Arguments for/against playing high school football?
My 8th grade son plays junior high (full contact) football. He has ADHD and struggles with his behavior and his grades. Being involved in sports helps him burn off his excess energy, keeps him busy, helps him make friends, encourages him to work harder in school (he needs to pass to play), and just generally provides a structured environment.
He wants to try out for the high school football team this summer.
My wife has 'put her foot down' about high school football. She has become obsessed with the recent news about kids getting badly injured, or even dying, in high school sports related incidents. She has no objections to other sports.
My feeling is that the benefits of him playing outweigh the risks. It helps with his behavior and grades, and he has actually gotten injured more playing on his soccer team than playing football.
I am curious what other's experience has been in situations like this.
Anonymous2019-10-02T15:24:48Z
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I'm with you. Try to get your wife to think logically rather than emotionally (this is really hard, of course, with a son, but it's possible!). Think of the thousands & thousands of high school games played every single week, and how often you hear about a life changing injury or death. It almost never happens.
Today's media gets hysterical about everything with very little proof. One thing you could offer is take your son to a specialist and have his heart examined. There are a couple of very rare heart conditions that can first show up in sports play, esp b-ball and football. It will put her mind to rest knowing he doesn't have these.
First, grab the stats of injuries for kids. Football is not on the top of the list. Then l grab the stats on kids that do not either play a sport, or get involved in some sort of after school activity. Then grab the numbers of those that drop out of activities during the teen years but more importantly, the why's. Put them all together to present your case. Involved kids do better in school, which sets them up better for the next stage. Kids that are forced to do this or that as opposed to being able to choose, are the ones who drop them. If the kid is passionate about something, like football, the rewards are much greater then risks. Take a kids passion away and force them into another area, grades will drop, drugs have a greater chance of entering the picture. If the kid does have another passion, then trying to steer them away from the football, would be OK. But the choice at that age should really come down to the kid.