Cassidy Titchenell

Tasche Bryant
Writing 104
October 7, 2016

Practice Hard, Tackle Harder

The mentality that can potentially lead to long-term effects and positive work ethics
within football players.
Football, with over 300,000 children playing in the United States alone is easily
one of the most popular existing sports today. It is the sport where children,
adolescents and adults learn positive fundamentals thatll help them in all aspects of
life. However, it is also the sport that is capable of hurting them later on through injuries
and damage to the brain. If one has ever played football, they know how helpful it can
be but do they know how dangerous it can be, as well?

POSITIVE MENTALITIES WITHIN PLAYERS

I cant imagine a me without
football, expresses six year tackle football
player for the Oakwood Raiders (OR) and
Fairlawn Cardinals (FC), Colin Titchenell, 13,
when asked about the significance about
football in his life.
For countless young athletes, like Titchenell, football is what makes their life complete.
Waking up everyday, going to school, actually paying attention in class and doing
homework are commonly motivated by practice later that evening or an upcoming
game.
Football tends to serve players as an outlet in which they undergo physical and
mental challenges, implicating that not all are cut out for the strenuous intensity of such

a sport. While the challenges of football may be tough, the beneficial mental skills
developed by players are often rewarding as they continue to serve the players on and
off the field in classrooms, extracurricular activities, social situations, and generally, in
life.

Sociality and Friendships

For some, being outgoing in social situations or around unknown people can be
tricky at times. Commonly, prior to football, players struggle with finding their voices
and spots in life. Charles E. Shea High football player, Dominic Navarro, 17, admits
that without football, a considerable amount of the friends he currently has would be
strangers whom he would otherwise never have connected with. Similar to Navarros
situation, numerous players are able to build firm relationships with others prompted by
the common interest of football.
Additionally, quiet players originally new to football, like Titchenell and Justis
Lotti, 14, seven year tackle football player for the OR and FC, agree that football has
evolved them into open-minded people, who have been pushed tremendously out of
their comfort zones. Due to the physical contact and mental sensibility of football,
players are involuntarily exposed to certain situations that makes them more conscious
and responsive of others, ultimately sparking a sense of confidence and
spontaneousness from within.

Aggression and Control

As the intensely physical sport that football is,
undoubtedly a peak in aggression is expected to arise. In

fact, a survey conducted by the NFL (National Football League) in 2014, it was found that
21% of arrests in the nation were due to violent assaults, compared to a 48% violent
arrest rate for NFL players, signifying that football does lead to a spike of aggression,
(Diamond). While hostile personalities can be negative, a number of players
acknowledged that football has helped them positively channel their anger, rather than
promote it. Participants have noted that they tend to detain their frustration amounting
throughout the day until they go to
practice or a game, where they are able
to productively release said anger.
Reflecting on his football days,
Kyle Segalla, 13, former Darlington
Braves tackle and OR flag football player
confesses that previous to playing, he
had issues controlling his temper,
resulting in rage, pushing, and occasional fighting. Yet after football Segalla notes that
he is able to actively restrain his temper, suggesting that football has the ability to
increase the control players have on their mood(s).

Persistence and Motivation

Dont be afraid to be great, states 3 year football player for the Central Falls
Panthers (CFP) and Central Falls High (CFH), Joshua Fernandezs, 16, coach at practices
and games. Institutionalizing the belief to strive for greatness, coaches are able to
stress the importance of persistence within players through motivation.

Football has the ability to serve as an

incentive for players to do well in their
academics so that they have a reserved
position on their teams and/or to not get
kicked off. For instance, Elijah Harrop, 13,
CFP football player of 9 years claims, For
me, football has made me want to stay out
of trouble so that I know I can play. I try not
to let my grades and schoolwork determine if I play or not. Id rather let my skills
[dictate] that. Learning topics in school quicker due to having experience of swiftly
comprehending plays and instructions in football also improves players performances
in school. As a matter of fact, over the past ten years the NCAA, National Collegiate
Athletic Association, claims that the rate of ineligible student success in education and
sports has decreased 40%. In other words, over the past decade, student-athletes have
improved their academics by 40%, implicating that their sport has impacted that
increase.
Along with driving players to exceedingly perform in their education, this contact
sport pushes players to persist when faced with physical challenges. Rather than hide
behind fear, players use their obtained confidence to step out of the shadows that once

defined them to be less afraid of tackling opponents or opportunity, nudging them

towards success.

