202 replies to this topic

[Zod]

BAN CHEERLEADING!

http://www.livescien...eerleading.html

I'm fine with that. Prefer ladies dancing to cheering.

[tiger7_88]

I'm fine with that. Prefer ladies dancing to cheering.

I'd be fine with banning competitive cheerleading too.

Not for health reasons though.

It's just those cheerleading competitions on ESPN full of those caked-on-makeup little princesses piss me off.

The PAC 10 (i.e. USC, Oregon, UCLA, etc.) have the right idea about cheerleaders.

[philw5289]

football is becoming less dangerous than it ever was. now would be the time to let your kids play

[Salescall]

I normally don't post on here, but had to put my thoughts out there. I have a 12 year old son who is an exceptional athlete, and football is his passion. He currently plays QB and Cornerback. He was the fastest kid in our league last year and scored as many touchdowns running as passing. He played so well that he is being recruited by a few private schools to play QB for them on their JV team (full scholarship). I've been told by several former professional athletes that he has the potential to play at the college level if he continues to progress as he gets older. As a parent, I am excited for him and love to see the success and enjoyment he has on the field. Unfortunately, it also scares the crap out of me as well. He has already had one concussion and a broken collar bone. As much as I hate how our current administration is taking away more of our freedoms, I can certainly understand the concern for a child's safety and their future health. To me it's a great discussion to have. Do I continue to encourage my son to play a sport that he loves and excels in, or do I try to use my influence as a parent and push him into other sports where he may excel as well? Do we want to have our government involved in youth sports in the name of safety, or do we want to make those kinds of decisions for ourselves? I'd like to think I'm smart enough to make a good decision for my son, but right now I can't figure out what is the right thing to do.

[I Registered To Post This]

BAN CHEERLEADING!

http://www.livescien...eerleading.html

oh so this is going to descend into a football version of the gun control debate where one of the counter arguments du jour is "oh yeah well XYZ activity is dangerous too why don't we ban that!" even though it's a non sequitur given that it does not address the original quote.

which is this, by the way:

"I'm a big football fan, but I have to tell you if I had a son, I'd have to think long and hard before I let him play football," Obama told the New Republic.

http://www.latimes.c...,0,989787.story

[CRA]

No parent should ever tell any of their kids they cant play a certain sport. It always should be you can do whatever you put your mind to.

Disagree. Boxing, MMA, football....all 3 would be a struggle for my child to gain my support/permission

[rayzor]

I normally don't post on here, but had to put my thoughts out there. I have a 12 year old son who is an exceptional athlete, and football is his passion. He currently plays QB and Cornerback. He was the fastest kid in our league last year and scored as many touchdowns running as passing. He played so well that he is being recruited by a few private schools to play QB for them on their JV team (full scholarship). I've been told by several former professional athletes that he has the potential to play at the college level if he continues to progress as he gets older. As a parent, I am excited for him and love to see the success and enjoyment he has on the field. Unfortunately, it also scares the crap out of me as well. He has already had one concussion and a broken collar bone. As much as I hate how our current administration is taking away more of our freedoms, I can certainly understand the concern for a child's safety and their future health. To me it's a great discussion to have. Do I continue to encourage my son to play a sport that he loves and excels in, or do I try to use my influence as a parent and push him into other sports where he may excel as well? Do we want to have our government involved in youth sports in the name of safety, or do we want to make those kinds of decisions for ourselves? I'd like to think I'm smart enough to make a good decision for my son, but right now I can't figure out what is the right thing to do.

i think you probably are smart enough. just remember that you are the parent. he's not the vessel that you are to live vicariously through, neither is his life predetermined that you need to funnel all his energies toward. your main job isn't to be his friend, but it's also not to insulate him from all harm...at least at that stage, but there is a responsibility to try and insulate them from unnecessary harm, and i think thats where the decision gets difficult.

look at the cost vs. benefit of this as well as the likelihood of success vs. long term damage. allow him a chance to make up his mind on this, but also let him know about other directions his life could take and let him know that true satisfaction in life can come in whatever direction you take and at this point in time there's little sense in limiting his world to just this.

i know two guys who had college and even pro guys looking at them as basketball and baseball players who had made their lives all about their sport who ended up walking away from it once they figured out that they were missing out on life and didn't like that their destiny had already been decided upon.

[Darth Biscuit]

Damn this is a long ass thread...

I played football growing up, but my mom forbade me from playing varsity mainly for the same reasons, the possibility of serious injury... I was pissed at the time but I see where she was coming from.

Personally, I've played basketball forever, and have gotten hurt more doing that than anything else... broken fingers, twisted ankles and knees, etc.

My kids have little interest in sports, but they've played soccer, football and basketball... I've encouraged them to play but never pushed them to... neither one of them are very interested in sports, they'd rather do photography or get on the computer, which is fine with me too.

I see where Obama is coming from... unless there's the potential for college scholarships and/or pro potential, there may be too much risk playing football. If my kids were interested I would definitely look at it hard...

[Salescall]

i think you probably are smart enough. just remember that you are the parent. he's not the vessel that you are to live vicariously through, neither is his life predetermined that you need to funnel all his energies toward. your main job isn't to be his friend, but it's also not to insulate him from all harm...at least at that stage, but there is a responsibility to try and insulate them from unnecessary harm, and i think thats where the decision gets difficult.

look at the cost vs. benefit of this as well as the likelihood of success vs. long term damage. allow him a chance to make up his mind on this, but also let him know about other directions his life could take and let him know that true satisfaction in life can come in whatever direction you take and at this point in time there's little sense in limiting his world to just this.

i know two guys who had college and even pro guys looking at them as basketball and baseball players who had made their lives all about their sport who ended up walking away from it once they figured out that they were missing out on life and didn't like that their destiny had already been decided upon.

I know exactly what you mean. I've already steered him towards basketball and golf. He plays both sports just as well, but there seems to be a fire in him toward football that the others don't have. FYI, I also understand about devoting yourself to a sport for college aspirations. Did that myself and am trying to let my son be a kid and not train 24/7 like I did when I was his age. Sports need to be fun for kids.

[Green Eggs and Cam]

What sport would you guys let your kids play? Baseball where he'll stand there and have a kid with questionable control throw a 70+ mph heater at his head? Maybe soccer where some little punks are going cleats up into his leg and he's coached to do headers? Basketball where he'll get murdered every time he drives to the basket?

[Udogg]

My son played football when he was 5 and 6 respectively. Liked playing but decided to play soccer last year. Enjoyed it, led the league in goals. Now all he talks about is wanting to play football again. I don't know if my love for football is pushing him toward it or he honestly loves to play. I played football and understand the benefits and drawbacks. I will only let him play if he is fully committed to it. It's a very tough decision imo.

[PhillyB]

glad i'm having a girl

[tiger7_88]

glad i'm having a girl

Please to reference my cheerleading post above.

[rayzor]

glad i'm having a girl

congrats and having a daughter does take some big questions like this off the plate, but it also invites a whole slew of other problems.

you have a son and you pretty much only have to worry about him. you have a daughter and then you have to worry about everyone else's son.

wouldn't trade it, tho.

[Darth Biscuit]

glad i'm having a girl

Call us when she hits puberty.