<p>A quick scan says that NMH will graduate all but 14 of its players this year. NMH was not recently known as a football powerhouse and had a 0-8 record this year, but this still surprises me and will be interested to see how this affects A10 and beyond.</p>
<p>Any scoop? Any affect on attrition or yield?</p>
<p>I’m going to get flamed for saying this, but it ought to be banned at ALL schools.
<a href=“Head Injuries Rattle Even Devout Football Parents : NPR”>Head Injuries Rattle Even Devout Football Parents : NPR;
<p>The effects of repeated head-blows are lifelong, and the rabid fanaticism & big money the sport generates for schools is corrupting, i.e. Steubenville & Penn State. Thank goodness neither of my boys have asked to play, because the answer would have been NO.</p>
<p>Good for NMH snd good riddance…</p>
<p>I agree with GMT 100 percent. I have been waiting for a school to take the lead on this. </p>
<p>Although looking at the articles, it seems they are not doing it for the hot potato health reasons. At least I see no mention of it. Perhaps they actually are not concerned about that, or perhaps they are taking the safe route and avoiding any public mention of it simply to avoid controversy in that area. It is a welcome decision nonetheless. </p>
<p>Another problem is a lot of football coaches, not just at prep schools, structure their practices in ways that have the kids doing a lot of contact during practices over and over again, and this is where a lot of the concussions occur. There is no way to eliminate the head injuries from the sport entirely, but there are a lot of head injuries that could be prevented and the sport could be made much safer than it is.</p>
<p>Having said that, NMH is probably making the right decision for the school at this time, due to low numbers.</p>
<p>There are many colleges that don’t have football programs. It’s an expensive sport given the size of the team and the number of coaches and kids. I also agree about the safety aspects. It will allow NMH to focus on sports where it has a better track record. Not a big loss, IMHO.</p>
<p>They might have made the right decision, but I still think the appeal would still go down. </p>
<p>I mean, a lot of the “recruits” wouldn’t be recruited anymore.</p>
<p>With NMH’s recent record, it seems football recruiting was not its best suit. I agree with creative, no big loss.</p>
<p>Probably. But I still think that not having football games to go watch on weekends would be a disappointment to current students. It’s a really entertaining sport. </p>
<p>In three years, after the last football-era student has left NMH, it will probably be moot as anyone who cares passionately about football will not be choosing NMH. Wow, a football-free high school. We’ll have to add NMH to the list of schools with unique characteristics.</p>
<p>That would be indeed. I can see the headlines: Come to NMH: a pioneer in the realm of possibility, doing the unthinkable, making school safer!</p>
<p>It’s less entertaining when your team is 0-8 and hasn’t had a winning season in a decade. Concord has never had a football team and the students manage to keep themselves entertained on weekends. </p>
<p>^^^This.</p>
<p>Yup. That wouldn’t be very fun. </p>
<p>@GMTplus7
Whats your opinion on hockey then? As a football player I take offense to you saying that. I personally know the risks of the sport I play (were not just a bunch of brainless dudes bashing our heads together) and believe me from a players perspective, it has nothing to do with money or fans (especially at the high school level).</p>
<p>Personally, I think that this is more of a financial decision than anything else. NMH has been sitting on a $10M donation to begin construction of a new science/match building. I think the recent sale of 1,650 acres and the water treatment plant at the old campus to the Land for Public Trust, coupled with the cost savings from the elimination of FB will allow them to truly focus on moving this project forward. I just believe it’s a traditional cost-benefit analysis. I feel for those who play(ed) FB at NMH, but I believe the school is just looking at the big picture here. I applaud them for making a truly difficult and courageous decision.</p>
<p>Concord Academy has neither football nor hockey. Doesn’t seem to have hurt the school.</p>
<p>@Tabuloso you could also add ski racing, field hockey and lacrosse. I think as a parent we would like to bubble wrap our children. Agree if we banned all sports that might lead to a significant injury than would probably be left with no sports. I think @GMTplus7 was trying to state that football has been corrupted by money and many young lives have been affected by injury. Have seen students who have had to stop a certain sport because they have had two or three concussions. This disturbs me because it is only high school and you only have one brain. </p>
<p>I don’t know for sure, since I’ve never been to high school, but it seems like football gets the bulk of school spirit and support. I get the feeling that eliminating football will lead those fans to other sports and the athletes would probably be thrilled to see a better turnout at competition. </p>
<p>@stargirl3 is right about football having the bulk of school spirit and support.</p>