I see the point and its a good one ! I've spoken to more than one orthopedic surgeon who says the problem they see in football is similar to all sports and that's the duration. Many parents opt for a certain sport and then look for programs that are all year round hoping to either enhance the experience or improve the child's abilities. The problem becomes obvious in sports like baseball and football. Its the repetitive impacts and injuries to the body when it has yet to form its protective muscles and bony structure. I know one surgeon who is in sports medicine in Colorado claims that kids should not play any contact sport until H.S. and should never learn how to throw a curve ball until H.S.
But that stuff is really hard to hear when you are a parent or even a grand parent-I know that personally. Its especially difficult for the parent when the neighbor talks about how much fun his 8 yr old is having playing youth football and how much he enjoys it himself and then your son wants to do the same-and you do too. Hopefully, the answer is in the improvement of coaching techniques and the equipment itself. And also, hopefully, parents will allow their children to experience different sports during the year instead of concentrating on one sport alone. At least that gives them the opportunity to develop other parts of their body and enjoy different environments.
