Beginning of the End? (Tackle Football)

[Bullaholic]

Is schoolboy tackle football going to survive? I say Texas will be the last to give up tackle schoolboy football.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/sports/footballs-risks-sink-in-even-in-heart-of-texas.html?emc=edit_tnt_20140511&nlid=4805&tntemail0=y&_r=2 (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/sports/footballs-risks-sink-in-even-in-heart-of-texas.html?emc=edit_tnt_20140511&nlid=4805&tntemail0=y&_r=2)

[caleb_mccaig]

Is schoolboy tackle football going to survive? I say Texas will be the last to give up tackle schoolboy football.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/sports/footballs-risks-sink-in-even-in-heart-of-texas.html?emc=edit_tnt_20140511&nlid=4805&tntemail0=y&_r=2 (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/sports/footballs-risks-sink-in-even-in-heart-of-texas.html?emc=edit_tnt_20140511&nlid=4805&tntemail0=y&_r=2)

I really believe in 20> years the game will be gone. Thank God we have hockey, which truly is a more physical sport to begin with, or maybe Rugby will catch on over here. I haven't heard a word about any crying about concussions in the other hemisphere.

[Rabid Cougar]

I really believe in 20> years the game will be gone. Thank God we have hockey, which truly is a more physical sport to begin with, or maybe Rugby will catch on over here. I haven't heard a word about any crying about concussions in the other hemisphere.

You dont tackle with the top of your head in rugby either. Still doesn't keep them from getting the crap knocked out of them with thighs and knees. Get kicked in the head a lot too.

[hollywood]

Go back to leather helmets and see how many players lead with the head.

[Emerson1]

Make the transition to Ultimate. We can't let soccer become America's new sport.


hockey, which truly is a more physical sport to begin with
I don't think a sport that plays 82 games a year with back to backs is a more physical sport. I like hockey btw.

[D'Highlander]

you have a higher chance of dying in a car crash.... Back to horses and buggies...

[caleb_mccaig]

Make the transition to Ultimate. We can't let soccer become America's new sport.


I don't think a sport that plays 82 games a year with back to backs is a more physical sport. I like hockey btw.

Personally, I think it is. Hockey is non-stop, the clock is only moving if the players and puck are and the action is constant and so is the hitting. The only position where there is guaranteed contact every play in the NFL is in the trenches.

Hockey players play more games, play more than once a week, practice and they aren't running around on their feet, but are skating. I'm going to assume that everyone will agree that ice-skating is more difficult than running.

NFL games on average have 11 minutes of actual gameplay (on average there's 17 minutes a game committed to replays alone) compared to 60 in a hockey game. Granted, in hockey it's not the same players on the ice the full 60 minutes but first-line players get 25-30 minutes.

That's just my opinion obviously lol. They're both physical.

About your comment on soccer, it's the most watched sport between the ages of 16-24 and is the most successful video game (Fifa franchise, which I buy every year) in the U.S. right now. It will only grow and I'm glad, there is nothing better in sports than the World Cup, maybe olympic hockey can be considered. It would be nice to be a good side in the only sport the rest of the world cares about.

[maestro]

Get the athletic directors to budget the best equipment they can afford, helmet wise...

If the JH coaches and athletic director do their jobs successfully, there should be a natural split between A teams, B teams, and even C teams at that level.

If no B teams due to enrollments, have a fifth qtr or set of 5-6 offensive plays where it would be seconds and thirds only for those downs.

It would mean placing EGOS aside JH coaches, but that way no aggressive A teasers would hit athletes who are not ready for that level.

[maestro]

And I will add......be warned, once you disband a program and funds go elsewhere, it is a bear to get it back.

[Txbroadcaster]

And I will add......be warned, once you disband a program and funds go elsewhere, it is a bear to get it back.

They are not disbanding anything..they simply are moving contact back to 8th grade...and when I played in Marshall 7th grade did not participate in contact football anyway and it was no big deal

[Gone Fishing]

Football is King. It aint going anywhere.....When my son was three I got him a uniform with a helmet and shoulder pads. Couldn't get him to take them off to go to bed. Lol. He started playing tackle football at 8 and of course Jr hi and HS and now college. Sprained ankle in youth once. A concussion freshman year once. A few dislocated fingers and a sore shoulder a couple times the rest of the way. His worst injury was bad - broken nose that needed surgery and fifty stitches on and around eye and it was done on the field WITH NO PADS, running drills in the spring in shorts and T shirts. I wish like hell he would have had a helmet on!!! All this talk is Bull S**t. You can get a concussion working on your car. Get over it people, Football is America's game and it is not going anywhere. Anybody watch the three days of draft coverage and the 5 months leading into it? LOL I did....

[OLE'BULL]

Football is King. It aint going anywhere.....When my son was three I got him a uniform with a helmet and shoulder pads. Couldn't get him to take them off to go to bed. Lol. He started playing tackle football at 8 and of course Jr hi and HS and now college. Sprained ankle in youth once. A concussion freshman year once. A few dislocated fingers and a sore shoulder a couple times the rest of the way. His worst injury was bad - broken nose that needed surgery and fifty stitches on and around eye and it was done on the field WITH NO PADS, running drills in the spring in shorts and T shirts. I wish like hell he would have had a helmet on!!! All this talk is Bull S**t. You can get a concussion working on your car. Get over it people, Football is America's game and it is not going anywhere. Anybody watch the three days of draft coverage and the 5 months leading into it? LOL I did....

Agreed. What will continue to happen is rule changes geared toward safety. Sure everyone complains about them but I would rather have more safety rules than no football at all. If the Youth/Jr. High coaches don't buy in and demand the safety rules to be followed, we will have a problem. Start changing the culture at that level and all will be fine. I was never a helmet to helmet tackler and still managed turn earn a Division 1 scholarship. You can still be a big hitter without going to the head. Sometimes it can't be avoided. So now, you take your penalty and move on. Good coaches will find a way to teach the kids to follow the rules. The coaches that don't won't be around long because the penalties will start affecting the outcome of the games. Losing coaches get fired. Let's not turn ants into elephants, football isn't going anywhere. The game will change, but our grandkids will still be watching (and hopefully playing!!!) this great game...