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View Full Version : Broncos' Ihenacho, Moreno weigh in on kids taking up tackle football



Denver Native (Carol)
09-09-2013, 09:14 PM
Do you want your boy to someday be a Bronco?

Do the Broncos want their boys to be Broncos?

The desire of parents to have their sons play football is eternally strong, but I was fascinated Monday to hear at least one Bronco say he wouldn't want his son to play football, at least until high school age.

"My parents didn't let me play football really until I was in high school, because football's a contact sport and a dangerous sport," said safety Duke Ihenacho, who made a team-high 11 tackles in the season-opening win against the Baltimore Ravens. "I think if I have a son I wouldn't want him to play until he's closer to high school, not when he's a little kid. It's definitely scary stuff."

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/hochman/ci_24053236/broncos-ihenacho-moreno-weigh-kids-picking-up-tackle

Nomad
09-09-2013, 09:36 PM
I guess I don't get the mindset introducing your kid to tackle football in high school compared to starting them in peewee.

MOtorboat
09-09-2013, 09:37 PM
I guess I don't get the mindset introducing your kid to tackle football in high school compared to starting them in peewee.

Less contact, therefore less chance for head injuries.

Nomad
09-09-2013, 09:45 PM
Less contact, therefore less chance for head injuries.

I just see a kid coming into the game at the high school level more at risk than a kid who has years of experience and training through peewee and jr high. It's the coaching you have to question as well, whether they teaching the right techniques.

ShaneFalco
09-09-2013, 10:13 PM
i played peewee, was way beyond the other kids who started later. Eventually everyone will catch up if you go on to AA or AAA, but still kids who do not start young, are more at a disadvantage in my opinion. Then again, i had two concussions in HS

Dapper Dan
09-09-2013, 10:27 PM
My school didn't have a team. So I played football wherever I could. So, no pads or helmets. Sometimes fences and pavement got in the way.

dogfish
09-10-2013, 01:28 AM
meh. . . i didn't play past peewee, and i still managed to mash my dome against a number of hard objects (typically concrete) while i was growing up. . .

and i mostly blame booze for my sluggish adult brain. . . hey, maybe we should see how prohibition works. . .



seriously though-- if you want to keep your precious darlings out of harm's way, forget about football-- don't let them drive until they're 21. . .

UnderArmour
09-10-2013, 07:02 AM
I just see a kid coming into the game at the high school level more at risk than a kid who has years of experience and training through peewee and jr high. It's the coaching you have to question as well, whether they teaching the right techniques.

Kids are at a low risk of head injuries in middle school from collisions than they are in High School. The head injuries that come at the middle school level are often a result of players not listening to their coaches and using the crown of their helmets when they need to use the screws instead. The protection gear players wear is sufficient to protect them from other 12-14 year olds coming at them. Middle school is the best place to learn proper technique and tackling because it does not carry the same level of risks that high school ball does and as you said, it's setting players up for a world of hurt if they are coming into 9th grade not knowing how to properly lay a hit, make a tackle, or throw a block.

Once they reach high school, all bets are off. You have some athletic freaks playing where concussions are even possible in practice during standard drills/scrimmaging. Depending on the level of competition in the district, high speed collisions become more and more frequent of an occurrence. My first year, we had multiple guys go down with concussions in practice during the first two weeks of camp just from players making plays on a ball and it's certainly an unavoidable occurrence. You tell 14-15 year old young men they will never be kicked off a field for being too strong or hitting too hard and believe me, they are going to use the game as an outlet. Football is a violent game, but learning proper technique increases player safety across the board. Middle School is just a more ideal time to start.

chazoe60
09-10-2013, 07:06 AM
I played PopWarner Football and I'm just fine.

chazoe60
09-10-2013, 07:06 AM
I played PopWarner Football and I'm just fine..

chazoe60
09-10-2013, 07:07 AM
I played PopWarner Football and I'm just fine...

Dapper Dan
09-10-2013, 07:20 AM
:rofl:

BroncoWave
09-10-2013, 08:01 AM
seriously though-- if you want to keep your precious darlings out of harm's way, forget about football-- don't let them drive until they're 21. . .

Driving and playing football are two completely different things. Unless you live in a huge city, you pretty much have to be able to drive to get around. There's no keeping someone from that. Obviously everyone has to do dangerous things in life, but if a parent wants to steer their kid to baseball or basketball over football because they are safer, I don't see a problem with that. Just because they want to minimize some of the risk of preventing serious injury to their kids doesn't make them some huge hypocrite if they let them drive when they are 16.

jhns
09-10-2013, 08:11 AM
I started in middle school and don't remember a single injury or big hit to anyones head. I saw quite a few injuries and got a cuncussion in hockey at around the same age. People are going after the wrong sport.

Football isn't dangerous with a bunch of small kids with pads and who are on foot. Kids that size could play without pads and not hurt each other.

Al Wilson 4 Mayor
09-10-2013, 10:35 AM
I started in middle school and don't remember a single injury or big hit to anyones head. I saw quite a few injuries and got a cuncussion in hockey at around the same age. People are going after the wrong sport.

Football isn't dangerous with a bunch of small kids with pads and who are on foot. Kids that size could play without pads and not hurt each other.

There's a lot of truth to this. My son played 4 years of optimist football, and the physicality of the game is just not there. Kids don't really get physical with their hitting until they get into junior high and hit puberty.