Ed Cunningham Abruptly Resigns From ESPN

BigRedBuster said:
Kids now days (here) wear headgear when playing flag football.  It's similar to the headgear you see HS players wearing in 7 on 7 tournaments.  
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Probably a good idea.  haven't seen that here.  Once I get involved with the football program in my new town, I will certainly bring that up.

BIG ERN said:
No kid should be playing padded football before they get into 7th grade. There is such a major gap of maturity before that age, and with the progress of brain growth occurring. With that said, CTE is way misunderstood IMO. Those same signs can show up from people who never even played sports, or ones who didn't play football, but basketball, soccer, tennis etc. I know football for sure can lead to injuries and head trauma, but this whole issue is way overblown. 
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I respectfully disagree

 
StPaulHusker said:
My son played flag football as well.  I saw more injuries with kids bumping heads, getting knocked to the ground, etc without any protective equipment than I have in 3 years of tackle.  
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I'm sure there are injuries in flag football, as well.  There are going to be injuries in all kids' sports, as their bodies are still developing and they are generally clumsy and don't know how to handle their bodies.

My point about preferring flag football is that it won't have the repetitive, small impacts to the head that you see in tackle football.  Those repetitive, small impacts don't cause an immediate injury, so parents think their kids are fine.  But, there have been studies that show the repetitive, small cause the most damage to developing brains.

 
I won't miss him, he was very frustrating to listen to and often times I had to mute the TV when he was assigned to the game I was watching.

My twins could play tackle this year and for a short time that was the only option they had coming out of last flag football season. Thankfully a new league of flag football was created in our area for 3rd graders to 5th graders so that gave us the flag football option. We chose not to let our boys play tackle football at 8 years old due to the cumulative effect of hits on their body over the years. They'll have plenty of years available for tackle football once they hit middle school and high school if they want to play. They can barely control themselves while playing and running around as it is. I'm not putting them in pads and hoping for the best until they get older and have better control over their bodies. It's a tough decision because I love football, but I also had two concussions in high school, but that was before they were a big deal and they sucked!

 
StPaulHusker said:
Probably a good idea.  haven't seen that here.  Once I get involved with the football program in my new town, I will certainly bring that up.

I respectfully disagree
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What is your reasoning on the benefits of an 8 year old playing tackle football? 

 
Now, I don't have my son in youth football, but I am interested in why tackle football at the youth level still goes 11 vs. 11 (at least what I have seen).  In youth soccer, they start the kids with fewer players on each side, and on a smaller field.  With youth baseball, they still go 9 vs. 9 (or 10 vs. 10), but the fields are much smaller.

I understand that youth tackle football is usually played on a smaller field, but what is the benefit of still playing 11 vs. 11.  All it does is lead to a mob of kids, bunched together, until the biggest and fastest kid is able to break away with the ball and get a large gain.  Why not play 6 vs. 6 or 8 vs. 8 to create more space for the kids, and make it more enjoyable?

 
BIG ERN said:
What is your reasoning on the benefits of an 8 year old playing tackle football? 
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I'll start off by saying that if he didn't want to play football, he wouldn't.

So I felt like the sooner he was taught proper mechanics and technique, the better/safer he would play.  And it shows.  We have kids on his team where this is their first year and have no idea what to do.  But my son and others that have played for a few years know the drill and it shows during practice.

My son, in my opinion, is a safer player at 10 because of what he was taught at 8-9.

 
ColoradoHusk said:
Now, I don't have my son in youth football, but I am interested in why tackle football at the youth level still goes 11 vs. 11 (at least what I have seen).  In youth soccer, they start the kids with fewer players on each side, and on a smaller field.  With youth baseball, they still go 9 vs. 9 (or 10 vs. 10), but the fields are much smaller.

