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These players have to start somewhere. A highschool can't eat the cost of multiple helmet replacements.
by rhcom2 8y ago
These players have to start somewhere. A highschool can't eat the cost of multiple helmet replacements.
- poulsbohemian 8y agoAgreed, but the hits my nine year old is making playing pee wee league are significantly different than those happening in college, the CFL, and NFL. In the same way that a pro skier in the backcountry uses very different safety equipment than the person on in-bounds groomed snow. This isn't to say that we shouldn't seek to keep kids as safe as possible, just that I don't see an issue in scaling the equipment (and its costs) relative to the risk.
- jsgo 8y agoAnecdotal, but from what I've heard it tends to be that at the high school and earlier levels hitting is done in a more chaotic manner. Yes, they're not 300-plus pound athletes hitting people, but seems that even in the earlier stages it is detrimental.
- Retric 8y agoIt's also cumulative so someone doing 4 years in HS then stopping is inherently safer than someone that goes to collage and even that's safer than a 5+ year NFL run. Granted far more people play at lower levels but it's reasonable to consider cost benefits for each group. With the option to increase protection for people expected to continue to the next level.
- salvar 8y agoThe average NFL career is 3.3 years, so a HS football stint would actually be longer.
- Retric 8y agoThe average is dragged down by people that stop very quickly. People that stay for 5+ years are at much higher risks than someone that stops at 1. And again that's after 3-4 years in collage and 2-4 years in high-school. So we are talking ~9 years vs up to 26+ when every year is more risky than the last because of cumulative damage.