I hesitated to mention football in my original post, because I know it is controversial here on HN. I'm not ignorant to the risks. The key things that I think a

I hesitated to mention football in my original post, because I know it is controversial here on HN. I'm not ignorant to the risks. The key things that I think are relevant to this discussion on teens are: -- Playing sports or other group participative activities is so good for them on every level. As the article points out, declining participation is a concern. -- Every activity has risk. Helping kids learn to assess that risk and not be afraid of the world is important in their emotional and mental growth, IE: learning to overcome fears and take calculated risks.