Although flag football may seem safer, the lack of pads and protective gear can translate to injuries for young players.

Concussions in sports have become a popular topic in recent years, prompting many parents to question child participation in sports altogether. As a professional who has treated brain injuries for more than 20 years and as a parent of a multi-sport teenage athlete, I have a unique perspective.

I have treated more non-athlete concussions than sports-related concussions. Falls down stairs, off a homecoming float and even fainting when giving blood can result in lingering symptoms. My 15-year-old son is an athlete whose only concussion occurred falling out of bed as a young child. Injuries can happen anytime, anywhere.

When my son was young, he enjoyed many sports. With each sport, we sought out programs that not only taught correct mechanics but also promoted injury prevention. Now he is a teenager who has chosen baseball and football. Yes, I have reservations, but he has sustained more injuries in baseball than football. How do I marry my professional knowledge with my son’s passion for playing sports? I admit it is a struggle sometimes.

Recent reports of serious head and neck injuries to football players have caused some parents to hesitate to let their children play tackle football. In response to the relative safety of flag football in comparison to tackle football, Gregg Heinzmann, director of the Youth Sports Research Council at Rutgers University, says this: “Have you ever watched a game or practice? It’s like tag on steroids. Although tackling has been eliminated, there are plenty of collisions – with other players, and the ground – that could produce injury. So coaches need to teach kids how to fall properly and also instruct children to let the coaches know when they’re not feeling well, or injured. Injuries often result when youngsters are tired and not able to perform the skills correctly or when they’re ‘playing through pain’ – a lesson still taught by too many adults.”

My personal experience with tackle vs. flag football may not be typical. But, we found that even in flag football, most kids wind up on the ground in a pile or tackled every game. Since they don’t wear pads, my son had more scratches, bruises and hands in his face in flag football than he ever has in tackle. When they are small and in pads, kids were not hitting that hard, and the majority of injuries were orthopedic – feet and ankles. Flag football has a different set of rules than tackle, so kids were not necessarily prepared for the rules of tackle football. We also noted that certain coaches in the league did not teach safe play practices like others, and their players had more injuries than my son’s teams ever did.

My son has learned many valuable things from organized sports while making lifelong friendships with teammates and those on other teams. He is learning about hard work, leadership and self-discipline, as well as how to motivate and encourage others. Balancing time management of sports, school responsibilities and social activities is difficult.

Every family must weigh how organized sports will impact them. Online resources including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Heads Up” program, the Brain Injury Association of America, and ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Association offer fact sheets for coaches, athletes, and parents, as well as educational materials geared for young children and teens/adults that address issues of risk-taking and personal vulnerability.

Richelle Weese has been a speech pathologist for more than 20 years and serves as a clinical instructor at the University of Central Arkansas, where serves as a coordinator for the UCA Concussion Management Program. The Concussion Management Program serves UCA athletes and students in grades 7-12 to assist the students in a successful transition back into the classroom and the playing field.