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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
In an investigation of head impact burden and change in neurocognitive function during a season of youth football, researchers find that sub-concussive impacts are not correlated with worsening performance in neurocognitive function.
[...] A research team, led by Sean Rose, MD, pediatric sports neurologist and co-director of the Complex Concussion Clinic at Nationwide Children's Hospital, followed 112 youth football players age 9-18 during the 2016 season in a prospective study.
"When trying to determine the chronic effects of repetitive sub-concussive head impacts, prospective outcomes studies are an important complement to the existing retrospective studies," says Dr. Rose. "In this study of primary school and high school football players, a battery of neurocognitive outcomes tests did not detect any worsening of performance associated with cumulative head impacts."
[...] In their secondary analysis, they found that younger age and reported history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) predicted score changes on several cognitive testing measures and parent-reported ADHD symptoms. Additionally, a reported history of anxiety or depression predicted changes in scores of symptom reporting.
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(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Thursday October 18 2018, @08:21PM (1 child)
Not to be too much of a curmudgeon, but:
1. Why sports? What exactly does football teach you that, say, being in the marching band or the Boy Scouts doesn't? How do sports compare to, say, working on a construction project where you have to work together to keep everyone safe and accomplish your goals?
2. In particular why sports that involve lots of injuries? What exactly is lost if kids are playing the relatively safer soccer, volleyball, lacrosse, baseball, and basketball instead of football and hockey? How about the totally non-contact sports like long-distance running?
3. What does any of that have to do with hunting, camping, and hiking? If you're doing those activities properly, they aren't risky at all. As in, I've done tons of camping and hiking, and the riskiest part of each of those trips was driving to where I was going to head into the wilderness.
As for keeping young men away from criminal activity, I'm not sure how putting guys in a situation where they get brain damage and taught to hurt other people who they've quite possibly never met but are wearing a different color uniform than they are helps with that. Especially when said young men often get a pass when they commit crimes such as vandalism, drunk driving, and rape because the success of the team is too important to make a big deal about any of that.
And yes, I've played sports in my time. I still occasionally do, never at a serious level of course but just friendly matches. I have no idea what "rites of passage" you're talking about, but I've been in some situations where there was a risk of something seriously bad happening to me, and I've obviously come through it.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday October 19 2018, @01:07AM
I threw hunting and hiking in there because it's what I did. And, you mention running - again, that was me.
But, not everyone is the same. I never played football, but I recognize that it is a team sport, and it is a valid, useful way for youngsters to spend their time.
As for hunting and hiking being safer than football - every single year, we lose hunters, and hikers. Especially in the high country, hikers, and especially, mountain climbers get into trouble. Outdoor sports have their hazards.
Of course, the alternative is to sit in padded rooms all of your life. There are few if any hazards associated with sitting in padded rooms.