<p>The NYTimes article I cite was followed by a smaller one that discussed the Riddell Revolution helmet. It says essentially that it is currently one of the best if not the best on the market but that the "study" conducted about its safety was commissioned by Riddell itself and thus not reliable. Riddell is indeed the helmet that will pose a challenge to the new one described in the article.</p>
<p>I, not having kids who play helmet sports, was more interested in the fact that as a quarterback, Vin Ferrara was still about to carry a pre-med course load and went on to get both an MD and an MBA. And has crowned his academic achievement with an innovation that rated nearly a full page in the NY Times. Not shabby for a jock!</p>
<p>"I'd have to look but I've heard the same about soccer players having an increased rate of concussions when you get into upper levels ie high school, college age soccer. Why? Repeated blows to the head without protection."</p>
<p>Again who paid for the study and what do they sell? One of those tests involved the ability to play cards. ;) Not a real cognitive skills test... I've played football, rugby, basketball and soccer. Heading a soccer ball done correctly does not do long term damage, incorrectly hurts like hell. Yes, there are occasional head to head hits, but very infrequent. With all the little "girls" out there and soccer moms, it's a natural market for headgear. </p>
<p>The worst sport is football because it is the ONLY sport that teaches a player to use their head as a weapon. Don't believe me? Remember your tackling drills head up. see the player, put your head through the players chest.... you are taught to use the center of your mass (where you head is located) to bring down opponnets. In fact in rugby you kinda have to unlearn american football tackling because without a helmet it hurts like hell. Rugby is more catch and pull down. </p>
<p>"Sure football players take repeated blows to the head but they at least have a helmet which helps some."</p>
<p>No actually the helmet hurts because it creates a false sense of protection. Take the helmets away and concussions go down. </p>
<p>"I played football, basketball, and baseball at the varsity level in high school. The worst headache I had came in baseball;"</p>
<p>baseball does that to me too. just watching it gives me a headache..;) </p>
<p>"Head injuries in football do occur and really there's not a whole lot that can be done to prevent them."</p>
<p>Simply remove the facemask and go to a soft helmet. Reteach technique and the game becomes safer. Oh and they could ban the forward pass, and linemen can carry the ball and score .... oh wait, that's rugby, the second most watched and played sport in the world...;)</p>
<p>I truly hope you have a good theraphy plan as you seem to have alot of issues about alot of people you don't know but are easily willing to label and degrade as subhumans with special priviledges....the stuff you write... do you honestly believe it? or are you just toying?</p>
<p>marite, I've read a few different articles on this topic and yes at least one that I read was from Riddell. I have also read some stuff from the National Athletic Trainers Association and done some reading in two Athletic Training textbooks. And from looking inside both a Schutt DNA and a Riddell Revolution, those companies have already removed much of the foam padding and instead put in multiple air chambers and such.</p>
<p>Opie, I'm going to quote a guy from a film put out by Riddell and NATA.. "Head up, shoulders down; That's the proper technique" I understand what you're saying about be taught to use your facemask to tackle. As I get more and more into this stuff, I have already started to question what is being taught at my high school and I've got all the respect in the world for my high school football coach too.</p>
<p>Yes cgm, there are some kids who do work very hard in a sport to excel. It has nothing to do with breeding! My son genetically broke all odds by breaking many sprinting records in high school. He spent hours in the gym because he didn't have the "genes" to win without lots of hard work. </p>
<p>He worked just as hard with his theater endeavors and his academics! Sports helped with time management and reaching for his goals. </p>
<p>He is an ardent believer that a sound body leads to a sound mind! For him, it did!
