OTish: New BU study indicates tackle football before 12 not a good thing

[QuantumMechanic]

BU has done another statistical analysis of the brains that have been donated to them...

This week, Boston University researchers published a study that is sure to fire up parents worried about letting their kids play football: The earlier people played tackle football, researchers concluded, the sooner they could experience behavioral and emotional issues later in life.

The study, published in the Annals of Neurology on Monday, showed that those who played tackle football before 12 years old experienced those symptoms, on average, 13 years earlier than those who played the sport after that age. In interviews with friends and family members of 246 football players who have died, researchers discovered that for every year earlier these athletes played football, they reported experiencing cognitive, mood, and behavioral issues about two half and years earlier. Of the 246 football players whose brains were donated to the BU study, 211 of them had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated hits to the head.

Scientists were already concerned about kids playing tackle football. It’s worse than they thought.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

I have been saying this forever.

 

[Joey007]

It’s honestly not necessary much before the age of 12 anyway.

 

[Tony2046]

I've allowed my 11 year old son to play flag football. It's highly entertaining for a parent but with minimized concerns of head trauma or whatever. I haven't decided if I will ever condone letting him play tackle football but it might be tough down the road because he's really good and loves playing. We'll see I guess.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I've allowed my 11 year old son to play flag football. It's highly entertaining for a parent but with minimized concerns of head trauma or whatever. I haven't decided if I will ever condone letting him play tackle football but it might be tough down the road because he's really good and loves playing. We'll see I guess.

My nephew plays flag football an it's such a hoot to watch.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Now I feel guilty.
When my daughter was little, we'd sit on the couch & watch the Patriots. I'd say, "Whatever happens to the guy with the football next, happens to you!" Unless it was an incomplete pass or so, I'd "tackle" her and wrestle with her. Worse yet when she was bigger, 9 or 10, outside I'd toss the nerf football to her and a friend and tackle her on the grass as she tried to run by me. Did the same with her daughters.
Couldn't have been too traumatic as they're all big Patriots fans.

 

[Fixit]

I flat-out told my giant of a son he won't be playing until he's 13.* That doesn't mean he can't prepare though. Between football workouts, flag rugby, and judo I'm confident he'll be ready.

Child tackle football needs to go away.

*I'd prefer he didn't play at all, but I can only hold him off so long.

 

[jah]

I bet those BU ****ies have never even strapped on a helmet and now they're trying to smear football? What an age we live in.

 

[Steve102]

My son played tackle football from 4th grade thru HS, without a major injury or concussion. He was a lineman.

Football, like hockey and lacrosse, is a contact sport. Kids will get hurt. I don't need a university to tell me it's probably not the best thing for kids. This will be my 13th season coaching (i think ). We do our best to coach them safe techniques. That doesn't change the fact that the sport is under attack, and there's a whole bunch of people that won't rest until they kill it off. I think it's just a matter of time.

 

[Fixit]

I bet those BU ****ies have never even strapped on a helmet and now they're trying to smear football? What an age we live in.

I personally don't listen to astrophysicists unless they've passed through a black hole.

 

[FCB02062]

This same study reported it's normal for 8-12 year old boys to wear skirts and feather boas.....

 

[blackglass3]

The science of this study seems sketchy at best. Sounds like the Method of Agreement was used; they wanted to make youth football sounds dangerous and they did.

I've coached tackle football for 5 years, I started coaching when my 14 year old started playing. I have seen a total of zero concussions since he started playing on his team, and maybe 5 total on other teams throughout that time. Most kids at this age aren't fast enough to hit another kid and give him a concussion. There is this weird thing us coaches have noticed: if they're coached right, they seem to tackle right. Maybe this study is valid because of the poor coaching in the 90's. But today, since we've started coaching heads up, the kids are listening and helmets aren't used as weapons/ball dislodgers.

It's so tiring seeing youth football smeared left and right while soccer catches no heat whatsoever.

 

[neuronet]

The science of this study seems sketchy at best. Sounds like the Method of Agreement was used; they wanted to make youth football sounds dangerous and they did.

I've coached tackle football for 5 years, I started coaching when my 14 year old started playing. I have seen a total of zero concussions since he started playing on his team, and maybe 5 total on other teams throughout that time. Most kids at this age aren't fast enough to hit another kid and give him a concussion. There is this weird thing us coaches have noticed: if they're coached right, they seem to tackle right. Maybe this study is valid because of the poor coaching in the 90's. But today, since we've started coaching heads up, the kids are listening and helmets aren't used as weapons/ball dislodgers.

