Long Term Repercussions of Sports

[NRA4LIFE]

Fortunately, I was too small to play football or basketball and I sucked at baseball. So wrestling and golf it was. I wish I would have swam versus wrestling.

 

[Augie]

I was fortunate to never have any of those big, scary injuries that we have all seen. A friend broke his leg in a baseball game. Another friend broke his leg two different times playing soccer. I saw a handful of "minor" concussions, and many other injuries that were a bit gnarly, but I was fortunate to not experience them myself.

My injuries have all been overuse or bad technique or both. During baseball seasons as a teen, my right arm was so shaky I couldn't drink a glass of water without spilling it. I quit playing halfway through high school, and it took a few years before I could even play catch without hurting. I'm unwilling to throw hard now. Maybe it would be fine, maybe not.

My right knee is so noisy it's hard to finish a stalk on a deer. Doc says surgery will fix that and the recovery is easy, but I haven't done it yet.

My kids are into soccer, baseball, and cycling. The exact same things I was into. I don't think I'll discourage them from playing or racing, but I will definitely be paying attention to identify if they're hurt and need recovery time. In hindsight, my parents and coaches shouldn't have let me play through some of that crap. It has had so much more negative effect on my life than missing a few games or even a whole season would have had.

This is exactly the type of thought provoking idea my post was meant to bring. Kids should be encouraged to play sports and be a part of a team it's great for development. Keeping an eye on your kids health and making sure they are healthy is key. Coaches not always but commonly will put kids out on the field hurt if they think it'll give them a better shot at winning.

 

[NCTrees]

^^^ This right here... If you play baseball, you better have that resume of club, rec league, camps, and everything in between polished up before you hit jr. high or you'll never get a look in high school. Goes for Volleyball and other sports too.

It’s a shame. Fanatical parents, coaches, recruiters, booster clubs….ugh. Glad I live in a rural area where it seems the coaches and faculty are happy to have enough players to field a full team.

The worst part about it is the fact that youth sports is a business now. I know of plenty of people that get cut not because they aren't good enough, but because they didn't attend enough of the camps that cost more money. They're literally cutting kids from sports as a business decision. Makes me sick. If you're a youth coach, I think it's a mortal sin to do anything that would prevent that kid from being a lifelong fan of the game. That's objective number one in my eyes.

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It’s a shame to hear this. Around here there is decent competition to make varsity squads but I’m not seeing a lot of this ugly and unnecessary pressure. Sure, there is the “if you want to go on to college…” schpeel but not much more than that. If I were seeing this BS at our local schools no doubt my feeling on HS sports would be significantly different.

 

[Augie]

Fortunately, I was too small to play football or basketball and I sucked at baseball. So wrestling and golf it was. I wish I would have swam versus wrestling.

wrestling is hard on the body, as if the sport itself isnt tough enough the culture is all about out toughing the other guy. Can't tell you how many times you'll see wrestlers going out on the mat practically taped together

 

[wind gypsy]

Would be a tough decision if I had boys but just girls so no concerns over football/hockey/wrestling. I sure loved the hell out of playing hockey though and wouldn't trade that experience for any of minor shoulder issues that never seemed to fully recover.

 

[wesfromky]

Worth checking out the latest on CTE and contact sports. I know I have had enough concussions to be at a higher risk.

CTE identified in brain donations from young amateur athletes

Study examined athletes who played contact sports, showed CTE symptoms, and died before age 30.

www.nih.gov

 

[jmez]

Careful with broad based interpretations on that paper. That like just about all the papers on CTE is extremely biased. It is retrospective, that in itself is considered the weakest form of medical evidence. There is extreme bias and there is no control group. Then you have this line: Given that 58% of the brain donors who died at a young age did not have evidence of CTE, the causes of severe symptoms in this group are likely due to multiple factors.

 

[wesfromky]

Careful with broad based interpretations on that paper. That like just about all the papers on CTE is extremely biased. It is retrospective, that in itself is considered the weakest form of medical evidence. There is extreme bias and there is no control group. Then you have this line: Given that 58% of the brain donors who died at a young age did not have evidence of CTE, the causes of severe symptoms in this group are likely due to multiple factors.

For sure. But, it is important to understand that there is a real risk of CTE from contact sports (soccer, even). And to weigh that risk vs the reward for yourself, and for your kids.

 

[jmez]

Perhaps.

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[yfarm]

Any connection to the Boston University researcher/ J Alzheimer Research?
Agree that the research on this entity is biased from a design standpoint. Referral bias from patients/family members who are convinced of a particular etiology. Hard to do blinded prospective studies when the basis of your study are post mortem brains. I have seen a lot of brain rot on cts/mris over the years and its virtually impossible to point to a single cause for what you see. Many factors at play over a long period of time before death. Kind of like cerebral palsy cases with the presumption that labor error causes the problem in every case.

Perhaps.

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[Michael54]

I played football from the time I was 5 until I was 26 including college and semi pro. A rotator cuff tear in high school that i played through and had to have my knee scoped twice in college. My son is 7 now and in his 2nd year of flag football. I didn't want to coach him but around here its not "who is qualified to teach these kids correctly" that are the coaches its "whos willing and available"that do it. I've seen quite a few avoidable injuries on the 3-4 and 5-6 tackle teams (we share the same practice field and play games the same day) that could have been easily avoided with proper coaching or even proper fitting equipment. I've talked with my wife about it many times and we decided when it comes to my son that 1. Its 100% up to him if he wants to play or not (I don't need to re live my "Glory Years" through him), 2. No more than two sports a year, and 3. If the coach of the team can't show him how to do it correctly and constantly reinforce him doing it correctly he is not allowed to play.

 

[Fowl Play]

Agree with this mentality. I think sports teaches allot of discipline and work ethic, but you have to watch out for your kids and this is a good reminder.

