How Much is Too Much? Football and Its Impact on Youth

Football is an American tradition, a nostalgic pastime that bonds generations and blends cultures. Whether it's the NFL or Friday night lights, the game has become a national staple celebrated throughout society.

While many people avoid looking at the sport as an industry, it is hard to describe football without talking about the money behind it. From equipment prices to the dreams of success, money always affects the game and those who play it.

If we're being truthful, like any other industry in America, the NFL preys on young people in order to succeed. Their business plan starts by appealing to the youth, as well as the culture, so much so that they can convince young people to dedicate their childhood and early adolescence to perfecting a position.

This obsession often morphs into dreams and aspirations; suddenly more kids want to be pro football players than they want to be astronauts, teachers, and doctors. Why do we place such importance on performance in sports? And why are such dangerous sports even available in a school setting?

How would the National Football League succeed if it didn’t encourage young men to worship the sport, idolize the players, and dream of stardom?

We all know famous players like Tom Brady and Randy Moss, but what about the millions of Americans playing the game right now and over the past century? With concussions happening left and right, game after game, year after year, I am shocked at how little CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is discussed around the country.

The rare times CTE is discussed in the media is on the occasional Netflix documentary, such as Killer Inside: The Mind Of Aaron Hernandez, where they exploit victims' stories and sell them as entertainment.

Many people only consider CTE a problem associated with pro football, when in reality, it affects most people that participate in the sport. Whether it’s peewee, high school, college, or professional football, the chances of developing CTE are always prevalent. Those high school football games we all loved going to where often detrimental to the ones on the field.

One thing I found particularly interesting about CTE was the lack of research on the youth affected. When it comes to the CDC’s advice page, they have a few tips for “protecting youth from concussion.”

Parents and coaches are warned to have conversations with their children about the possibilities of concussions and how to reduce the chances of getting hit in the head. Parents are urged to consider enrolling kids in flag and touch football as opposed to tackle football, where the likelihood of developing brain trauma is much lower.

Out of curiosity I wanted to ask my old high school football coach, Mr. Bologa, how many concussions he sees within the team every year. His response was a calm two concussions a year, a smaller number than I expected but still something to look at considering all of the football teams in America.

A quick Google search shows there are nearly 16,925 football teams in America, between the NFL, collegiate teams, and high school football teams. If we take two men from each of those teams and create an equation, that is nearly 33,850 concussions a year (and my school's team is small).

These concussions are creating generations of men that suffer from brain trauma. This trauma is often overlooked, an issue we have to address as a nation.

Coaches have a huge responsibility to guide and teach children how to play with safety in mind. The CDC advises coaches to avoid drills and plays that increase the risk of head impact but has no core rules or regulations for underage children that play football across the nation.

I wanted to know more about the precautions taken to protect players from concussions and serious injuries. Mr. Bologna’s response to this question was, “Most of the teams I am around deliberately do drills to teach things the right way, learning the right way and being in good shape can often avoid concussions. The head gets taken out of the direct hit when done properly.”

The school Mr. Bologa works at has its own concussion policy like every other school in the nation. He states, “Our concussion policy is fully determined by our athletic trainer, return to play is based on the athlete’s symptoms. The trainer will be in contact with the athlete every day and assess, when it has been determined they can enter the game again it is a gradual return to play.”

While it is mandatory for schools to have these policies and precautions, I feel like it is important that all schools share the same ideas so we can ensure safety across all teams. It is not just protocols that keep kids safe while playing football, but also the gear they wear, which of course varies depending on who you are.

NFL and collegiate football players are given the best, most expensive gear to play with. There is of course a difference between youth helmets and adult helmets, both contain padding and chin straps.

What people often do not realize is that in high school and even middle school football, teams receive different types of helmets and gear based on funding. This being said, the NFHS has specific rules for every state that includes the type of helmets players must wear and what to look for as a coach to make sure everyone is safe.

