First football injury of the season- update.....

[Kteacher]

This is the first year DS12 has done football and he injured his shoulder being tackled. I'm tempted to just pull him out since he's come home with bruises just about every night, and now this. Any advice from experienced Pop Warner parents?



Phew.... just a bad sprain

 

[DVC-Don]

My step brother played Pop Warner & High School football. Just after he got a football scholarship to college, he got tackled and wrecked his right knee. He spent half the year on crutches, had a couple of surgeries and lost the scholarship. I remember his surgeon chewing my Dad and Stepmom out for letting him play football. He said no kids should play that game until they were at least 18. My stepbrother is 40 now and still has problems with that knee. Just what happened.

 

[Saffron]

No experience with football, I just wanted to say that I'm glad your son is okay.

 

[cotye]

Well no advice really, but I injured my left knee back in the second year of high school. Really thought I broke my leg at that time, but actually just tore some ligaments. It still bothers me to this day and the doctor has offered surgery, but I don't think it's serious enough to warrant going under the knife. YIKES!

 

[Disney845]

Not that I want to sound mean or anything, but come on. Do you want him to be a Momma's Boy? Boys play sports. They like it. Is he complaining? Asking to get off the team? If not than let him stay. 12 is actually not very young to start playing rec center or little league type sports. I have a 7 year old cousin who has been playing soccor for over a year. My SO played every sport under the sun (soccor, football, softball, baseball, basketball) when he was a kid. He has about 20 trophies to prove it. Some kids are not cut out for sports. They either have no interest or they are physically incapable, but I seem to think that playing sports is somewhat of a right of passage to little boys. If he wants to stay than let him. I know it is hard to see your little one getting hurt, but you can not be there to fix every scrap and cut he will get for the rest of his life. How do you think it will make him feel when the other boys on the team find out his Mommy made him stop so he doesn't get hurt? Give your son a little space to be the boy he is.

 

[Kitty 34]

My oldest started playing foothball in 5th grade and played all thru High School. I was always so worried every football season that he would get injured.

Well, guess what, he never got injured playing football but in the last 3 years he's had 6 surgeries 'cause of basketball!!! Two for a broken nose and 4 because of a bad knee injury!

Good luck to your son. Hope he's feeling better real soon.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Football is a tough decision. I personally don't let my 2 boys play...and they are anything but Momma's Boys.

Over the past 3 Fall seasons I've seen 2 broken bones and 1 concussion among their football playing friends.

They are both signed up for soccer and baseball this fall.

 

[Kteacher]

Well- he's not a" Momma's Boy," he has played sports-rec soccer as well as travel soccer, little league. This is the first year he has played football. Luckily it is just sprained, but he has already gotten pretty banged up and the season hasn't even started yet. I am not the type of mother who hovers over their kids, but I still worry when they get hurt- I think that's only natural

 

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Come on, Dont pull him. Unless he doesnt like it, kids have been playing football for ages.

 

[fireplug]

My mom wouldn't let me play football because she was afraid I would get hurt. It still ticks me off and that was 28 yrs ago !

Bumps and bruises are part of life. So are injuries in football.
Some are worse than others.
Our son has played since freshman yr. in hs. He didn't always like it but stuck with it. This year he is in his fourth year of college a preseason all conference choice, co-captain and the leader of the offensive line. His confidence in himself grows everyday.

There are some risks in playing but there are also a lot of gains to be made.


Steve

 

[NHAnn]

I'm not an "experienced Pop Warner parent" but wanted to throw in my two cents. Personally, I wouldn't be too thrilled if my daughter wanted to play football in our local high school program. ...though there were actually two girls on the squad last year...never saw any game time but they were on the team. Even if she was a boy and WANTED to play, I'd have some reservations, at least from what I've seen in our local program. I just don't like what I've seen of the sterotyped macho approach. My stepson played in this program (the current head coach was an assistant coach at that time). He was battered, bloody and bruised all the time - and of course that was part of the game and told to "suck it up" (he did-his choice-no complaints from him)...to the point of playing in pain on stress fractures in his feet his whole senior year season, against his doctor's wishes, "for the team". I just don't get it...but then, I'm a girl Just yesterday in our local paper there was an article about how the team began it's full workout/tryout schedule Monday, despite the high 90's temps and air quality alerts. grunt-grunt ...no one's collapsed, yet. One of the sophomores was even quoted as saying something like "This is football, we're not like the cheerleaders who can take it easy, we've got to push" Puh-leez!!!!

