Damn you Maryland!!!

Blackshirtsguru

Blackshirtsguru

All-American
Apparently the State of Maryland is pushing a ban for all tackle football under the age of 14.  As a former youth coach who had all 3 boys play since they were 5 and now a current varsity coach at the high school this is absurd!!!  So when they reach the age of 14 they will have NO IDEA in regards to technique or the fundamentals of tackle football.  THIS is where they will get injured!  It is growing legs with the state legislation and is being pushed by a former NFL player and MD alum, Madieu Williams.  So damn frustrated!!!!!!

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Blackshirtsguru said:
Apparently the State of Maryland is pushing a ban for all tackle football under the age of 14.  As a former youth coach who had all 3 boys play since they were 5 and now a current varsity coach at the high school this is absurd!!!  So when they reach the age of 14 they will have NO IDEA in regards to technique or the fundamentals of tackle football.  THIS is where they will get injured!  It is growing legs with the state legislation and is being pushed by a former NFL player and MD alum, Madieu Williams.  So damn frustrated!!!!!!

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I still don't think it's a great idea for kids at 5 playing tackle football. At the end of the day you can teach fundamentals all you want, but the runner and tackler are both going to duck their heads and see who wins more times than not. 

 
BIG ERN said:
I still don't think it's a great idea for kids at 5 playing tackle football. At the end of the day you can teach fundamentals all you want, but the runner and tackler are both going to duck their heads and see who wins more times than not. 
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So you wait until their 14 and then teach them?  Kids are bigger/faster/strong now and if they have no experience they are going to get hurt badly.  I have seen kids who try and start football as a freshman in High School and usually ending up quitting because of how hard the hitting is.  They are pretty much in shock the first time they are hit.  If they start younger most kids already have the techniques when it comes to tackling, footwork and knowing how to take a hit.  At age 5 kids get hurt more tripping over their own feet then taking a massive hit to the head.

 
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Blackshirtsguru said:
So you wait until their 14 and then teach them?  Kids are bigger/faster/strong now and if they have no experience they are going to get hurt badly.  I have seen kids who try and start football as a freshman in High School and usually ending up quitting because of how hard the hitting is.  They are pretty much in shock the first time they are hit.  If they start younger most kids already have the techniques when it comes to tackling, footwork and knowing how to take a hit.  At age 5 kids get hurt more tripping over their own feet then taking a massive hit to the head.
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I've watched 5 year olds play football and I don't see the point besides parents thinking their son is the next NFL star. I think JR high is a good place to start still, and grades prior play flag football and have padded camps to get the feel for the helmets/pads and tackling dummies etc. I don't think it's the big one time shots as those are more rare in HS, it's the repetitive hits on a 5 year old's head that people have more an issue with. I'll just a agree to disagree with you on this one

 
From the article, 

"One person helping Hill craft the bills and garner support for them is a familiar name among area football fans. Madieu Williams played at Duval High School in Lanham, Maryland, and the University of Maryland before embarking on a nine-year NFL career as a safety that finished back in Washington in 2012. Now a law student at the University of Baltimore, Williams provides a voice of experience with perhaps an unexpected view of the game.

“You do not have to hit to understand the game of football,” he told WTOP. “Yes, there’s a physicality to come with it. However, if you don’t know what you’re doing or where you’re going, you don’t know who you’re going to hit.”

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that this guy probably knows what he's talking about. 

 
BIG ERN said:
I've watched 5 year olds play football and I don't see the point besides parents thinking their son is the next NFL star. I think JR high is a good place to start still, and grades prior play flag football and have padded camps to get the feel for the helmets/pads and tackling dummies etc. I don't think it's the big one time shots as those are more rare in HS, it's the repetitive hits on a 5 year old's head that people have more an issue with. I'll just a agree to disagree with you on this one
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I agree with this for the most part. I think 5th grade would be an acceptable level to start playing in full pads, though.

 
I'm not sure what the magic age is, but I am of the thought that it doesn't hinder the kids who start tackle football a little later in their youth.  I understand that there is going to be an adjustment to the speed and contact of the game at an older age.  But, if they are a good enough of an athlete, they will be able to do fine in tackle football if they don't start until 12 or 13.  As stated above, it's not the "big hits" that the young kids get, it's the repetitive smaller hits that do the most damage to a developing brain.

 
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We start football for the school in 7th grade.  I would much rather have a 7th grader that has played only flag football than a lot of the "club kids" we get.  Our first tackling drills are interesting, the kids with no experience are usually better at it.  I think they are better at it because they take the teaching and pay attention to the form.  Our "club kids" go out there and try to put on a highlight reel of big hits; it's sad (and kind of funny at the same time) to watch them completely whiff on the kid that has played tackle football for all of 3 days...

 
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