I understand that youth tackle football is usually played on a smaller field, but what is the benefit of still playing 11 vs. 11.  All it does is lead to a mob of kids, bunched together, until the biggest and fastest kid is able to break away with the ball and get a large gain.  Why not play 6 vs. 6 or 8 vs. 8 to create more space for the kids, and make it more enjoyable?
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I personally wouldn't have a problem either way.  It just happens to be 11 v 11 so we roll with it

 
StPaulHusker said:
I personally wouldn't have a problem either way.  It just happens to be 11 v 11 so we roll with it
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That's exactly the problem.  It's just universally "accepted" with youth, tackle football so that's the only choice you have.  To me, it just doesn't make sense.

 
BIG ERN said:
 With that said, CTE is way misunderstood IMO. Those same signs can show up from people who never even played sports, or ones who didn't play football, but basketball, soccer, tennis etc. I know football for sure can lead to injuries and head trauma, but this whole issue is way overblown. 
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Head trauma is head trauma.  Trying to avoid it seems like a reasonable idea.  Playing a sport where head trauma is expected and repetitive as part of the legal play of the game is undeniably questionable.  

 
IA State Husker said:
I've got no problem with women calling football.  I've got the same set of standards for her as a man.  I just don't think she is knowledgeable enough about the game of football to justify her calling games on national TV.  She screws up names, numbers, penalties, down-and-distance, etc. on a regular basis.  It has nothing to do with her being a woman.  I like to be informed by the playcallers and commentators.

She might be better now than in the past, but I've been irritated by listening to her frequent mistakes in the past, and have my mind made up.
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See, I am the complete opposite I pay so little attention to who is announcing a football game that it really doesn't matter to me.  

 
StPaulHusker said:
I'll start off by saying that if he didn't want to play football, he wouldn't.

So I felt like the sooner he was taught proper mechanics and technique, the better/safer he would play.  And it shows.  We have kids on his team where this is their first year and have no idea what to do.  But my son and others that have played for a few years know the drill and it shows during practice.

My son, in my opinion, is a safer player at 10 because of what he was taught at 8-9.
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Let's say that the ultimate goal for the kids is to play football in high school, and potentially beyond.  At what age is the appropriate age to start them with tackle football, so they are used to playing that way and develop the necessary techniques and skill?  I would argue that a 2-year training period prior to high school football is good enough.  I don't see the value of the kids needing to play tackle football before 7th grade.  If the kid is a good enough athlete and smart enough of a player, he will be able to figure it out by the time he's in high school and playing at that level.

 
ColoradoHusk said:
Let's say that the ultimate goal for the kids is to play football in high school, and potentially beyond.  At what age is the appropriate age to start them with tackle football, so they are used to playing that way and develop the necessary techniques and skill?  I would argue that a 2-year training period prior to high school football is good enough.  I don't see the value of the kids needing to play tackle football before 7th grade.  If the kid is a good enough athlete and smart enough of a player, he will be able to figure it out by the time he's in high school and playing at that level.
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You might be right.  But I am happy with what my son is doing and see nothing wrong with it.

 
ColoradoHusk said:
Now, I don't have my son in youth football, but I am interested in why tackle football at the youth level still goes 11 vs. 11 (at least what I have seen).  In youth soccer, they start the kids with fewer players on each side, and on a smaller field.  With youth baseball, they still go 9 vs. 9 (or 10 vs. 10), but the fields are much smaller.

I understand that youth tackle football is usually played on a smaller field, but what is the benefit of still playing 11 vs. 11.  All it does is lead to a mob of kids, bunched together, until the biggest and fastest kid is able to break away with the ball and get a large gain.  Why not play 6 vs. 6 or 8 vs. 8 to create more space for the kids, and make it more enjoyable?
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It depends on what type of league you play in, the league my son played in you couldn't run the ball if you were over 119lbs.   This is 5th and 6th grade football.  You had to switch out players every 5 minutes.  Could not play an odd front defense with a man directly over the center.  

I guess you could play with fewer players, but then you might as well play flag football.   I think it is funny you bring up creating more space.  I watch a lot of bunch ball soccer with my kids.    

 
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