The adverse effects of American football on adolescents By Zach Bartell

Football is one of Americas greatest sports; it is a game that requires great mental and physical toughness. Its a game that requires players to push beyond their limits and sacrifice their bodies to bring home a win. This sacrifice causes many injuries among players especially adolescents. Football is a dangerous game and in my short career I myself have known a player who has died from injuries sustained on the football field But the rampant injury level doesnt mean that we should just not let our children play football. That would just be a senseless injustice; robbing children of an activity that builds a love for fitness and builds social skills like being part of a team. But what can be done is to provide our schools with better more efficient equipment and some form of athletic trainer. This would greatly impact the number or injuries and death caused by playing football. Something must be done because too many players sustain life threatening injuries using the protocol and equipment available. If something doesnt change we may see the decline of a great past-time.

Tackle football is a game played by an estimated 4.4 million of Americas youth. There is an estimated 100,000 concussions reported each year from those adolescents. Although most doctors believe many more go unreported. They estimate that the annual count of football concussions approaches a staggering one million (Schwarz). This is most likely a great surprise to most football enthusiasts. Its estimated that 25% of adolescents who play football suffer a brain damaging concussion and most of these arent reported. This is extremely dangerous; a concussion if left unattended can kill a child or teen that isnt done developing. This can have serious long term effects on ones mental capability such as lack of cognitive ability, memory loss, and depression. To help with the seriousness of these head injuries there is a proposed gauging of concussions. There will be three levels to this scale. Level on is dizziness and confusion for less than 15 minutes, level two is symptoms lasting longer than 15 minutes, and level 3 is unconsciousness. This system has regulations as to when the player may return to the game if at all. Also it will greatly impact the fatality rate of injuries such as second impact syndrome. Another way some have been impacting safety is teaching players a safer way to tackle. People like Bobby Hosea teach player to tackle using their body and not their head. Tackling with a helmet can cause broken necks and concussions. He teaches players to use their arms to make a good tackle and not their helmets. This instruction will help prevent serious injuries and make the sport more competitive. Helmets worn by athletes dont provide much help either. Only 10% of young football players wear new helmets. The other 90% wear helmets that were either unsafe or reconditioned (Schwarz). Reconditioned helmets are inspected for cracks and faulty parts and

only about 15% are found to be faulty. Of the rest 3% is selected and submitted to a 60 inch drop test which checks for skull fracture prevention. Reconditioned helmets receive a NOCSAE (National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment) sticker and are sent back for use. The reconditioning process is need of repair as 82% of helmets are assumed to be safe. This is utter disregard for player safety. And for some schools that really cant afford equipment they have blind faith in NOCSAE to protect their athletes which leads to the high rate in concussions and head injuries sustained by our young football players. Many parents of players and the players themselves assume that the NOCSAE standard is a standard for helmets that certifies the helmet will help prevent injuries such as concussions. This is where they are wrong. NOCSAE standards are standards set that helmets must be able to withstand high-level force that could fracture a skull; it says nothing about concussions (Schwarz). Although some helmet companies such as Xenith are going above and beyond and doing extensive research on concussions. With this research Xenith released its revolutionary X1 helmet that has air filled shock absorbers that can withstand more of a variety of forces than a traditional helmet. This revolutionary new helmet design could pave the way for future helmets. It also will hopefully lead to a NOCSAE standard on some form of concussion prevention because having helmets that dont reduce the occurrence of one of the most dangerous football injuries is just pure insanity or complete disregard for the safety of Americas youth. Senator Charles E. Schumer had supported a proposed new legislation to protect young athletes. This new piece of legislation would improve the standards set by NOCSAE that helmets

must pass to make athletes less concussion prone. Also new standards would be held for reconditioned helmets to be fit for use. Although in NOCSAEs defense a concussion standard would open the door to lawsuits from parents of injured players complaining about the helmet not doing its job (Schwarz). NOCSAE exists primarily to prevent skull fracture and liability. Helmet companies dont have liability if helmets meet NOCSAE standards. The other category for common football injuries such as breaks, fractures, sprains, and pulled muscles are mostly attributed to over use. These types of injuries can be prevented by proper weightlifting regiments and getting properly stretched. Although lifting has its drawbacks as the excessive strain can have some serious effects like in my case a compressed spine. But to most players its just part of the game because they have been taught the art of bravado. To play through the pain and only leave the field being carried off. That is another great fault we have in our football programs today. We focus too much on being tough and not enough on being careful and to know our own personal limits. Too many injuries occur when players refuse to seek medical attention for fear of being removed from play. This can lead to severe damage or even death in some cases. In conclusion football is an important part of our American culture. Although at the same time it is a great danger to our children if we ignore the faults the sport has. Too many adolescents have been killed or paralyzed due to ignorance of society. We need the legislature to be pushed through, we need more athletic trainers, and we need better equipment. This is the only way we can ensure the safety of both the sport and generations of its participants. Without a change the sport may very well cease to exist.

Works Cited List

Schwarz, Alan. "As Concussions Rise, Scant Oversight for Football Helmet Safety." Proquest.com. 21 Oct. 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. Schwarz, Alan. "Teaching Safer Way to Tackle: Not Headfirst, but Heads Up." Proquest.com. 26 Dec. 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2011 Schwarz, Alan. "Equipment Standards Group Considers Changes to Helmet Testing." Proquest.com. 24 Oct. 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. "Schumer, Joined by Buffalo Bills Greats, Pushes Legislation to Improve High School Football Helmet Safety Standards, Help Cut Down on Concussions Among Western NY Youth:Many High School Football Players Are Using Helmets That Don't Include the Latest Features to Help Cushion Blows and Prevent Concussions." Proquest.com. 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. Schwarz, Alan. "Congress Considers Concussion Protections." Proquest.com. 24 Sept. 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2011.