First Study of Head Impact in Youth Football Raises Concern
Stone Phillips reports on the surprising findings in the first head impact study in youth football.
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Ever wonder just how hard your kids are getting hit out on the football field?
Until now, no one could answer that question, but Stone Phillips, former Dateline NBC and ABC News 20/20 reporter, has just released “Hard Hits, Hard Numbers: The First Study of Head Impacts in Youth Football,” a report revealing the findings of a groundbreaking Virginia Tech study, which placed instrumented helmets on 7- and 8-year-old football players.
According to a press release, the magnitude of impact was surprising: The highest impact measured was 100g, which is right in the middle average of a concussion. These kinds of hits are considered high even for college players, so their occurrence with young athletes with developing brains is concerning.
An important piece of the findings was that all impacts over 80 gs, and 35 of the top 38 hits, occurred during practices. This means modifying practices, as has been done at the college level, could dramatically minimize risk.
The study, expected to be published this spring, was funded through a grant from NHTSA and conducted through the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest Center for Injury Biomechanics.
Stone Phillips will appear on ABC’s The View on Monday, Jan. 30 to discuss this the story.
Jenga
6:07 pm on Monday, January 30, 2012
I'm no helicopter parent and certainly encourage my kids to take reasonable risks so they lead fulfilling lives-but that's why I wouldn't let them play football at 7 or 8 years old- The younger the kids are, the more it seems to be about the parents- You ever see these guys walking up and down the sidelines dressed like tom Coughlin? It's ridculous.
Mike A
6:21 am on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The reason Stone Phillips wrote this artical is as you can see he never played the game,he thought he was a player but i have to tell you Stone"A CHEERLEADER AT A FOOTBALL GAME IS NOT CONSIDERED A PLAYER"Now that this was said in life there is a risk in almost everything and if you dont want to take that risk i guess you could be a cheerleader
Ryan Buncher
6:44 am on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Mike A, Stone Phillips was a starting quarterback at Yale University (see the links that follow), so he did play the game.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3949454/ns/dateline_nbc/t/stone-phillips/#.TyfSK1yvg1M
http://www.yalebulldogs.com/sports/m-footbl/2011-12/releases/20111026ml8llo
George Datino
7:19 am on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
I grew up playing youth sports and my kids grew up playing youth sports (football, ice hockey, wrestling, basketball, soccer, and baseball). I point this out only to pass along the fact that I've been around sports my whole life and have seen kids get hurt in all sports (including concusions and not just in football). All sports carry a risk of injury but its how we as adults minimize the risk is the key. A very important part of the article was "An important piece of the findings was that all impacts over 80 gs, and 35 of the top 38 hits, occurred during practices. This means modifying practices, as has been done at the college level, could dramatically minimize risk.". Simply ensuring that there is proper adult supervision with a mind on what is safe and what is not can make all the difference in the world.
On a more organizational scale, youth hockey doesn't allow body checking and slap shots until after a certain age. Youth Soccer has been toying with the idea of banning heading the ball because of concussion fears (though I don't think it has gone forward with it yet). There are many areas where 7 & 8 year olds play flag football instead of tackle.
Just saying that sports bring many positive lessons to children and with proper adult supervision, we can minimize the negative risks while giving the children the opportunity to experience of all the positive things it brings.
BG7
10:34 am on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
George - what you say is very reasonable - but while injuries can occur in any sport the prevalence and magnitude of the injury varies. Baseball vs football for example.
Personally I think soccer would be a better replacement over football. In addition, its a more skillful game.