attitude, and so do we – it will serve him well in other areas of life.
But, as parents, we know that down the road, that same “to the hilt” mentality could cause him issues when he’s hitting, or getting hit by, a much larger kid. On the other hand, there is so much we don’t know yet.
We know he loves to play – but will he still love it four years from now? He’s fairly big for his age now – but will he be in four years? He likes to play running back now – but will he like it when he gets hit all the time?
For now, we have time before we decide about tackle football. We won’t let him play tackle football before he turns 12 or gets into 7th grade. He can learn the game, the strategies, the nuances and techniques – all without having to run into people before he has developed more physically and mentally.
Until then, more studies will be done. More rules geared toward safety will be passed. Technological advances in gear, especially helmets, will help improve safety.
We will decide based on the information available when we need to make the decision.
In the meantime, he can always practice his punting and placekicking.