According to a recent New York Times article, at least 50 teenage or younger football players, in more than 20 states, since 1997, have been killed or have sustained serious head injuries on the field.

An estimated 100,000 concussions are reported each season among high school players, according to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio and it’s believed that this figure could be less than accurate, based on the fact that many head injuries are not reported.

Recent concern over football head injuries, particularly among the 4.4 million children who play tackle football, prompted the National Organizing Committee for Standards of Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) to have experts and their top officials analyze possible changes in helmet testing standards.

• Adult players who sustain life-altering injuries from playing football continue to make news headlines, bringing to light – a serious problem.
• In Canada, football accounts for 18% of all sporting injuries in children under 18 years of age (Statistics Canada)
• Teenagers are at much greater risk for critical, long-term injuries.

A 2007 study, conducted by the University of North Carolina’s Center for the Study of Retired Athletes, found that, of almost 600 retired N.F.L. players, who recalled sustaining three or more concussions on the football field, over 20 percent said they had been diagnosed with depression. That number is tripled, compared to the number of players who had not sustained a concussion.

• Football helmets are mostly manufactured in an unregulated industry.

• Is football equipment safe for players of all ages?

“Helmet testing is for skull fractures, but the helmets are being marketed as protecting against concussions,” said Paul Kelley of Temple University, before Temple played Buffalo. “This is a big deal,” he added.

“The mechanism relating to concussion injuries are well enough understood to be addressed in test standards,” said Blaine Hoshizaki, director of human kinetics at the Neurotrauma Impact Research Lab at University of Ottawa. “Advanced three-dimensional input methods need to be developed to be incorporated in future testing protocols.”

“Teaching Young Players a Safer Way to Tackle”… Bobby Hosea runs camps that focus on one skill – tackling with your head up instead of down, and away from contact. As football careens through its dark cloud of head injuries, Hosea sees himself as saving more than the players’ ability to walk and think. He sees it as saving the sport, one youngster at time,” according to a New York Times article by Alan Schawrz

Don’t stand on the sidelines during this show! Listen toBEYONDtheCheers in the conversation with Bobby Hosea, Paul Kelley from Temple University, and Glenn Beckmann, Marketing Communications Manager with Schutt Sports for the show that aired on Wednesday February 16th.