Youth tackle football offers many benefits for children and adolescents. However, some parents worry about the risks of playing a contact sport like football. Or they may wonder what the best age is to begin tackle football. When a child is starting youth tackle football, every parent should know some basic information.

Flag football is different from tackle football in many ways. They are not the same sport as tackle football arguably provides more benefits for children than flag football. At the same time, youth tackle football may cause significantly fewer injuries than flag football with lower trending concussions.¹

This post will be a snapshot into the purpose of this blog: empowering parents and coaches with necessary information, so their children can gain the benefits of playing tackle football with less risk. The topics will include why, when, and where your child should play youth tackle football along with ways to prepare you and your child.

Why Should My Child Play Youth Tackle Football?

Youth tackle football provides many physical, mental, and emotional benefits for child growth and development.

First, children are immersed in technology including watching TV and playing videogames, which promote a sedentary lifestyle. Youth tackle football gives children physical activity that they enjoy more than TV and videogames. This can prevent childhood obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and promote strong physical health for the future.

Second, the sedentary lifestyle decreases blood flow and endorphins to the brain leading to disorders like anxiety and depression. Tackle football offers a fun activity to increase activity that combats mental health disorders.

The mental health benefits of tackle football do not end there. Tackle football is the ultimate team sport that requires doing one’s job and trusting others to do theirs. Learning a playbook takes mental energy. Dedication and hard work towards one’s job builds character. And social cooperation and teamwork enhances leadership development.

Third, children need a physical outlet from school and home where they can express their emotions in a safe environment. Children in search of an outlet may get in fights at school, yell at their parents, or even use drugs or alcohol. Instead, youth tackle football offers a safe environment for children to use physical energy by running, blocking, and tackling that also releases emotional energy.

Additionally, football is not easy, so they will need to overcome frustration. In an age where everyone receives a participation trophy, football is a game where not everyone succeeds. There may be embarrassing moments when a child gets knocked down and must get up ready for the next play.

When Should My Child Start Youth Tackle Football?

Unfortunately, I cannot answer this question for you. But I can provide insight that will be beneficial.

Concussions are more common in younger ages, but these include motor vehicle and bicycle accidents and those on the playground. These are more frequent than sports-related concussions.

Also, 80% of children recover spontaneously from a concussion. One study with almost 3000 participants looked at recovery rates across children age groups.²

Five to seven years olds had more symptom improvement occurring the first week after injury.² Those aged 8 to 12 years and 13 to 18 years, symptom improvement was most in the first 2 weeks, and by 4 weeks, 83.6% and 86.2% of symptoms had improved for respective groups.

The youngest age group had better initial recovery, but 15% of symptoms were still present in this group after 12 weeks compared with less than 10% for older groups.² While youngest ages can initially recover quickly, they may have symptoms that linger for longer periods. This may be due to the rapidly developing brain through year 5 or lack of early concussion identification.

Furthermore, the age of one’s first concussion does not correlate to functional outcomes in adolescents. Adolescents with previous concussion history did not have any changes in visuo-vestibular function than those with no concussion history.³ The age of first concussion was also not associated with worse function. Hence, cumulative effects of concussions may not be evident in younger athletes.

It is unclear whether concussions at earlier time periods in development are better or worse than later in life. For this reason, it is difficult to determine the best age to begin playing youth tackle football or another collision sport.

I started playing tackle football when I was seven years old because I no longer wanted to play flag. My parents allowed me, and I had no issues. For parents, it is most important to know your child’s size, coordination level, and personality compared to others in the age or weight group to make the best individual decision.

Where Should My Child Be Playing Youth Tackle Football?

This question primarily discusses the youth tackle football organization where your child is playing. This is vital to the decision regarding the age your child should start tackle football.

There are many youth football organizations across the nation, but only some may be in your area. The two largest include Pop Warner and All American Youth Football League (AAYFL). Other independent leagues are present in rural areas. Depending on the league, different rules, age and weight classes, and practice standards may be used.

USA Football is the non-profit organization that governs American football by creating recommendations, standards, and best practices. Heads Up techniques, concussion recognition and response, coaching education, equipment fitting, and requiring an independent Player Safety Coach for proper compliance are included in the USA Football program.

While USA football offers the best guidance for youth tackle football organizations and coaches, some do not follow them. When researching your local football organizations and teams, there are attributes that should be met:

• Head injury recognition, removal, and return-to-play protocol
• Player, parent, and coach education on concussion recognition
• Player, parent, and coach education on equipment use and fit
• Coach education regarding proper blocking and tackling techniques
• Special safety rules like limiting contact practices and weight restrictions for divisions
• Requiring small team sizes to promote participation of all players

These organizational standards promote player safety and enhance player development in a fun and educational environment.

Who Should Be Coaching My Child?

Most youth tackle football coaches are volunteers, often parents. Some have no experience coaching the sport or even instructing young children. Many may only have playing experience in football. While playing experience is important, there are more qualifications that you should demand of your child’s youth tackle football coach.

Similar to above, each coach should have some training in concussion recognition, proper equipment use and fit, and safe blocking and tackling techniques. If your organization does not already use USA Football, you can ask your volunteer coaches to become certified. This may require a small additional fee from each child’s family, but the safety benefits are well worth it.

