Concussion concern: Data shows shrinking Pac-12 talent pool
- Thread starter How_did_this_happen?
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I'm sure concussion concerns play a part of it, but the fact remains participation across all sports are down significantly in recent years. The expectation for youth, especially teen boys, to participate in a sport isn't a thing the way it was 20 years ago.
The last line of the article sums up the difference between Pac-12 country and the rest of the P-5:
"Last fall, there were 4,000 more high school football players in Texas than in the entire Pac-12 footprint."
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On a national level lacrosse participation has been flat for awhile. Still growing in Washington.
Those poor kids get whipped in the back on a regular basis. It's very scary
Specialization cuts down the numbers for each sport. Total kids playing at least something probably isn’t down near as much as the drop in numbers per sport.
Cost may have something to do with it also. Schools no longer foot the bill for sports. Pay to play is the norm and kids at or below the poverty line simply can't afford to play. My daughter is in track and cheerleading. Every time she gets on a bus for a game or meet it's a 20 dollar bill.
And to even play high school baseball in today's world typically requires playing travel baseball from age 8 onward ($2500 per season, plus tons of bills for hotels, gas, equipment, etc., with most also having private lessons). Understand that it's similar in other sports, too.
Very different from the world in the 90s where, at least where I grew up, there weren't any travel / club sports, and you just played whatever was in season at the time at minimal cost. There also was a lot of pressure to play football.
Back then, if you didn't play football, you were lame. Today, it seems to be fine, perhaps even preferable, to have sports "not be your thing" and to be into computers, video games, posting stuff on instagram, social justice stuff, or whatever.
There is no politically correct way to say this, so I'll just be blunt.
It is not surprising to me that parents in the west at this time have more serious concern about football and head trauma than parents in much of the SEC and B12 footprint, and that this is evident from HS football participation numbers. We seem to have had a lot more publicity on the subject here, and you can discuss the issue without being seen as being hostile to one of the cultural touchstones where you live. Mention Junior Seau's name to any SoCal football fan and you can skip a whole lot of background, because the circumstances have been discussed exhaustively by the mainstream media. Even the LA Times sports page covers news regarding CTE regularly....it is not only in the front section; it is on the sports page. If you are a PAC area parent of kids playing sports and you actually have a pulse, you can't miss it, and you can't deny it. Dare I draw a parallel to the way the PAC started trying to enforce head shot penalties before the SEC and B12? Sure, they did it inconsistently, but for several years the difference between conference officiating on this issue was stark. Or, switching gears a little, how about absorbing the reality of the whole climate change issue? We may all be in the same nation, but we have a lot of regional differences in terms of how we absorb culture change. And CTE & its relation to HS football participation is, at its heart, as much about culture as it is about health risks. I expect the B12 region to trail 5-10 years behind the PAC on this issue, and the SEC to trail 10-15 years. Every parent loves their kids. Not every parent wants to listen to or understand health risk information...and there are some real cultural barriers in the case of football that go far beyond the simple regional differences.
It is not surprising to me that parents in the west at this time have more serious concern about football and head trauma than parents in much of the SEC and B12 footprint, and that this is evident from HS football participation numbers. We seem to have had a lot more publicity on the subject here, and you can discuss the issue without being seen as being hostile to one of the cultural touchstones where you live. Mention Junior Seau's name to any SoCal football fan and you can skip a whole lot of background, because the circumstances have been discussed exhaustively by the mainstream media. Even the LA Times sports page covers news regarding CTE regularly....it is not only in the front section; it is on the sports page. If you are a PAC area parent of kids playing sports and you actually have a pulse, you can't miss it, and you can't deny it. Dare I draw a parallel to the way the PAC started trying to enforce head shot penalties before the SEC and B12? Sure, they did it inconsistently, but for several years the difference between conference officiating on this issue was stark. Or, switching gears a little, how about absorbing the reality of the whole climate change issue? We may all be in the same nation, but we have a lot of regional differences in terms of how we absorb culture change. And CTE & its relation to HS football participation is, at its heart, as much about culture as it is about health risks. I expect the B12 region to trail 5-10 years behind the PAC on this issue, and the SEC to trail 10-15 years. Every parent loves their kids. Not every parent wants to listen to or understand health risk information...and there are some real cultural barriers in the case of football that go far beyond the simple regional differences.
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Speaking of being politically incorrect...
Anyone see the Dave Chappelle Sticks and Stones show on Netflix?
I was crying because I was laughing so hard on this segment...
I wouldn't deny that the fear of CTE has probably taken some BCS level talent off the field. However, I don't agree that it's a big number. So you're down 4,000 bodies. Be honest, how many of them have the DNA to play BCS football???? 10? 20?
High school teams aren't losing masses of top end players, they're losing the bottom 15 players. The kids you lose to playing Fortnite weren't gonna make plays for you on Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
High school teams aren't losing masses of top end players, they're losing the bottom 15 players. The kids you lose to playing Fortnite weren't gonna make plays for you on Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
I think there’s some truth to this. Reality is that the kids who are giving up the actual game to play the virtual version probably weren’t really playing anyway. As evidence, I look to the fact that for easily 20 years there are stories about our own players having virtual tournaments. I remember Leaf talking about playing Madden ‘95 against Birnbaum into the wee hours. The only thing that has changed is the games. It’s not a one or the other scenario - the kids who want to play both, do. The ones who aren’t making it on the field turn to the screen.
As far as the 4,000 bodies and CTE fears, this is the leading edge. So far we’re just seeing the kids who’ve given up football since this became a major discussion point. We haven’t really started to see yet the number of kids whose parents never let them start playing as peewees. The decline is going to get bigger.
There needs to be some technology developed with helmets that can reduce the impact. Or absorb it. Somehow, someway make hits to the head less impactful.
If Im being honest, there really isn't any reason for kids to be playing tackle football before middle school. They're probably not coached well, they're probably not going out there knowing what they're doing. It's a recipe for disaster. You wind up with two different 10 year old kids running rough shod over 11 scared 10 year olds on defense. Those reps don't matter. They're not going to impact your future one way or the other. 11 year olds aren't going to remember the play book so they can be involved with more complicated schemes in high school.
There is more risk than reward in playing ball that young. IMO.
For the most part, that’s probably true. And it probably works out that a lot of the kids who dominate those teams and leagues don’t improve, and disappear when everyone else catches up physically.
Probably better to keep them in non-contact sports until 12-13, so they can learn the basics of the game and start to understand positions and roles, and how to play with others. But you have to balance it with their size. If you wait too long to teach them how to tackle, they’re bigger and do more damage when they do it wrong.
With specialization, 7x7 leagues, speed and agility training etc the quality of play is improving with smaller numbers. I believe this to be true for all sports.
If you teach kids how to tackle correctly and rep it, you won't have a problem regardless of age. Big or small, leading with your head is gonna be a problem.
Here is the 100,000 question....how many hits did Hillinski take from 8 to 18. While at wsu in his three years he probably took less than five blows. His case will answer more than Junior Seau , Fred McNeil and the like.
Agree. I read somewhere that there is a correlation between the frequency of CTE and the age one started playing football. Cannot remember if it was determined that insufficient coaching or the particular stage of brain development was the cause but there was a definite relationship.
Sorry, didn't catch how they headlined the video.
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Yes. Californians, Oregonians, and Washingtonians aren't having babies like Texans. Lots of school districts are reducing staff to make up for lower enrollments.
Also, the booming Texas economy has led to significant population growth there.
Californians abandoning their high-tax/high-cost state for The Republic of Texas.
