No but played through 8th grade. The kids at my high school were so tough that they were hurting the other teams so there was no program when I was there.

I'd let my kid play.

No ban.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

i'd let my kids play football; but i wouldn't let them take analyst jobs with ESPN afterward. gotta put my foot down there.

Danny said last week eventually football will be banned by high schools but NFL and college will be fine because AAU teams will just pop up. You wont be able to have college football without high school football.

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1. I played Freshmen and Sophomore year, was a 5' 11" 170 lb defensive linemen and while I was ok, I wasn't growing (still the same size). Plus, I was also in the theater department and realized I liked being one of four straight guys hanging around many, many girls (I liked the odds) and figured (correctly) that I had a higher probability of getting a theater scholarship through my set & lighting design work than playing football.
2. I'm years away from this issue, but right now I'd lean towards no, but every sport has its issues (soccer also has an emerging concussion issue, cheerleading is dangerous, swimming can lead to breathing issues among other problems) but I do not necessarily want my kids to focus on one sport/activity because I do not want to burn them out no matter how good they may become at the sport. I think the repetition causes damage physically and psychologically. I'm hoping better research and equipment leads to safer practices not just in football but all sports.
3. I think this is more the parent's responsibility, but alas parents tend to be dumb especially when dollar signs are in their heads.

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Yes, played 4 years in HS for a VERY small school- we had 13 players on varsity team my Sr year.

Yes, oldest son played four years of HS, younger son played 1 year, got concussed and broken ribs, chose soccer from then on. (My daughter is in eighth grade, projected to be 6'7" and 270 lbs, getting letters from Big 10 schools).

If the schools can keep the programs going, have at it. My son's school had 36 boys out the first year my oldest was there, 5 years later the team was down to 16 and played 8 man football this year. Just talked to the AD last night, two more local public schools have switched to 8 man for next year- there is a "group" of 16 small schools within about 50 miles, 8 to play 8 man, 8 to play 11 man, all agree to schedule together as the enrollments allow. the 8 man game is more like arena ball, I saw very few hard hits this year and lots of open spaces.

Holy cow. How tall are you and her mom?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Agreed, can we get more of this story?

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

That's false. AAU already matters more for college basketball. As long as free college and a shot at millions is waiting in the NFL it will be fine.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

The just retired winningest coach in college football history at St. John's University in Minnesota had a policy of not hitting in practice throughout his 63 year run. He thought it was a key to keeping kids healthy.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

1. I only played Freshman ball when I lived in WI. I played TE, DE, kicked and punted. I really loved it and
wasn't too bad. We moved to IL my sophmore year and golf and football are in the fall here. Golf was a spring
sport in WI for boys. I lettered in golf 4 years and stuck with it although I wanted to quit senior year and play
football with my friends but my parents talked me out of it.

2. I would let my kids play, although I don't think I will ever need to make that choice. No plans on kids.

3. I don't think it should be banned. One thing we may see is have the parents pay a fee to let the kids play
if they don't already do that. It is a relatively harmless game if you teach the kids how to tackle right. Yeah
you will get a broken arm or fingers but that is usually the extent of it, especially before high school. It is a
valuable bonding experience for young men I think. I played with kids from all kinds of backgrounds I wouldn't
normally associate with and got a lot out of the teamwork it takes to play on a team. I think that can be said for
most team sports of course but football is a bit more primal.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

What a valid point you make in answering the 3rd question. In coaching 6th and 7th grade football for 6 seasons, I have seen many a kid that wasn't with the main clique perse of friends. By the end of the football year they are part of that group, it has done a lot for kids and there social settings and groups of friends.

_________________
2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

Football should be banned for Jason Campbell.

Kids that age are tough to get through to but they also tend to take others under their wing even if they
aren't in their normal social clique. If nothing else football is good to help young men grow and learn about
others. I am not trying to make it some big social end all be all but for those that go through it usually come out
with a good experience and some new friends.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

If kids play Bears football, it's just fine. They will never come in contact with anyone else on the field unless they play QB.

Only way it is feasible is if 1aa, D2 and NAIA went away. You would also have to cut probably another 12 teams from D1. Football is way more expensive to run and operate than an AAU basketball team. Plus you need 3 or 4 times more kids. Plus there is a good amount of D1 kids who never play football before high school due to weight restrictions in Junior High.

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D1 would be fine. People will line up for scholarships. D2 would probably be fine too, though some may drop out for insurance reasons. The others probably go away, but that's because of insurance fears but who cares. Division 3 sports don't matter.

As long as you can go to college for free for playing football there will be kids all over the country wanting to play.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Football should go to 7v7 or 8v8.

Wanting to play and affording to play are two different things. Hockey is a free source of college income too, but not nearly as many people play hockey due to the expenses involved. Not that it matters since football will never leave high schools.

Division Three sports matter a lot to the institutions that have them. It is a source of income.

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College hockey exists and flourishes in areas that care about it. That's a bad example, since hockey at most college is club level anyways. I should be the one citing hockey, not you. College hockey survives without a strong high school based system. So will football, when it's banned everywhere but Texas and the South.
Not to anyone else. The NFL, and college football wouldn't miss a beat if Division 3 football didn't exist.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Hockey is a terrible example for you. There are only 59 D1 Hockey Teams. 6 D2 teams and 72 D3 teams. SO a total of 65 teams that offer scholarships. A far cry from college football numbers.

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I disagree. The reason there isn't more hockey is because it's just not that popular in the United States. Those numbers are pretty good given where hockey exists in our society.

I'm pretty sure if the 4th most popular sport in America can survive without a high school system, the most popular sport can survive without a high school system.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!