My nephew plays football

[Sean Miller Fan]

It wouldn't happen at any school above maybe a single A level

Well the schools I refer to are bigger than single A, perhaps some as big as AAAA, but mostly AA, AAA. As I mentioned before these are rural schools.

You do realize the state of Men's soccer in the US ?
We have a population of 325 million plus and struggle to beat teams like Costa Rica and Panama, whose populations are half the size of New York City. The best male athletes in America, largely, (not in every case) are playing other sports.

I agree that the best male athletes dont play soccer but even in the WPIAL (where soccer is bad and football is good on a per capita basis), highly doubt that any school bigger than A or maybe AA football team could beat the soccer team at soccer. Even at a place like Woodland Hills where the football team is usually very good and has multiple D1 players and the soccer team usually isnt, the soccer team would pound the football players at soccer.

Clairton doesn't have a soccer team but lets say they did, yea, thats a situation where the football players (best athletes) would beat 2nd or 3rd tier athletes playing soccer "for fun."

 

[upj87]

Football is arguably the one sport that is not played by adults on an amateur level. Why? Because we all know how dangerous it is and we have to go to work.

Why would anyone expose their child to this type of abuse? Sad.

uh, because the kids had a helluva time playing...my goodness, sure as hell hope we do not need some real men somewhere down the line......abuse? geez.

btw..I am that "anyone"...had three go through for years and years...young successful healthy gentlemen (more than I for sure) one and all...what is kinda "sad" is someone calling kids playing football on a football message board "sad"...

 

[Deer Head]

Of course. Its as safe as it gets, especially at the youth levels.

 

[Parkview57]

in the WPIAL

Again, you have to think rural PA as in no jobs or affluence in the area, my assertion has no meaning in the context of the WPIAL. In these schools if kids were allowed to play both sports 6 or 7 kids would start on Friday night in the varsity football game and the same 6 or 7 would start in the Soccer game on Saturday. I know of multiple instances of kids for whatever reason not playing football their senior year and were starting players on the Soccer teams. It not ideal in terms of quality of coaching etc., compared to areas of denser populations and/or affluence. It may change as time goes on but for now it is what it is.

 

[jivecat]

Football is arguably the one sport that is not played by adults on an amateur level. Why? Because we all know how dangerous it is and we have to go to work.

Why would anyone expose their child to this type of abuse? Sad.

uh, because the kids had a helluva time playing...my goodness, sure as hell hope we do not need some real men somewhere down the line......abuse? geez.

btw..I am that "anyone"...had three go through for years and years...young successful healthy gentlemen (more than I for sure) one and all...what is kinda "sad" is someone calling kids playing football on a football message board "sad"...

I am glad your children were safe but it does not mean they were not injured. Just so I am clear.....you put your child into a sport that has a very high probability of injury and you were aware of this risk?

 

[jivecat]

I coached adult "semi pro" (which really just meant amateur.) Both men and women actually in two different stints.

I had fun and was good at the X's and O's stuff (not as great at the motivator role), but I regret it. It is just too punishing on the body.

Thank you.

 

[passedout]

I would prefer my son plays lacrosse.

My oldest plays lax. He never had a desire to play football though, even though now he talks about wishing he did. He loves lax and just made a local travel team. There's more contact in lax as your kid ages. In an 8th grade tournament at St Vincent I saw 2 kids get carted off the field for concussions. So that sport delivers hits as well. My youngest son (11) is wired a little differently, plays both football and lax ... he can take and deliver the hits better. I'd say youth football, if you're worried about head injuries, is okay until about 6th grade. Kids at younger ages just aren't moving fast enough to concuss another kid. Unless the kid is VERY small and slow, I think it is okay. But like anything in life, there are risks.

 

[jivecat]

I would prefer my son plays lacrosse.

My oldest plays lax. He never had a desire to play football though, even though now he talks about wishing he did. He loves lax and just made a local travel team. There's more contact in lax as your kid ages. In an 8th grade tournament at St Vincent I saw 2 kids get carted off the field for concussions. So that sport delivers hits as well. My youngest son (11) is wired a little differently, plays both football and lax ... he can take and deliver the hits better. I'd say youth football, if you're worried about head injuries, is okay until about 6th grade. Kids at younger ages just aren't moving fast enough to concuss another kid. Unless the kid is VERY small and slow, I think it is okay. But like anything in life, there are risks.

I think the difference with Lax are the rules in place to protect players from big hits. They do occur from time to time but football has hits like that on every play (hence tackling). It’s rare to see a collision in lacrosse.

 

[Pitt79]

I coached adult "semi pro" (which really just meant amateur.) Both men and women actually in two different stints.

I had fun and was good at the X's and O's stuff (not as great at the motivator role), but I regret it. It is just too punishing on the body.

Where do they even play this? I've never seen it or knew anyone that did it, it must be rare. I remember for awhile playing 8 on 8 adult flag football and the blocking was like 90% real, you couldn't leave your feet to block, was really very fun. But I never knew any adults that played real football with helmets and pads?

