? re: Kids playing Youth Football

[gator]

I have a 9-year old that has been wanting to play tackle youth football, and I'm not sure it's such a good idea, mainly because I don't want to burn him out on football now to where he won't want to play in middle school & high school. Also, I'm not sure about his physical & mental maturity to handle the time commitment it takes to play football. I know that some football players (ie Peyton Manning, etc.) weren't allowed to play until they were in middle school, but I wanted to get some feedback from the board on whether it's a good idea to let young kids play youth tackle football. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

[o21putt]

IMO, it would be best if he waited until he is at least 12 years old. There are just too many reasons to list here that would be to his benefit to wait until he is a little bit older. Most kids that play at the younger ages, it is because of the parents. Football will still be there in a couple of years and he needs to grow and develop into it.

[DelTavian]

Amen.

 

I spent 5 years coaching little league football and followed a group of kids from 8 and under to 8th grade. My boy will be 10 in November and I haven't let him play yet. He's played baseball 1 year and basketball 2. It's bothering him this year. If he does what I ask between now and next year he can play next year.

 

I do not believe there is 1 benefit to football under the 11-12 year old teams.

 

But.....they do buy a lot of pictures.

 

DL.

[KWoodroof]

Amen.

 

I spent 5 years coaching little league football and followed a group of kids from 8 and under to 8th grade. My boy will be 10 in November and I haven't let him play yet. He's played baseball 1 year and basketball 2. It's bothering him this year. If he does what I ask between now and next year he can play next year.

 

I do not believe there is 1 benefit to football under the 11-12 year old teams.

 

But.....they do buy a lot of pictures.

 

DL.

I played Jr. Pro football from 8 until I started 7th grade football at MBA. I thought it was a great experience, although we're talking about kids' football from '69-'72. We practiced 3 nights a week and played a 7 game season. I understand the commitment is much greater now: the game seems to be less for the kids and more for the adults running it.

 

If my parents had held me out until I was 12, I would have had a most 3 years to play, as I just didn't get very big. I would have lost at least my first year, because everyone else had significant experience.

 

My advice is that if the boy wants to play, let him play. Don't worry about high school football at this age. He could be injured between now and then, lose interest in the game, be "size challenged", or any of a million other things that could come up between now and then. This is one of those few times when you should live for today, not the future.

[Solomon]

Another piece of advice I can throw out is that if you are a bit worried about playing contact football is a flag football league. The time committment isn't as rough usually, and he can still learn the non hitting fundamentals. It's actually quite fun to watch.

[cobrajet]

I think it is good for kids to start sports in the youth programs because they have alot of fun .I coached youth football for years and I can give several reasons to allow them to play.1st there is some kids that have a mom only and need a male influance in there life at a young age2nd it teaches kids to play togeather and make other friends.3rd it helps to develope personel responsibility and you are never to young to learn that.4thkids that have been playing youth sports for some time have a advantage over most kids when they enter middle school because theyalready know the basics at the sport they have played there are exceptions some kids learn quick but most will stay behind because the coaches will concentrate on the kids that know how to play because time is limited before the season starts.Where I coach we teach football on what the highschool program uses so they are used to the system.My kids have played football and baseball since they wee 7 years old and still play at the highschool level and still have fun.

[MrChattanoogaFootball]

Check out the program. Some are bad some are good. Do what you feel is right.

There are a million reasons not and a million reasons that are good. It is just like anything esle you have good programs and bad programs, you check them out.

 

For every Payton Manning that did not play, there is a Walter Payton that did play. Remember youth SPORTS is not a professional training ground it is for FUN only.

Edited August 31, 2006 by ramtrain

[cegator]

I played Jr. Pro football from 8 until I started 7th grade football at MBA. I thought it was a great experience, although we're talking about kids' football from '69-'72. We practiced 3 nights a week and played a 7 game season. I understand the commitment is much greater now: the game seems to be less for the kids and more for the adults running it.

 

If my parents had held me out until I was 12, I would have had a most 3 years to play, as I just didn't get very big. I would have lost at least my first year, because everyone else had significant experience.

 

My advice is that if the boy wants to play, let him play. Don't worry about high school football at this age. He could be injured between now and then, lose interest in the game, be "size challenged", or any of a million other things that could come up between now and then. This is one of those few times when you should live for today, not the future.