In order to learn more about modern-day football and it effects, I wanted to talk to the people that know it best, the ones that play it day after day. High school football players are among the most dedicated athletes, mainly because of all the physical and mental pain they go through for their sport.

Joey DeJesus is a graduated 19-year-old that played football for 10 years. His journey with the sport ended abruptly after a serious shoulder injury took him out for good.

Yale was one of the schools interested in DeJesus during his junior and senior years of high school, motivating him to keep up his grades up so he was always eligible to play. When I asked DeJesus which was more important to him while in school–grades or sports–he answered “Sports.”

I asked another graduated high school football player Gabe Angiorlis the same question, to which he quickly responded “sports.” He adds, “the only reason I did well in school was because of sports, in order to play you had to be passing, if it wasn’t for sports I wouldn’t have cared about school at all.”

Most football players have witnessed or experienced injuries and brain trauma on the field, but have not discussed it much off of the field. It seems that these men are so dedicated to their teams that when it comes down to the nitty gritty, they persist.

DeJesus has a unique story of persistence himself, suffering from over twelve injuries in the ten years he played the game. The worst experience Joey had was when he dislocated his shoulder twice in one game. He recalls, “I dislocated my shoulder but when I fell to the ground it popped back in so it wasn’t the worst dislocation, but I knew something was up because it didn’t feel right, but the coach said I was good to go.”

DeJesus laughs while talking about his coach’s decision, admitting he himself knew he was not in the best shape to go back out onto the field but he did not want to let his team down. Dejesus continues with the story saying, “I went back into the game and a couple plays later it fully dislocated and I needed to have it popped back in which took me out of the game for the rest of the season.”

He continues, “I played the following year where I broke my left collar bone in the second game of the season, taking me out of the sport for good.” When I asked Dejesus if he had any concussions, he told me that he has had two diagnosed concussions but suffered from multiple “ringers.”

According to DeJesus and Angiorlis, a ringer is a slang term in football for hitting your head and feeling dizzy afterward. It is not considered a full-on concussion, but instead, it is like a mini concussion that you can shake off within a day. This led me to question, has brain trauma become so normalized to football players that they are okay with all of this?

When I asked Dejesus and Angiorlis if they knew what CTE was, they both honestly replied, “no not really.” It surprised me that someone who suffered multiple brain injuries is not aware of CTE, especially since DeJesus’ first concussion happened in 8th grade.

This raises the question, should children involved in football be taught about CTE and the dangers of concussions in school? When I asked the football players, they were quick to answer yes, however, Coach Bologa had a different response.

He answers, “I don’t think that CTE should be taught to them as it is very complex and a lot is still unknown. I do feel that the importance of the brain should be taught, student athletes need to be educated on the importance of self reporting concussion symptoms and being honest with themselves and others”. Mr. Bologna feels that by doing this, CTE can be discussed in a more roundabout way.

When children start playing football at a young age, brain trauma is not on their radar. It is the coaches job to make sure they are aware of the dangers of the game and how it could effect them in the future. If CTE can affect anyone at any age, why is it not being taught in schools around the nation? Children need to know the journey they are signing up for, even if it scares them out of playing.

When I asked Dejesus if his sports related injuries have hindered his development at all, he replies, “physically yes but mentally no, the way by body feels now at 19 I already know I am going to feel pain when I get older.”

With all of this information in mind, there is an important question to be asked. Is football an appropriate sport to introduce children to? And at what age is it okay for a kid to start playing a contact sport like football?

Coach Bologa answers, “I think that it is appropriate to do so when the game is taught properly. However, I have found that there are a bunch of coaches out there that are more in it for themselves than for the kids' well-being. I feel that when youth coaches teach the proper things the right way, risk can be minimized.”

Coach Bologa is in no rush to throw his children into the football world, he says, “I would not let my kid play until they want to on their own, and when I know the coaches are good and I know what they are doing.”

Because football is such an important part of American culture, it can be hard for people to see issues within the industry and the sport as a whole. The more educated the nation becomes on the sport the safer it will become, and the brighter our future athletes will be.