It was his therapy, and still is! :cool:</p>
<p>....And he harbors no resentment at all for those who don't participate in sports.</p>
<p>Opie, that isn't true about soccer players and head injuries. There is a startling percentage of soccer players who have neuropsychological deficiencies of attention, concentration, memory and judgement. These result not only from heading; player collisions and running into goal posts also lead to a significant number of concussions. </p>
<p>Players should have proper instruction on the correct way to head the ball.</p>
<p>The ball should be the appropriate size for the age of the players. Smaller balls are less likely to cause injury. Also, make sure the ball is inflated properly.</p>
<p>Use "no heading" rules for younger players. If a player is not allowed to head the ball, the ball is less likely to hit a player's head.</p>
<p>"Breeding" plays a role no matter what the field of excellence. Ever looked at a classical pianist's finger length, cgm?</p>
<p>But whether it's playing football or playing the flute, the gifts doled out in the gene pool must be coupled with hard work and commitment and perseverance and patience to generate real talent. It's absurd to suggest that mere physical prowess is enough.</p>
<p>As others have mentioned,there are many other aspects to sports participation beyond physical prowess that are wonderful attributes to have, and probably catch the eye of the admissions folks. S earned 12 varsity letters in high school, and was co-captain of 3 teams during his senior year. He won the school's 4 year award award for sportsmanship. He wasn't recruited for a sport. However, his application showed commitment, a very strong work ethic, exceptional social skills, and great leadership skills. These were all developed through his participation in sports. Why would anyone resent the fact that he was a successful college applicant? Why would anyone else care?</p>
<p>I'm sure he doesn't regret his participation in sports at all.</p>
<p>AM, I'm not surprised that your son's friend received that call from an Ivy. All of the kids we know who have gone to Ivys as sports recruits knew they were in prior to December of their respective senior years. And, as much as it is said that there are no athletic scholarships at Ivys, I don't know one Ivy athletic recruit who hasn't received substantial scholarship $$, with very little relation to financial need. </p>
<p>This athletic recruiting business starts earlier and earlier. The daughter of a friend is a stellar hockey player. A couple of weeks ago she received a letter from the Yale coach indicating interest in coming to watch her play this winter. She's 14.</p>
<p>My son is/was an Ivy recruit. He did not know for sure that he was in prior to receiving the letter. The coach in his sport can NOT guarantee admission and does NOT get likely letters for his recruits. He gives them a very good idea of whether they will get in, but until that ED decision is posted, you don't know for sure. Also, my son many of his teammates received NO financial aid.</p>
<p>Ditto what MOWC said for our Ivy recruited D. No $ at all.</p>
<p>Also, alwaysamom, the reason athletes get calls early is that the recruiting for each sport is tied to the NCAA timeline for that sport. If top athletes are being asked to sign National Letters of Intent for scholarship schools in November, then the Ivies are forced to make some sort of offer to the athlete (via Likely Letter)at that time or they have no chance at all to recruit good players. Educating yourself on the system might clear up some of your resentment.</p>
<p>Bay, I am well aware of the 'system'. I had a D and two nieces, as well as close to a dozen friends of my 4Ds who were sports recruits, and who attended an Ivy. I'm not aware that I was exhibiting resentment, for I definitely do not feel any.</p>
<p>Okay, my mistake on the resentment part. Regarding your comment about the recruiting process starting earlier and earlier, I'm sure you are also aware of strict NCAA rules regarding contact with athletes.</p>
<p>I'm going to quote part of an essay by my d. I think this is a pretty good response to the OP:</p>
<p>"Track and cross country have occupied most of my time outside of school. I've experienced success both individually and as a member of teams. As a nervous, wide-eyed 14-year-old I discovered the thrill of setting weekly PRs as well as the shattering experience of collapsing mid-race at the State Meet, having overestimated my abilities. Now, entering my second year as team captain, I've learned to handle my own anxieties, "run smart," and provide an example of confidence and resolve for my teammates. Crushing stress can be lessened by small actions such as singing and dancing on the starting line or running stride for stride with a teammate through a lonely back stretch. The resilience and maturity I've gained through training and racing are an integral part of my scholastic success. I hope to be admitted to a top academic college where I can continue running competitively."</p>
<p>In men's ice hockey, kids are "committed" as young as 14-15 years of age.
I do not know how they get around the NCAA rules, but friends of my sons were in fact contacted by D1 schools when they were sophomores in HS---perhaps it is an alumni that contacts them, they visit the school "unofficially" but the blue chip players are locked up with verbal committments very early.
Then the coaches ask them to play a year or 2 of junior hockey after HS.
The average freshman hockey player in D1 is 21 years of age and even in D3 this is the trend.</p>
<p>The verbal committment piece has always disturbed me as it locks up the player (they don't talk to any other schools) but if the coach does not like the development of the player he can drop that athlete in a minute.</p>
<p>I am grateful that S#1 is a 18 year old recruted freshman at a D3 school----he absolutely did not want to go to junior hockey but right to college.
Recruiting discussions were all on the up and up---but then I the NCAA rules are less restrictive</p>
<p>Lately my friends have been telling me that they've been getting recruitment TEXT MESSAGES.</p>
<p>NCAA has strict rules on phonecalls, but nothing about texts, so the coaches can text their recruitees as often as they like. Some of my friends are sufferring massive bills because of it.</p>
<p>Yep, my son recieved a number of test messages from a college coach last year on his birthday--wishing him a happy birthday etc--it was kinda weird</p>