Thanks for letting me vent ---Kteacher, I think you should just keep an eye on how your son feels about it, how the program is run, and how his doctor feels about any injuries that might occur. I wouldn't pull him if he's committed to playing the season, unless his doctor told him not to play and risk further injury.

 

[jsmith]

Ask his ped-both my boys are sports hounds-i discouraged football because of the risk but it was important to my DH. My older DS was never allowed to play but is out this year for the first time as a senior because i can't really tell a 17 year old he can't go out and I figured he would get cut-I figured wrong-coach took one look at a 6"6' inch kid who runs a sub 50 second 400 and said "team meet our newstarting wide reciever" He has already pulled a hamstring running too fast on grass but it seems to be healing well. The younger DS now 13 played Pop Warner in grades 5, 6, and 7. This bothered me more because of the quality of coaching-I saw way more questionable stuff in Pop Warner than in high school ball.
Sports are dangerous and injuries will happen-The largest number of injuries actually occur in Track and Field, followed by Soccer, Basketball, Baseball and then Football-making rough and tumble football statitically much safer than non contact track-go figure.

 

[bfeller]

When DD broke her arm two years ago the orthopedist told us that the sport that has the most injuries is Soccer. We were surprised.

 

[sogger1]

My DS will NEVER play football as long as I'm living. I ran on local emergency squad. The 3 runs I had 1 boy had testicular nerve damage, the second lost a testicle (and yes they were both wearing cups) and the final straw was an eighth grade who to "had the wind knocked out of him" . The stupid coach had him up walking around. Diagnosis a broken neck. The long term price for these injuries are not work the 15 minutes of fame.

 

[NHAnn]

The research and statistics on permanent damage from returning to play too soon, and/or misdiagnosis from youth and high school sports ARE frightening . DD's pediatrician said she sees more frequent and more serious injuries in her practice in female soccer players than in any other sport. In soccer there is really no protective equipment except shin guards, and it can be a very rought contact sport. DD has had two concussions (one a shot to the head -she did make the save and one a knock-down from a forward smacking her head on the ground) in two years as the soccer goalkeeper. And took a LOT of flack from her team-mates AND some of their PARENTS when, on her doctor's advice, she had to sit out the last 2 games of the season and JV tournament. Fortunately her coach was not the "suck it up for the team" type. Repetitive head trauma can cause PERMANENT cognitive damage, for heaven's sake! The girl's track coach at the high school encouraged "advil for breakfast" for the shin splints and pulled muscles on spring track DD's freshman year when the too- much- too- soon pounding on the pavement after a long snowy winter took its toll. Some of these kids couldn't even compete/participate after trying to "work through the pain". Well, I'm ventng again....off topic. It's just very worrsiome to me.

 

[Doctor P]

Yes, there are lots of injuries in youth sports, and, yes, football can be a violent game. However, the risk of injury goes down substantially when kids and other athletes are well coached and well conditioned. The advantage to football and hockey is the padding. Often the injuries are as severe if not more severe in sports like basketball and soccer that involve no pads and high speeds.

 

[DebD4T]

Well said Doctor P!!!

DH has been a youth football coach for 17 years. He always said that as long as you are taught correctly how to tackle and how to be tackled, the probability of being hurt is low. Of course accidents happen.

It is ironic that I should see this post today. DS (10 years old) came home from football practice with a fractured radius and will be sidelined for at least 6 weeks. He didn't get it while playing football, he got it while warming up and doing drills.

I always felt that soccer was more dangerous.