Football High (Coach John MegaFan Request)
Added 2024-12-08 22:49:00 +0000 UTCIn the United States, more high school students play football than any other sport. What can we do to keep football fun and challenging, but make it safer? As the film portrays, the desire to win in high school sports can sometimes be at odds with the health and well-being of the athletes.
Comments
High school operates in division levels by school size. So a school of 300 is likely 1A. Larger populated divisions get up to 5 or even 6A.
Travis Farley
2024-12-10 18:56:07 +0000 UTCDr. Bennett Omalu was the doc you guys were talking about (I'm commenting as I'm watching haha)
Pete Finch
2024-12-09 04:17:00 +0000 UTCAt my HS (a large one on Long Island, NY), we had over 2,000 students. Sounds like a lot, but looking back there weren't many people that didn't know each other even across the 4 grades (freshman/sophomore/junior/senior). Also, those megachurches are terrifying and a lot of those dudes end up being real scam artists
Pete Finch
2024-12-09 03:52:51 +0000 UTC"I'm 17, I have the rest of my life to worry about pain." And they will. Cervical herniated discs where you think about your neck pain every second of the day with radiculopathy where you can barely feel your hands isn't too fun
Pete Finch
2024-12-09 03:42:46 +0000 UTCI'm not proud of it now that I've had years out of high school, but if you play any other sport during the Fall/Autumn season than football as a guy, we all just assume you couldn't make the team (or were too scared to play). Soccer is also a fall sport here and you'd be lucky to get anyone but the players' families to show up to those games. Nobody in the school even knows who's on the soccer team, and the soccer players don't brag about it because it means they're not on the football team/couldn't hack it/were too scared to get hit. The concussion problem is very real. I played with three future NFL players, including one who made 3 pro bowls. I got my bell rung to the point of completely blacking out many times. One time I puked on the sidelines and couldn't keep my balance, and still went back in after a quarter or so. I can't even begin to describe what that type of headache feels like. I went on to do well academically, getting several advanced/doctoral degrees and accompanying licenses but everything hurts all the time ever since those days. I'm waiting for my brain to start to go now that I'm on the wrong side of 40. This video is excellent - I still wish you guys had been able to upload League of Denial too!
Pete Finch
2024-12-09 02:25:52 +0000 UTCHello guys. I saw at the end of your reaction you asked me two questions directly and are looking for a response. Having coached both high school and junior high school American football for the past twenty years in a very hot state in the Deep South, I believe I can provide answers. The first one was about training (we call practice) in the late summer when temperatures often get over 40C. In my state (Alabama) our state athletics association has mandated rules about heat conditions. At my school the students start classes at 8 a.m. For our football players their first class is 'athletics' - which is a physical education course. What we do when we receive the weekly weather forecast is on days the temperature is expected to be above 30C we turn on the lights at the stadium and start practice at 6 am when it is much cooler. Practice runs until 8:30 am, then the boys shower and get dressed for the rest of their classes. Under 30C we practice after school. We also have full time medical trainers standing by and stock pools with water and ice standing by on the practice field sidelines throughout training. As for head injuries we have a strict concussion protocol when a student suffers a head injury, and helmets today have an extra layer below the hard shell with absorption foam (much like helmets worn by NASCAR drivers) to mitigate sub-concussive brain traumas. The data provided by the helmet manufacturers shows that they work, but it is too soon to say how effective they are from medical researchers.
Coach John
2024-12-08 23:56:56 +0000 UTC
