October 23, 2012 11:01 am
Five Kid Concussions in One Game Have Parents Questioning Pop Warner Football
Image: Wallula Junction
In the middle of September there was a Pop Warner football game. Pop Warner is the country’s “largest and oldest youth football organization,” so this shouldn’t be remarkable. But the score of this particular game was 52-0, and five different players, all around 10 years old, got concussions. Those concussions have hurtled this game to the forefront of the ongoing debate surrounding kids and football, and have been pushing parents, officials and fans to reconsider whether children should really be playing a game that can give them permanent brain damage.
The New York Times summarizes the punishments doled out to the schools that fielded the teams and the officials of the game:
Late last week, league officials suspended the coaches for both teams for the rest of the season. The referees who oversaw the game were barred from officiating any more contests in the Central Massachusetts Pop Warner league, and the presidents of both programs were put on probation.
But neither of the coaches were particularly remorseful. The Southbridge coach—Southbridge being the winning team—blamed the Tantasqua coach, saying “If you lost that many players, you should have called a timeout and come seen me. My team is not dirty. All the issues were on their side of the field. This is a football game, not a Hallmark moment.”
The Tantasqua coach claims he didn’t even realize how many of his players were injured. And Tantasqua parents weren’t particularly unhappy that the game continued, despite the injuries and the rout.
Five concussions in one game seems like a lot, but there could have been more. Coaches for Pop Warner teams are competitive and generally have no training in medicine. Despite Pop Warner’s attempts to scale back the hits on its teensy players, on the field it doesn’t always work that way. Chris Nowinski, president of a non-profit that researches brain trauma on athletes, said this of coaches: “If you consider the coach is a fool, there are no rules that are foolproof.”
For some parents though, hearing about all these concussions is making them rethink sending their kids out on the field. A recent survey suggest that 57 percent of parents are less likely to have their kids play based on recent news of kids with concussions and injuries sustained on the field. ESPN writes:
Parents in the survey made similar statements. A mom from Maryland said: “I’m afraid of the injuries. I don’t want my son to become too aggressive.” A dad from New Mexico said, “Football is a sport in which severe injuries can happen when a child is not properly coached. Most youth football coaches are concerned only with winning.”
But it’s hard to take the hit out of football—that’s kind of the point of the game. When it comes to the NFL, fans are split on the hard hits. ESPN again:
According to the survey, there is a divide among NFL fans about what to do about the concussion conundrum. Half of NFL fans argue that hard hits need to be minimized to reduce injuries, and the other half say hard hits are what help make the NFL a great game.
“Football is a game of hitting and contact, but what we’re focused on is eliminating unnecessarily dangerous techniques and making the game as safe as possible,” [NFL spokesman Greg Aiello] said. “… There’s a way to make the game safer and more exciting at the same time. It’s been done in the past, and we believe we’re doing it again.”
Whether that hitting and contact should extend to ten-year-olds is another question.
More from Smithsonian.com:
Football Tech to Protect Players
Football or Rugby: Whose Players are Tougher?
Even More Evidence That Football Causes Brain Injury
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10/22/12
POP WARNER STATEMENT
Tantasqua Pop Warner (TPW) is committed to providing fun athletic learning opportunities in football and cheerleading while emphasizing the importance of academic success and sportsmanship. The safety of our players is the forefront of all decisions made by our program. TPW is an all-volunteer organization and comprised exclusively of parents with children in the program. We would like to express our full and continued support for our President and Pee Wee Head coach in light of Central Mass Pop Warner’s (CMPW) ruling. Both have willingly contributed significant time and effort over several years to TPW. Their dedication, along with that of the entire board, helps to ensure that our program provides the best possible opportunities for the TANTASQUA children of our community.
On September 15th , 2012, the Tantasqua Pee Wee football team played the Southbridge Pee Wee football team in Southbridge. Within the first 6 plays, 4 of our players were sidelined due to injuries. They were given on field evaluations by a certified paramedic. At no time did these 4 players re-enter the game. Three were later diagnosed with concussions by medical professionals. The other sustained a shoulder injury. Before the first quarter ended, the score was 28-0. At that time Southbridge had an obligation to abide by the Pop Warner National mercy rules. These rules were not followed and were not enforced by the 3 paid referees. Two players in the second half of the game were sidelined due to injuries. They were given on field evaluations by a certified paramedic. At no time did these 2 players re-enter the game. These 2 players were later diagnosed with concussions by medical professionals. Immediately after the conclusion of this game, ending in 52-0, the TPW Association asked CMPW for an investigation into this game due to the violation of the lopsided rule, a complaint of an improper weigh-in procedure and the actions of the referees. The TPW President was assured the three referees from this game were relieved of any duties involving Pop Warner football games by the CMPW President on September 18th. A hearing into this investigation was conducted on Thursday, October 18th, 2012. The official hearing results in writing were issued Saturday October 19th, 2012. The head coaches of both Tantasqua and Southbridge were suspended for the rest of the 2012 season and will be on probation for the 2013 season. The President of Tantasqua Pop Warner and the President of Southbridge Pop Warner were put on probation for the remainder of the 2012 season and the 2013 season.
The coaching staff of the Tantasqua Pee Wee team has taken all required courses for coaching at the Pop Warner level, including concussion training. The Pee Wee head coach was in his 5th year of coaching for TPW and is a USA football certified coach. In his 5 years of coaching these are the first head injuries of any of his players. We stand behind the Tantasqua Pee Wee teams coaching staff and their capabilities and football knowledge.
Our organization recognizes CMPW’s governing role and will abide by its ruling. We do, however, respectfully disagree with the outcome that was handed down. We regret that the opportunity to address the significant differences between Southbridge’s view on the core values of Pop Warner football and our own was lost.
It is our position that the ad hominem attacks and disparaging remarks made by members of the Southbridge organization are both unwarranted and completely without merit. They show a clear failure to grasp the real issues at hand (the harming of 10-12 year-old children). More importantly, their unwillingness to entertain any responsibility does a great disservice to their players, families and the Southbridge community at large.
Respectfully,
Tantasqua Pop Warner Board
Comment by Parent — October 23, 2012 @ 11:30 am
When there are constant remarks being made about our children that are completly false and when the town of Southbridge is being blamed for bad coaching decisions made by the Sturbridge coach that is a great disservice. It was a huge disservice that a coach had children who were hurt go back out on the field when he was asked if he wanted to stop the game. When the parents of sturbridge who are saying that the Southbridge team was intentionally hurting the Sturbridge kids still allowed their kids on the field thats a disservice. When Sturbridge had every oppurtunity to prove that these accusations were true yet refused thats also a disservice. That Sturbridge parents and coaches leaked all this to the press to intentionally hurt the Southbridge teams reputation thats a disservice. Why doesnt Sturbridge take some responsibility for their actions.
Comment by PARENT ALSO — October 23, 2012 @ 5:18 pm
The information on concussions is shocking and the effects of multiple concussions frightening. Most parents don’t even know how one concussion can impact their child’s whole life. Post concussive syndrome can cause symptoms including headaches, tiredness, and irritability to last for up to a year. But its much more than that- this affects a child’s school, recreation, and relationships. For more information see this link on how concussion can affect children and how to help protect your child: http://neuroconnect.ca/podcasts.html
Comment by Sarah — November 16, 2012 @ 11:11 am