CTE and Youth Football

Last month was CTE awareness month. If you’ve been tracking with us here on Youth Culture Today for any amount of time, you know that CTE stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephelopathy a progressive brain condition caused by repeated blows to the head and repeated episodes of concussion. I listened in on a webinar conducted by the Concussion Legacy Foundation, featuring a report on updated research, along with testimonials from the family members of four former college and pro football players who were diagnosed with CTE. I want to pass this word of advice along from Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Haynes. “Please stop recruiting children to play tackle football. If children can wait until age fifteen to play tackle football like I did, future football players will have a dramatically lower risk of CTE and will lose nothing in terms of developing football skills.” Parents, steward the health of your child’s God-given bodies and brains. Football is fun, but wait until they are older.