Keeping Youth Football

Teamwork. Dedication. Hard work. Overcoming adversity. All qualities of a successful person ready to contribute to society. But how do we come to acquire these qualities? Life experiences? Or does it happen earlier in life? I choose to believe in the latter, because of youth sports, most notably youth football.


Youth football first came to my community 11 years ago when I was entering my fifth grade year. We had a plethora of kids that signed up, and teams were split up by grade level. Third and fourth grades together, and fifth and sixth grades together. Our coaches point of emphasis was teaching the basic fundamentals of the game, not on winning, the only people who thought about winning games was us kids. This is what made our program a success. Pretty soon we had two sets of teams for each grade level.


Football is the ultimate audition for the real world for young men, because football is the ultimate team game. It is no driven by individuals like baseball or basketball. It takes all 11 guys on the field to drive the ball down the field for a touchdown. In football, in order to ensure success, you must focus on your job while knowing that your teammates our going to do their job. Sounds like a model for a successful work place right?


But as we all know the main aspect of football is dealing with adversity time and time again. Adversity on the football fields comes in many forms such as the weather, losing, and constantly being hit to the ground. Then comes the moment of truth, do you get up or lie down and quit. It's the moment of truth that is witnessed by everyone from your family, friends, and community members. You are on the stage that is the football field for everyone to see, just like the real world. Also just like football, the real world is met by constant adversity, and how you respond is witnessed by all.


The future of this game is currently in flux. The concussion epidemic has caused parents to question their kids safety while participating in this sport. President Barrack Obama has said publicly that if he had a son he would have to think twice about him playing football. Many people blame it on the violent nature of the game or the media sensationalizing big hits, but they could not be further from the truth.


As a former player I can say that without a doubt everything I did out on the football field was a result of how my coaches told me to play. Coaches are ultimately responsible for player conduct on the field, as a result we should be pointing the finger at the coaches on this issue. Obviously fundamentals are being thrown out the window because if people were tackling the correct way concussions would be reduced.

This can be accomplished if coaches at the higher levels of play would take pride in what they do, and reintroduce the proper fundamentals of the way the game is to be played. Just like at the youth level. Youth football has provided an ever growing number of us with a valuable skill set to place us on a track of success. I feel I can confidently say that I am not the only one who feels a tremendous amount of debt toward this sport of football, and hope that it can regain its popularity and participation numbers at all levels continue to grow.