Youth-football on decline. Who's to blame? "Geniuses."

[DetlefK]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/sports/youth-football-wants-to-save-the-game-by-shrinking-it.html?_r=0

U.S.A. Football, the national governing body for amateur football, intends to introduce a drastically altered youth football game in response to declining participation and increasing public belief that the game is not safe for children to play.

The organization has created a new format that brings the game closer to flag football and tries to avoid much of the violence in the current version. Among the rule changes: Each team will have six to nine players on the field, instead of 11; the field will be far smaller; kickoffs and punts will be eliminated; and players will start each play in a crouching position instead of in a three-point stance.

“The issue is participation has dropped, and there’s concern among parents about when is the right age to start playing tackle, if at all,” said Mark Murphy, the president of the Green Bay Packers and a board member at U.S.A. Football.

...

For years, the sport’s top officials have played down the science and insisted that tackle football could be played safely. Neurologists have found a degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, in an alarming number of former football players, and last year the N.F.L.’s top health and safety officer acknowledged for the first time the link between the disease and brain trauma sustained on the field.

...

Still, Mr. Hallenbeck made sure to introduce the concept of modified tackle to the more than 1,000 high school coaches and administrators assembled here. He said that youth football was at a “critical crossroads” and that the football community, which faces “adversity,” must work together to create a safer game with more alternatives for children and their parents.

Other keynote speakers, including former N.F.L. coaches, players and team presidents, echoed Mr. Hallenbeck’s call to arms at the three-day event, saying the sport is under threat.

“There are a lot of geniuses out there that are diminishing football right now,” said Jon Gruden, a former coach of the Oakland Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who now works as an analyst for ESPN. “There are a lot of geniuses that are trying to damage the game, and ruin the game. Do you feel it? There are a lot of geniuses that want to eliminate all sports, including recess.”

[Cracklin Charlie]

1. I saw some kids playing flag football...

During halftime of some game the other day.

It looked like so much fun. Long passes, speedy runners, lots of action.

I can barely watch college or pro tackle football, because of the violence. I would watch flag football.

[DetlefK]

3. I prefer Rugby to Football.

The game is more fluid and faster because there are less rules causing a time-out. And it has less violence because you are only allowed to tackle the person that actually has the ball.

Once I saw a funny game: One of the teams had hired a player who used to be a sprint-runner. A quick pass to the side to this guy and he shot off like a rocket along the sideline. He was damn fast because he wasn't weighed down by protective gear. They got several easy touchdowns in this fashion.

[Kber]

2. God damned smart people!

They ruin everything!

That said, I am conflicted. My son played football (flag and then tackle) from first grade and now in college. It's a rough sport, for sure.

So, for that matter, is basketball and don't get me started on cheerleading.

My son sustained a concussion on the field. It was seriously scary.

And while we have not really encouraged it and didn't think we were crazy "football parents", we did allow it and, frankly, he loves it.

Over all and on balance, football has been a positive in his life. I'm glad he's not playing DI and I'm very glad he has no realistic chance to play after college, but football was his ticket to a top tier school where he is double majoring in Physics and Chemistry, maintaining an A average, and will intern for NASA this summer (no really!)

I support starting tackle later, and reducing the number of "micro hits" players take. My step-dad played DI football and bemoans some of the changes sometimes, but also wants his grandson to graduate with most of his grey matter intact.

It's complicated.

[Kaleva]

4. As a kid, I played tackle football with no helmet or other protective gear.

With no refs, serious infractions were settled by fist fights.