 

[FreeportPanther]

Where do they even play this? I've never seen it or knew anyone that did it, it must be rare. I remember for awhile playing 8 on 8 adult flag football and the blocking was like 90% real, you couldn't leave your feet to block, was really very fun. But I never knew any adults that played real football with helmets and pads?

In Insane Asylums. They're all nuts!

 

[Pitt79]

I agree that the best male athletes dont play soccer but even in the WPIAL (where soccer is bad and football is good on a per capita basis), highly doubt that any school bigger than A or maybe AA football team could beat the soccer team at soccer. Even at a place like Woodland Hills where the football team is usually very good and has multiple D1 players and the soccer team usually isnt, the soccer team would pound the football players at soccer.

Clairton doesn't have a soccer team but lets say they did, yea, thats a situation where the football players (best athletes) would beat 2nd or 3rd tier athletes playing soccer "for fun."

In his Central PA scenario, he said, the football players played youth soccer until they got to high school and switched to football, so really, it's not football players beating soccer players, it's both teams have similar amounts of soccer experience. It's not like they took football players who never played soccer at all. Which if that was the case, I'd argue they'd get their asses handed to them.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

I think the difference with Lax are the rules in place to protect players from big hits. They do occur from time to time but football has hits like that on every play (hence tackling). It’s rare to see a collision in lacrosse.

Also, despite soccer mom perception to the contrary, soccer has plenty of head injury issues. However, that perception is probably mostly correct for the young kids because there is a prohibition on "heading the ball" for them. Aside from the risk of head to head knocks with a defender when heading--just the heading motion which shakes the brain inside the skull is in itself dangerous.

 

[Pitt79]

Also, despite soccer mom perception to the contrary, soccer has plenty of head injury issues. However, that perception is probably mostly correct for the young kids because there is a prohibition on "heading the ball" for them. Aside from the risk of head to head knocks with a defender when heading--just the heading motion which shakes the brain inside the skull is in itself dangerous.

The heading ban only came into play last season I believe for U12 and under I think? My daughter had only one mild concussion in 10 years of playing and it wasn't from heading the ball she collided head to head with her own GK. Her high school team had a girl quit because of concussions, but actually the worst hit she took was with a stick during a girl's lacrosse game, where she was whacked hard in the head, the slammed her head hard on the ground and hurt her back at the same time, I noticed she's currently running cross country. There's risk in every sport, but there's no argument that football has more injuries.

 

[Pitt79]

I am glad your children were safe but it does not mean they were not injured. Just so I am clear.....you put your child into a sport that has a very high probability of injury and you were aware of this risk?

EVERYONE is injured in football during EVERY SEASON they play. I played real football for 5 seasons, I was injured to some degree every year. OK, out of those injuries, only once did I have to miss time, I had a broken ankle and was out 6-7 weeks, but the other times there where minor injuries that you could tough it out and continue through them, but in other sports, for me anyways, injuries where rare or nonexistent. Like I'd twist my ankle in basketball, but I could tape it up tight and still play for example

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

Where do they even play this? I've never seen it or knew anyone that did it, it must be rare. I remember for awhile playing 8 on 8 adult flag football and the blocking was like 90% real, you couldn't leave your feet to block, was really very fun. But I never knew any adults that played real football with helmets and pads?

There are a lot of these teams around the country, but they have zero fan base other than their own families. Pittsburgh Colts is the oldest one locally for men, been around maybe 40 years. Obviously the Passion for women. Two or three other womens' teams have come and gone. I think Beaver county has a men's team too. I was living in DC previously.

 

[Pantherguy4]

There are a lot of these teams around the country, but they have zero fan base other than their own families. Pittsburgh Colts is the oldest one locally for men, been around maybe 40 years. Obviously the Passion for women. Two or three other womens' teams have come and gone. I think Beaver county has a men's team too. I was living in DC previously.

Does anyone remember the Pittsburgh Ironmen who used to play at the football field in Duquesne Place? Wow, they were good and the games were good. I think they were semi-pro.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

Does anyone remember the Pittsburgh Ironmen who used to play at the football field in Duquesne Place? Wow, they were good and the games were good. I think they were semi-pro.

I think they became the Pittsburgh Valley Ironmen then the Ohio Valley Ironmen and then the Wheeling Ironmen then folded financially? If you mean in the 1960s.

A lot of these teams fall apart because they can't fund raise enough and the owners sometimes have silly dreams of this somehow being something you could even break even doing. Arena football might be the one place you could make some money because of the gimmick of it almost being a different sport.

 

[Pantherguy4]

I think they became the Pittsburgh Valley Ironmen then the Ohio Valley Ironmen and then the Wheeling Ironmen then folded financially? If you mean in the 1960s.

A lot of these teams fall apart because they can't fund raise enough and the owners sometimes have silly dreams of this somehow being something you could even break even doing. Arena football might be the one place you could make some money because of the gimmick of it almost being a different sport.

Yes! It was in the 1960s. We would walk to the stadium and watch the games. That was some good football.

 

[pitts-lament]

do you guys let your kids and family members play football ? You know its 2018 .

More people get brain damage from playing soccer than football. More people get killed riding ATVs than playing football. More kids break bones riding skate boards than playing football.