Confession

Confession:   I’m a Football Mom

I admit it, I allow my fourteen year old son to play football.  In addition, I taxi him to and from practice, wash his uniform, and, under duress, attend his games.  In short, I enable. For some, this isn’t much of a confession.  In fact, when reading what other blogs had to say about tweens/teens playing football, I came across more than a few discussions on whether a parent should make their son play football.  Now, that was an eye opener.  My social circles are generally made up of highly educated, left leaning, better safe than sorry style parents.  Most of the mothers and many of the fathers forbid their sons to play football and made that decision before the sons were born.  I can certainly understand why.  Football is pretty brutal fare.  I never watch it on TV although I’ve had indirect exposure to it every fall for over 25 years, the length of my marriage.   My personal investment in football is nonexistent.  If I had my druthers, my son would swim, run, row, do any sport where there is no touching.  But he is a boy in the US, and a rather strapping lad at that, so despite my encouragement, guidance, and manipulation over the years, he wants to play football.

I have no fear that being a “football player” will turn Liam into an aggressive, insensitive, unintelligent lout.  His father played high school and some Division III college football and he turns that stereotype on it’s head.  It’s similar to when my sons were younger and played with sticks, toy guns,wooden swords, and the toy soldiers their grandparents repeatedly snuck into the house.  I knew they wouldn’t grow up to be war loving killers, and, so far they haven’t.

I am afraid that he will get hurt or that he will hurt someone else.  The fact is that serious injuries can take place on the football field.   I can argue that concussions and other injuries happen in all sports.  There is even evidence that forgoing team sports and engaging in individual recreational activities like bike riding, skateboarding, ice skating, and sledding may be even more dangerous www.wwgh.com/search/webpages/facts/sports .  Personally, I would never have a trampoline in my yard.  However, in making the decision to allow my child to be on a football team, I need to honest and acknowledge that statistics and common sense point to football being a riskier venture than most kid’s activities.  I also need to think about my child’s individual needs and personality style as well as the makeup of the team, the character of the coaches, and the values promulgated by the Pop Warner league.

Amazingly, there were discussions of football safety on both PBS http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/football-high/admist-concern-about-head-injuries-pop-warner-issues-new-practice-rules/  and NPR http://www.npr.org/2012/06/07/154509586/is-football-safe-for-young-players this past summer.  Of course, I caught both shows without even trying.   (I already told you about the circles I hang with).  I learned that Pop Warner www.popwarner.com has ramped up the safety requirements far beyond anything that has existed before.  Also, Pop Warner does not honor athletes for feats on the field, but they do give awards to football players and cheerleaders for academic achievement.  My son had to submit a report card with a C average in order to join. Liam’s coaches personify the terrific values espoused by the larger organization.  They are encouraging, patient, kind, fun, and fair when losing or winning.  They love both football and kids.  Liam, suffering from early adolescent angst, hormone driven aggression and moodiness, has benefitted enormously from the physically challenging workouts and the influence of his “Unlimited” team coaches.  He has come home banged up and bruised on the outside a few times, but inside, he couldn’t be better.