ENGL115 Project 2 Toulmin Argument

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ENGL115

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Apr 3, 2024

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Taking Youth Tackle Football 1 Head On Taking Youth Tackle Football Head On ENGL115 Argumentation and Rhetoric

Taking Youth Tackle Football Head On 2 Taking Youth Tackle Football Head On How young is too young for youths to start playing tackle football? Safety concerns over the last several years have prompted researchers to look into the severity of head trauma that youths undergo during a tackle football season. Some of the factors that led parents to sign their children up to play tackle football are physical activity, teamwork and hopes of one day using the game to propel them towards a college scholarship weighing health risks with a potential path to a better life. Flag football is an alternative to tackle football for many youths and while the sport is considered limited contact injuries still happen. Tackle football is a sport played by almost one million children between the ages of six and twelve in the United States (Lynall et al., 2019). The dangers associated with tackle football in youths is that repeated head impacts could have a lasting affect of their health. It has gotten to the point that lawmakers have proposed laws that could ban tackle football for youths though none have been passed at this time. Other states like Illinois, California, New York, New Jersey and Maryland have proposed bills that would eliminate tackle football in children under fourteen years old (Stevens, 2024). Researchers compiled their data by monitoring twenty-five players from two teams that were assigned Triax Smart Impact Monitors to wear for an entire season. The overall results showed that 1908 head impacts occurred throughout the season with 735 occurring in games and 1173 occurring in practice (Lynall et al., 2019). It is also important to note that the position that a player plays is a contributing factor for head injuries while a running back may suffer multiple head impacts per game whereas a kicker may not experience one head trauma in an entire season. Knowing the potential risks of head trauma parents still allow their children to play the sport in hopes that football can teach them teamwork and open doors for them in the future. Football can be a brutal sport, but it can also help children develop confidence, strength, leadership and teamwork. Families weigh the risks with the opportunities provided when their children

Taking Youth Tackle Football Head On 3 play tackle football. Some parents allow their children to play at such young age in hopes that it will lead to a college scholarship. Parents encourage their children to play the game so that they can get physical activity, stay healthy while socially making new friends. Educational opportunities are another reason parents allow their children to play tackle football as some could go onto college because of the game. The president of the Maryland Heat youth tackle program Terrance Byrde states that “he knows injuries are possible in tackle football, as they are in all sports, and he added his coaches are training children to play as safely as possible. But he believes the opportunities that youth football provides outweigh the risks” (Banks & Chodes, 2024). Byrde also goes on to explain that local private schools reach out to his program to recruit their players providing the children access to higher educational opportunities. Some parents are now turning to flag football in hopes that it will still provide their children with life experiences without experiencing head traumas. With increased head traumas in tackle football some parents are electing sign their children up for flag football in hopes of avoiding head trauma in their developing youths brains. While there is not as much contact in flag football there is approximately nine hundred thousand children participating in the sport today. Parents feel that flag football limits a child opportunity for head trauma while still providing an avenue to get physical activity and meet new friends. The same researchers that examined tackle football head traumas also studied flag football head traumas captured in a flag football season by twenty-five players on four separate teams. They found that throughout an entire flag football season there were a total of 169 total head impacts with 101 occurring in games and 68 occurring in practice. Though the number of impacts are less in flag football they still do happen and with no helmet on there is the potential for further injury. Safety for our children is a priority for every parent. So how young is too young for youths to start playing tackle football? That is a question that every parent must evaluate and weigh the risks and opportunities themselves while making an informed decision for their children. As mentioned,

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