It's so tiring seeing youth football smeared left and right while soccer catches no heat whatsoever.

We can't just focus on concussions: subconcussive hits have a cumulative effect that I wouldn't want my kid to experience either. In soccer in the US they don't let kids head the ball because of concerns about this (not sure what age they lift this restriction). I would steer clear of any sport with significant head impact.

Note this study didn't look at concussions. They looked at correlations between onset of age of playing tackle football and age of onset of symptoms later in life. I would agree that such observational, correlational, studies have their weaknesses (i.e., correlation isn't causation and all that), but the data are the data. The data is also from a biased sample of people with neurological impairment.

 

[Tony2046]

The science of this study seems sketchy at best. Sounds like the Method of Agreement was used; they wanted to make youth football sounds dangerous and they did.

I've coached tackle football for 5 years, I started coaching when my 14 year old started playing. I have seen a total of zero concussions since he started playing on his team, and maybe 5 total on other teams throughout that time. Most kids at this age aren't fast enough to hit another kid and give him a concussion. There is this weird thing us coaches have noticed: if they're coached right, they seem to tackle right. Maybe this study is valid because of the poor coaching in the 90's. But today, since we've started coaching heads up, the kids are listening and helmets aren't used as weapons/ball dislodgers.

It's so tiring seeing youth football smeared left and right while soccer catches no heat whatsoever.

This is not a disagreement or anything. Just going to put this here for discussion purposes. I'm not a doctor nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

From what I've read it's not the concussions that are necessarily the problem. It's the numerous subconcussive hits that are dangerous and which lead to CTE. Concussions are dangerous as well, obviously, and do play a part in developing CTE but it's not the major role player.

So I'll jot this down as bullet points.

1. Concussions are more of concern for short term consequences. Brain swelling, hemorrhaging etc..
2. CTE is believed to be caused by the cumulative hits to the head both concussive and subconcussive.
3. Young developing brains are believed to be more in danger to developing CTE because the hits could cause development issues as well.

The difference between concussions and CTE is that a concussion may heal without permanent damage whereas CTE is a degenerative disease that continues to worsen long after the last hit to the head.

The NFL has played tobacco type legal games with this issue and have moved their opinion from denying it exists to denying football is a cause to accepting that football is part of the cause. I believe they are attacking the Concussion issue for legal and PR reasons but from what I've read and possibly what they already suspect, getting rid of concussions won't rid the NFL of its CTE dangers.

At least now parents and players can choose to play football knowing the dangers which is fine although I do think the NFL should do more or be more cooperative in the research side of it but I think they fear the day CTE can be detected in a living being which is probably not too far around the corner.

 

[jah]

I bet those BU ****ies have never even strapped on a helmet and now they're trying to smear football? What an age we live in.

This same study reported it's normal for 8-12 year old boys to wear skirts and feather boas.....

It's just too easy.

 

[Dr Pain]

I started in 4th grade. There was a town league for 4th, 5th and 6th, and PoP Warner which goes from 5-12, then Freshman football in high school, I was too big for PoP Warner but by freshman football in high school I was already 6'1". Football is dying from the roots up

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

The science of this study seems sketchy at best. Sounds like the Method of Agreement was used; they wanted to make youth football sounds dangerous and they did.

I've coached tackle football for 5 years, I started coaching when my 14 year old started playing. I have seen a total of zero concussions since he started playing on his team, and maybe 5 total on other teams throughout that time. Most kids at this age aren't fast enough to hit another kid and give him a concussion. There is this weird thing us coaches have noticed: if they're coached right, they seem to tackle right. Maybe this study is valid because of the poor coaching in the 90's. But today, since we've started coaching heads up, the kids are listening and helmets aren't used as weapons/ball dislodgers.

It's so tiring seeing youth football smeared left and right while soccer catches no heat whatsoever.

The nowadays isn't any better in most cases. In elite, top tier prep schools etc yes you have better coaching in some cases but overall its poor. And I speak to coaches, high school & college that admit as much when their their not on record.

Also like @Joey007 said you don't need to play football at an early age to be good at it.

These hits are common place in youth football. All due respect the bolded part above is just crazy.

 

[Tuck]

I bet those BU ****ies have never even strapped on a helmet and now they're trying to smear football? What an age we live in.

Great post. Burn the facts and attack the fact finders. Guess this is America now.

 

[jah]

Great post. Burn the facts and attack the fact finders. Guess this is America now.

Someone in this thread basically said what I said except in earnest.

 

[tasmlab]

Playing tackle football doesn't really seem healthy for anybody.