Your comments about wrestling hits home with me. (really any fighting sport) Not only the physical abuse to the body, but the act of constantly trying to cut weight before a match is terrible on the body. My senior year of high school my school district finally started implementing pee tests before matches to ensure we were hydrated. That was a huge wakeup call to me. Senior year I got disqualified from a tournament due to being dehydrated at weigh in. I was furious, but it made me reconsider the sport after I cooled off. I was 2-3% body fat, over 30lbs lighter than what I should have been if I had just been eating right while working out that much, etc.

 

[Poser]

Agree with this mentality. I think sports teaches allot of discipline and work ethic, but you have to watch out for your kids and this is a good reminder.

Your comments about wrestling hits home with me. (really any fighting sport) Not only the physical abuse to the body, but the act of constantly trying to cut weight before a match is terrible on the body. My senior year of high school my school district finally started implementing pee tests before matches to ensure we were hydrated. That was a huge wakeup call to me. Senior year I got disqualified from a tournament due to being dehydrated at weigh in. I was furious, but it made me reconsider the sport after I cooled off. I was 2-3% body fat, over 30lbs lighter than what I should have been if I had just been eating right while working out that much, etc.

I’m of the option that forcing kids to do extreme cuts to make high school weight classes is absurd. Just let the kids eat, gore and get stronger, as their bodies are designed to do with expediency at that age and wrestle in whatever weight class they weigh. It’s freakin’ high school.

 

[Poser]

There is definitely more intelligence and available knowledge these days. As a late Gen Xer, I started playing full contact football with archaic equipment in the 3rd grade. Unless you were a star player, injuries weren’t taken seriously and coaches even made fun of you for being thirsty. My experience playing sports in elementary through high school was that there were a lot of idiots in charge.

As an adult, I’be been exclusively interested in individual sports, having been deep into rock climbing, snowboarding these days, and also competed formally in both powerlifting and weightlifting. My GF was a D1 catcher and plays adult league softball and Volleyball.

I enjoy watching sports, but I’m really unsure of the intrinsic value of stick and ball sports. Sure, They attract top tier talent and there is the team aspect. At the same time, if football is such a great “molder of men”, why are there so many former football players, at every level of the game, who are absolutely garbage human beings? And everyone who has been in and around football knows this to be entirely true.

Reflecting back, the very worst adult male mentors I was exposed to were football coaches. Just all around terrible people who happen to have memorized a small book’s worth of stupid motivational quotes. Maybe that’s changed and hopefully for the better.

 

[tony]

Played football, wrestled, ran track, and played soccer for a year.
No major injuries, some sprains, strains, 1 broken wrist.
I know kids are bigger these days and get bigger each year. I can't remember any serious injuries when I was playing sports. I do remember it being a more of a "walk it off" attitude by the coaches.

Was a member of my high schools rifle club and never got shot or shot anybody

 

[fngTony]

You can learn the benefits in other ways. Playing casual sports and collaborating on science projects, debate class etc. There should be more of a focus on long term physical health instead of being broken down before 30.

All kids need a little more or less of things, at the right time, tricky to identify it as a parent.

Our youngest did gymnastics for seven years, no serious injuries and has a good physical condition from it but now she needs social interaction so we’re looking into non physical things. Oldest is the opposite, not athletic whatsoever but a natural with being social. Has a friend now getting her into physical activity. Point being that it’s not a guarantee and it’s up to the parents to recognize when, what and why changes should be made.

 

[jpmulk]

I’ve been thinking on this as well as I have young kids. I think sports are way more intense now than they were when my parents were kids. Which is a shame. To be competitive it seems you have to go all out and focus on one sport year round.

I want my kids to avoid that. To be well rounded. To participate in activities they can use and take with them through life. To have more experiences than just one sport, trying to become the next champion that will be forgotten in a year.

Good thread.

 

[Team4LongGun]

I'm late to the discussion, but agree with most of the OP's sentiment. There is a line somewhere that has to be drawn. For my kids, I want them to learn how to be a part of a team, and win and lose with humility. At the same time, individual sports do provide a different life lesson which is just as valuable.
I won't line item all my injuries, but I can say I'm over 14 surgeries and can't lose any more organs. Self preservation is something I applaud the OP of thinking of at 28, because "suck it up and shut up" is the only way in combat arms. Needless to say, there's more to quality of life than your career in your twenties. Good call OP.

 

[Team4LongGun]

I’ve been thinking on this as well as I have young kids. I think sports are way more intense now than they were when my parents were kids. Which is a shame. To be competitive it seems you have to go all out and focus on one sport year round.

I want my kids to avoid that. To be well rounded. To participate in activities they can use and take with them through life. To have more experiences than just one sport, trying to become the next champion that will be forgotten in a year.

Good thread.

Having coached for many years, I saw when 2 and 3 sport players had to pick one and go year round at 12-which is ridiculous, as they haven't fully developed yet. Travel ball is a must by this age for most, and I agree it's a shame.

 

[Gutshot007]

Played football . Watched my brother line up on the frontline to recieve an onside kick . He took a a squib ball to the helmet that blew off his facemask. That was friday night . Our coached stopped by my moms place of employment to make sure he was ready to play next week . I was pulled from a game after running the ball and after being tackled. Proceeded on going to the opposing teams side of the field and sat on their bench . Dont remember much. That was the 80's . If you could tell how many fingers coach was holding up you were good to go after a short break . I thinks kids are alot stronger and faster than we were but it is definitely a high speed collision sport . Our heros were the likes of Jack Tatum, Jack Lambert and others (not sure if you youngs ever heard of them ?) . NFL obviously has some serious draw , but i wonder how long football as we know it in a " civilized " society will last ?