I would say I agree!! If the boy wants to play then let him. I don't think parents should force kids to play sports. But should encourage them to play. I come from an area that did not have Youth football like we do here in TN. All we had were Pop Warner Leagues and Boy's Clubs. These groups were good but they had a hard weight limit. kids couldn't weight over say 120 pounds. And there were no Middle School Football. That ment that the bigger kids in 2-8 grades didn't play football until the reached High School. That hurt a lot of kids. They didn't have the fundamentals of other kids. I have seen were kids wait until they reach 7th or 8th grade to start playing. They struggle big time trying to catch up. And don't start unless they are a great athlete.

It is true that you as a Parent can burn a kid out. But that can happen in any sport. Be it Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Chearleading, whatever. The Parent can't push it down a kids throat. I was one that would let my kids play whatever they wanted. But if you start a sport then your going to finish the season. If you don't like it or you don't want to play next season then that was fine. They tried it and if they don't like it then fine. Now we Know!!!

As far as football if the parents are on the smaller size then more than likely the kid will be small. And if the kid likes football. Then start him out early and get the fundamentals. Don't wait till he is in Middle or High School to go out and not have a possitive experence. Then he might quit on something that he has loved from afar because he wasn't taught how to play. Playing on the playground isn't the same as when you put pads on. So let him learn young and enjoy the experience when he get's older.

[5-Sport Dad]

I would say I agree!! If the boy wants to play then let him. I don't think parents should force kids to play sports. But should encourage them to play. I come from an area that did not have Youth football like we do here in TN. All we had were Pop Warner Leagues and Boy's Clubs. These groups were good but they had a hard weight limit. kids couldn't weight over say 120 pounds. And there were no Middle School Football. That ment that the bigger kids in 2-8 grades didn't play football until the reached High School. That hurt a lot of kids. They didn't have the fundamentals of other kids. I have seen were kids wait until they reach 7th or 8th grade to start playing. They struggle big time trying to catch up. And don't start unless they are a great athlete.

It is true that you as a Parent can burn a kid out. But that can happen in any sport. Be it Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Chearleading, whatever. The Parent can't push it down a kids throat. I was one that would let my kids play whatever they wanted. But if you start a sport then your going to finish the season. If you don't like it or you don't want to play next season then that was fine. They tried it and if they don't like it then fine. Now we Know!!!

As far as football if the parents are on the smaller size then more than likely the kid will be small. And if the kid likes football. Then start him out early and get the fundamentals. Don't wait till he is in Middle or High School to go out and not have a possitive experence. Then he might quit on something that he has loved from afar because he wasn't taught how to play. Playing on the playground isn't the same as when you put pads on. So let him learn young and enjoy the experience when he get's older.

 

Very, VERY well said. Especially the bold part.

[gator]

bump

[Purple & Gold Standard]

I have a son who is now in the 8th grade..He has played organized football since the 2nd grade....He played flag in the 2nd and 3rd grade and moved to tackle in the 4th....I think as far as teaching them the concept of being on a team and the hard work that comes with playing football,it's invaluable...Now,the teams my son played on won all the time so, it was different with him,he had a tremendous amount of fun in those years...I don't know how it would have been had he been on one of the teams we beat all the time....One drawback is injuries...My son had a strained MCL in the 5th grade...That's an awful early age to have such an injury...Noone knows for sure how that will affect him on into his high school years...Right now he still wears a brace on the knee...He shows no ill effects of the injury at this time....It also was a bonus for his junior high coach...Our coach didn't have to spend one whole day teaching kids how to put their uniforms on...He also didn't have to spend much time teaching the boys plays since their junior league coach used the same playbook and terminology as the junior high coach used....As far as I'm concerned my son got burned out quicker with baseball...He only played 7 or 8 football games a year,where he has been playing 40,50 sometimes more baseball games a year for the last 3 or 4 years...I think you have to take into account not only the child's maturity level but also his/her mental and physical abilities....I've seen some parents trot really small for their age kids out on a football field and those younguns get dang near killed...So,really the onus is on the parent to know their child and decide what is in the child's best interest....I'm all for teaching a kid the meaning of how it feels to win and lose games at an early age...I'm all for teaching kids at an early age that if they set goals and they work hard enough they can reach those goals...But football IS NOT for everyone....

[Eddie]

My son is in the 5th grade (11 yrs. old) and wanted to play football. We enrolled him in the i9 Flag League and he loves it. He's still a little un-coordinated, but is having the time of his life running, throwing and catching. It's a pretty good alternative to contact FB and if he still loves it in a couple of years, he'll go out for the junior high team.