Danger in Kids Sports?

@anniepa (27955)
United States
October 8, 2007 11:21pm CST
I've been so proud of my grandkids' midget football teams! They're both undefeated, the only undefeated teams in the league. My grandson Todd's "A" team, which consists of 11 and 12 year olds and my granddaughter Angela's "B" team which she cheers for, which consists of 8-10 year olds. With two regular season games remaining we're already thinking "Super Bowl" - yes, we have a super bowl for our midget teams - and it's very exciting. However, our quarterback on the A team, who is like another grandson to my husband and me, we're close with the whole family, got tackled very badly after completing a 39 yard run after a QB sneak. Forgive me if my football lingo isn't perfect, my heart's in the right place. Anyway, our QB Jordan didn't get up right away after this great run and it scared the heck out of all of us. As it turned out he broke his wrist, not a bad break but it will keep him out of action for a couple games, we're not sure about the "super bowl" yet. This happened on Sunday. Monday morning when I got my local paper I saw on the front page that one of our high school players, only 16 tears old broke his neck during their game on Friday night. He's a very lucky young man, after 5 hours of surgery he's now already home and expected to recover fully. However, he can never participate in a contact sport again. Meanwhile, we learn from both Todd and Jordan that they're not so sure they wish to continue in football beyond the midget level, for which this is their final year. For the A team here the weight limit is 150 pounds; Todd weight 93 pounds and Jordan weights about 86. They're both very quick and agile and what weight they have is pure muscle, but they're just tiny little guys compared to a 150 pounder! I get scared whenever any kid doesn't get right up during a football game or practice and when the ones you really care about seem so little out there it's downright terrifying! Does anyone here agree with me that there should be different divisions, at least at the midget football level, based on size and weight instead of purely on age? In another local midget football league there is NO weight limit for the kids, it's based purely on age. I don't know about anyone else, but I've noticed some very big 12 year olds! Are we really putting our kids in danger without meaning to? Sports are great, they teach kids many good life lessons such as sportsmanship and teamwork but is it worth it to risk the safety of a little child? Annie
1 response
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
9 Oct 07
With all the positives that comes from kids participating in sports, anniepa, there will also be some negatives. That is the nature of most contact sports. They do carry a risk of bodily injury. Although the final decision is up to the parents, I would not keep a child from participating in a contact sport so long as it is what they have a strong desire to do. The risks of injury should always be explained to them so that they can make an informed decision. Nobody wants to see a child injured, but neither can we wrap them in cotton and prevent them from doing the normal things that kids like to do.
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
10 Oct 07
You're right, Worldwise1. There are too many positives to not want them to participate. It's still frightening to see a boy that's so much smaller than some of the others get hurt. I know there will always be risks, my cousin got badly injured in gymnastics and suffered terrible back pain and other discomfort for many years and her brother was a high school wrestler and he was the one everyone always worried about! I just wish there were a way so it didn't seem we were inviting trouble by having the kids play with others that are so much bigger at such an early age. I'm sorry, I'm a much bigger worry-wart as a gram than I was as a mom! Annie