Distractions
In the midst of promoting persistence, control, sociality, and more, football can
also serve as a distraction within players. Positively, football can steer players away
from negative aspects of the world, such as gangs and drugs, keeping those who
participate off of the streets and busy with practices and games.
Despite the number of positive skills football enlightens, participants, such as
Navarro, Lotti, Harrop, DosSantos, and Titchenell admit to football occasionally being a
poor distraction for them in class. In fact, Lotti claims, Sometimes [in class] Ill daze off
thinking about football. Additionally, other players agree that football can be
accountable for detentions received since they are too busy arguing with other peers
about whose team is better, statistics and more.

(LONG TERM) HEALTH EFFECTS

While football may offer an abundance of positive
attributes to players, conversely, there are also numerous
health effects tackle football can have on its participants,
particularly players who begin playing at a young age.

Tackling

The number one cause for injury within football players: Tackling. With at least
240 hits per season, the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) found that 41% of
injuries result directly from tackling, making contact the most common method of
injury. Concussions1 and Injuries
Due to the the severe physical nature of football, one would typically agree that
football, at all levels, is dangerous. Whether it be adolescents, teenagers, or NFL players
playing, football is a sport in which people can be injured through tackling, running,
catching, etc. While some injuries one may sustain are less critical than others, an injury
can still have a substantial impact on the life of an athlete.
Based off of the test results of 42 former NFL players, researches at Boston
Universitys School of Medicine concluded that players who were submitted to tackle
football prior to age 12 exhibited a greater impairment of memory, intelligence and
mental flexibility, (Moran). Football participants under the ages of 10-12 are at an
increased risk for brain injuries later in life as their brains are at a critical time of growth
and development where connections between neurons are rapidly building and the
hippocampus2 is expanding, yet such processes tend to be impaired from repetitive
blows to the head via football.
Additionally, younger children of elementary and middle school age, are more
susceptible to neck injury since they lack neck strength, making it easier for
adolescents to get injuries, such as fractures, dislocations and concussions. Serious

Concussion: temporary disruption in brain activity due to a sudden blow to the head

Hippocampus: section of brain responsible for memory, emotion, nervous system

injuries occurring in football are defined by 13% compared to other sports (0%-3%),
(AAP). Neck injuries tend to be sprains, contusions and cervical spine fractures, along
with spinal cord injuries that can later lead to permanent neurologic damage.

While some may believe that younger football players are at an increased risk of
injury when compared to older players since they have less experience, it has been
suggested that older players are more prone to injury and
concussion since they are physically bigger, stronger and
faster so when they tackle other players, the impact is more
forceful. According to a study, Badgeley et al 2013 observing
high school football players from 100 different high school, it
has been found that older players account for nearly half
(46.2%) of all injuries occurring in football, (AAP). Thus

suggesting that high school football is increasingly more dangerous than youth
football.

Potential Prevention
Tackling, running and other components of football easily make it quite
hazardous for players, yet with proper technique, proper equipment and a few other
tweaks, the number of injuries and concussions players are forced to sustain may
decrease.
The banning of tackling leading with the crown of the head, known as spear
tackling in 1976 lead to a decrease in the number of catastrophic cervical spine injuries
and should continue to be avoided by defensive players , (AAP). Along with tackling
using the Heads Up method, it is been proposed that players do not begin tackle
football until they are a bit older and fully developed as it will promote growth and lower
the number of impacts.
Unfavorably, another way to prevent injury is by decreasing contact during
practices to limit the number of impacts players receive. Broglia et al, a study on high
school football players, found that the number of blows players receive can be reduced
by 18% if hitting drills are restricted to once a week, (AAP). Organizations, such as Pop
Warner have already implemented that contact drills are only permitted for about 1/3 (2
hours) of practice hours each week.
Despite tackling being a major component of football, it is also the key element
affecting players, so it is crucial that different approaches are taken in the future to
protect the football players of America.

Taking in all that football has to offer, such as the variety of mental skills
suggesting a strong work ethic and how football can negatively impact the players who
endure it, it is time to ask oneself, is football really worth it?

Cassidy Titchenell
Tasche Bryant
Writing 104
October 7, 2016
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