Clinic Emphasizes Safety in Youth Football

If you think the NFL has a reputation problem, just take a second to consider its offspring - youth football. Many parents across the country, even those who have loved the sport for many years, are forbidding their children from playing football. They fear all the dangers that you’ve no doubt heard before, such as concussions, torn ligaments, broken bones and other injuries. However, to combat the widespread criticism, a number of schools, youth football leagues and sports league websites are sticking up for the game by promoting player safety.

LeBron forbids football for his kids

Even LeBron James, who starred in high school as a wide receiver before he morphed into the world’s greatest basketball player, recently said that he won’t let his sons play football until they’re in high school and old enough to decide for themselves.

“We don’t want them to play in our household right now until they understand how physical and how demanding the game is,” James told ESPN. “Then they can have their choice in high school, we’ll talk over it. But right now there’s no need for it. There’s enough sports they can play. They play basketball, they play soccer, they play everything else but football and hockey.”

Despite James’ preference for his kids, Lebron Jr. and Bryce Maximus, to stay away from the sport, he maintains his love for the NFL and college football. He told ESPN that football offered him a way to escape inner-city life before he focused exclusively on basketball. Over the summer, he brought his sons to the Cleveland Browns training camp, where they played catch as the team practiced. One could view this experience as proof that despite his ban on playing football, James is still willing to let his sons enjoy the game in some ways.

Virginia high school clinic emphasizes concussion safety

As parents and young athletes begin to better understand the responsibilities that go hand in hand with playing this contact sport, informative clinics and meetings may play a larger role in the future of youth football. That’s certainly the case in Fairfax, Virginia, where Dick Adams, the athletic safety consultant of Fairfax County Public Schools, recently held a clinic with parents and spoke about key points for player safety, according to Fairfax County News Online. Adams coached football for 33 years at Annandale High School, the site of the clinic, and now spends his time educating parents about concussion safety, injury identification and prevention, and treatment.

“There are other individual high schools around the country that are doing it and individual youth club programs,” Adams said, as quoted by the news source, "but no one’s working in conjunction on this scale together, and that’s what's so awesome about this opportunity.“

As player safety awareness continues to rise, youth football coaches can create sports team websites that summarize the kinds of points mentioned by Adams. Sports software focused on injury prevention and treatment has the potential to grow in conjunction with the proliferation of concussion awareness efforts across the country.