Louis Gerny Ms. Burman Expo-Comp/ Block E 2 November 2015 Argumentative Essay Rough Draft How would you feel, as a parent, watching your child get hit by another child on the football field, pass out, and have to be rushed to the hospital? No parent or child, for that matter, would ever want to be put through the trauma of that situation. However, this exact event is based on a true story, one of a 13 year old on the Chaminade Middle School tackle football team. I was on that team with him. The facts are there. If children are able to play tackle football at young ages, the risks are significantly higher for them to suffer a concussion and start the downward spiral of brain conditions that can come. We cannot prevent children from playing …show more content…
Some may say that young children need exercise and football is one of the most popular sports. I completely agree that children should not be restricted to not being able to play sports. That is why flag football was created. Flag football is the safer alternative that allows children to develop cognitive ability without the risks of degenerative brain conditions. Flag football allows children to prepare for full contact when their bodies are ready. If, at age 14, they are ready to put on the pads and move to tackle, they should be allowed to. Additionally, children are able to get physical conditioning, without the threat of danger. Sprinting, change of direction, and back pedaling all assist in developing speed, agility, and an improved overall physical condition while playing and practicing flag football. These important skills are necessary in playing tackle football, so why not master them before moving to the real thing. Even the professionals are only allowed two days a week in full pads and contact for player safety, according to the NFL Players Association (Solomon). If the physically matured men of the NFL are only allowed two practices in pads, why are most kids practicing four to five days a week with full contact at young ages, as I once did in middle school? The benefits of tackle football are simply not worth the detrimental effects that can