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A terrifying video of two youth football players running a tackling drill in a Pop Warner football camp has gone viral and is starting to make parents question the safety standards in youth tackle football.
In the video, two young players collide helmet-to-helmet causing one of the players to get up slowly. The lack of concern from the coaches has irked people on social media.
What is Pop Warner Football?
Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. is a youth football organization. They currently have roughly 325,000 youth participants ranging from ages 5 to 16 years old. It's the largest youth football program in the world today.
Pop Warner provides young people with the opportunity to participate in team sports and activities. The program teaches young athletes fundamental values, skills and knowledge about the game of football.
But this viral video has shown a different side of the league.
Pop Warner releases statement about the viral video
In the video, a coach is heard in the background saying, "You good get up," instead of checking on the kid. After seeing the footage, a spokesperson for USA Football said:
"This is against everything that we in football stand for and has no place in our game. It is an affront to the millions of Moms and Dads who coach youth football with the greatest care for their kids."
Pop Warner released a statement on Wednesday saying that they're going to investigate the viral video. It read:
"We are deeply disturbed by this video and are investigating. If, in fact, it was Pop Warner coaches leading these drills, we will take action."
"What we saw was dangerous and, frankly, offensive to the overwhelming majority of our coaches who teach the sport the right way. We expect every coach to adhere to mandated training and focus on the proper, safe progression of tackling techniques, including practice against dummies, particularly at such a young age. Over the past 10 years Pop Warner has instituted a number of player safety rules, and this example runs counter to our practices."
Why Pop Warner Football is dangerous for young kids
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did a study comparing head impacts in youth football and flag football. The study revealed that athletes who participated in youth football suffered 378 head impacts in a season while flag football athletes suffered just eight.
Dr. Robert Cantu, an expert in CTE, has expressed his concern about kids playing tackle football at a young age. Cantu explained that kids shouldn't play full-contact football before the age of 14 because their brains are not fully developed.
Kids who play tackle football at a young age run a higher risk of suffering developmental issues. Repeated head collisions can result in cognitive deficiencies, behavioral issues and mood problems.
Boston University ran a study on how youth football can lead to impairments later in life. Michael Alosco, the lead author of the study, had this to say about their results:
"This study adds to growing research suggesting that incurring repeated head impacts through tackle football before the age of 12 can lead to a greater risk for short- and long-term neurological consequences."
The study also found that for every year earlier a child is exposed to tackle football, cognitive problems also occur 2.4 years earlier and behavioral and mood problems start 2.5 years earlier.
Even though youth football is taking all the precautions to protect young athletes, it's still extremely dangerous to allow kids to play tackle football.
