High school football

[orionthehunter1]

^^^Bingo^^^^

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

In todays world would you let your son play high school football. so far in two games and grand total of 8 downs. I would not encourage him to quit, but will not encourage him to play next year. please be civil, my son is my best friend and I do not like seeing him whipped. he is a good athlete.

Terry

There is a lot missing in your question. Is he a freshman that has never played before or a senior that has gone out for 4 years? Is this an issue with personality conflicts with the coach with him and or you? There are many variables that could have him in only 8 downs in the first two games.

I played football in HS and College. I never played before my freshman year because I was too big. I played my freshman year and was 4th string for Freshman football and got more playing time as the year went on. My sophomore year I was on JV and never started and got intermittent playing time. I was ridden hard by the coaches because I physically could dominate anyone on varsity but only occasionally because I didn't fully understand the game yet. At the end of the year the head coach told me I had more talent than any of the previous seasons defensive line starters. My junior year I blossomed and became a starter on varsity but missed a good part of the season because I got a neck injury that I have issues with to this day. I had hundreds of stingers in my left shoulder and arm between my junior year and freshman season in college. My senior year I was named first team all county defensive tackle but only had one school look at me because I didn't make a real name for myself as a junior. I went on to walk on a D3 college team and was the starting defensive tackle as a freshman until I blew out my knee and neck. My neck was so bad that they had 3 horse collars to stabilize my head. They were actually going to take a strap from my helmet to both sides of my helmet above my ears so it wouldn't move. The knee injury I am sure was a blessing in disguise and I never played again.

My younger son was similar to me that he was too big to play until his freshman year but where we live the HS is so small they have a Coop program where he could play for another HS team. The freshman coach loved him and he was an instant starter playing both Defensive end and tight end. He was a 6'3" 210lb freshman. His sophomore year the head coach changed and I met him at a Rutgers training camp where he wanted me to move him to his school so he "could keep an eye on him" I told him that wasn't happening since the school he was at was much smaller with more one on one teaching and they had consistently higher SAT scores. The ironic thing at Rutger was their coach pointed my son out as the youngest in the group with the best footwork and to watch how he ran his routes. He started JV but got no Varsity time even though his coaches told me he was better than the kid that was starting over him on Varsity. His junior year it was more of the same but after the 3rd game he developed a freak staph infection in his shin bone. It was so serious that the doctor that performed two emergency surgeries on him thought he would have to amputate his leg! The coach never checked up on him and my son lost all respect for him and did not go out for the team his senior year.

With all of the media coverage on CTE over the last few year I am relieved that he didn't continue to play and have the long lasting issues that I am suffering from today in my fifties. That being said Football was one of the greatest times in my life as was wrestling. Football is about teamwork while wrestling is a family. I believe it is because wrestling is a smaller team and you have much more interaction with everyone.

I wish you and your son all the best!

 

[Gobbler36]

Played pee wee through Division I and I’d say playing is one of my biggest regrets at the same time one of the things that lead me to my wife and three sons who mean more to me than anything else on the planet so there’s that. That said if I could go back and still be able to meet my wife without playing I absolutely would do it. Much more non abusive ways to teach someone about hard work and dedication than to beat your brain up and be almost 30 years old wondering if there are going to be side effects from it. I will not be letting my sons play and will discourage it at every turn and that would be my answer to you as well. As parents we have the job to think about our children’s future when they don’t have the forward thinking vision yet to do so and I can guarantee you that his success as a human will not hinge on him playing football or any sport for that matter it will hinge on the example you set as a father.
Just my .02

 

[tlowell02]

No way. My dad pushed us towards golf and tennis, thankfully.

Similarly my dad urged me to forgo football. I didn't heed his advice the first year.

One day in practice I was flat out run over by a running back. Next memory I had was lying flat on my back staring at the sky with no recollection of what just happened but I popped up and continued on with practice with no coaches any wiser.

I finished the season (7th grade) and never played again. If you want true hard work and perseverance take up cross country and track. That's what I did and loved it.

 

[Bowhunter65]

Thanks everyone for great posts, opinions and advice. Dylan my son is a great kid, he and I have and own a archery target business and it keeps him super busy. Football will be up to him, I will encourage him to play hard. he is my best friend.

Thanks; Terry L. Zink