Coaches’ primary focus should be teaching tackle football skills and player development in a fun and safe environment. Therefore, like any sports team or business organization, a youth tackle football coach should set team rules and goals for the season.

Rules should be basic guidelines that promote individual and teamwork development. For instance, arriving on time for practice and games fosters time-management skills. Communication with the coach about missing practice or being late helps develop accountability. Giving 100% effort raises perseverance and work ethic. And support of teammates, even when mistakes are made, enhances leadership development.

Next, goals for the season should be more than just winning games. Goals may include having fun and learning a lot about football. Depending on the age group, coaches may shift players positions around to gain experience and ensure that everyone touches the football. Practice should also be net fun for the kids, even though some parts are not.

The youth tackle football organization and coach play a key role in ensuring a safe and fun experience for children.

How Should I Prepare My Child for Youth Tackle Football?

Preparation for youth tackle football should involve expectations and safety.

First, player and parent expectations should be aligned to ensure the child gets the best experience. Expectations are to have fun and succeed; however, youth tackle football is NOT about winning. Parents may need to remind the child that success can be measured in many ways.

Football is a difficult sport, and there will be lost battles and games. It is the parents’ (and coaches’) job to teach the children how to deal with frustration, learn from failures, and overcome them. Supportive parents, rather than pushy parents, are necessary. Youth tackle football is NOT about training for the pros.

Second, player safety regarding proper techniques will be taught by the coaches. But parents can prepare their children’s bodies with additional concussion prevention strategies. These will all be described in separate posts; however, below are the basics:

• Nutrition: feed your child whole, unprocessed foods that focus on animal protein like meat, eggs, and dairy along with fruits and vegetables to decrease inflammation.
• Supplementation: liquid fish oil, creatine monohydrate, magnesium L-threonate, N-acetylcysteine, and vitamin D3 all support brain health.⁴
• Sleep: help your child find a proper bedtime to ensure adequate amount of sleep for neuroplasticity and waste removal.
• Neck Training: prevent excessive head and brain movement with proper neck muscle training.⁵
• Neuro-Visual Training: enhance your child’s peripheral vision and reaction time to anticipate body and head contact.⁶

What Information Do I Need to Learn to Identify Concussions?

Concussion education for players, parents, and coaches is an important concussion prevention strategy. Learning concussion signs and symptoms helps with proper identification and player removal from play. This not only prevents worse outcomes but improves overall recovery.

The Concussion Recognition Tool 6 (CRT6) developed by the Concussion in Sport Group (CISG) in 2022 is a great resource to review and keep handy.⁷

To start, one should know the red flags of a head/neck injury that requires an emergency (911) call. These include neck pain or tenderness, seizures/involuntary movements, loss of vision, loss of consciousness, weakness/numbness/tingling in arm/leg, repeated vomiting, and severe or escalating headache.

Next, every parent must learn the signs and symptoms of a concussion. Signs are objective measures that one can recognize in the athlete, whereas symptoms are what the athlete subjectively feels and reports.

Early signs that a concussion has occurred are balance impairment, eye tracking abnormalities, slowed reaction time, abnormal speech or decreased response time, and child acting unusual. Early symptoms include headache, nausea, dizziness, sensitivity to light and sound, neck pain, brain fog, mood disturbances, and memory loss.

Familiarizing yourself with this information can help protect your child from further injury.

What Should I Do If My Child Sustains a Concussion?

If your child sustains a concussion, there are immediate action steps and general recommendations to follow.

Any athlete suspected of having a concussion should be removed from play and must not return till cleared by a medical professional. Medical professionals have sideline concussion assessment tools that can help diagnose a concussion. If a health professional is not present, parents and coaches can use the CRT6 to remove and monitor a player.

While most head injuries are not emergencies, a health professional should still assess them. This may be an athletic trainer, team doctor, or other professional with head-injury experience. They can rule out more severe problems, educate on monitoring signs and symptoms for red flags, or order imaging if necessary.

Additionally, the earlier one seeks care for a concussion, the faster the individual will recover from symptoms.⁸ Earlier recommendations and treatment can prevent persisting symptoms.

At the same time, there are general recommendations that anyone can begin risk-free. Against previous beliefs, the CISG does not recommend strict rest following a concussion.⁹ Instead, athletes should use relative rest and limit screen time in the first 24-48 hours. This is meant to decrease excessive stimulation to the brain and monitor any progression of symptoms.

After the first 24-48 hours, athletes should begin physical activity like walking or cycling as tolerated.¹⁰ This is often involved in the return-to-play protocol, but athlete can do these activities at home without causing an increase in symptoms 2 points or higher on a 10-point scale.

Maintaining a healthy diet full of whole, unprocessed foods is important. In fact, there may be benefits to fasting for a short (18-24 hour) period following a concussion.¹¹ This can decrease inflammation and increase ketone body production, an anti-inflammatory source of energy for the brain. Athletes can also take the supplements listed above to resolve inflammation and hasten recovery.⁴

Lastly, normal sleep and wake cycles are necessary to ensure proper sleep and recovery.¹² Athletes should keep a normal bedtime, wake up with the sun and get morning sunlight, and avoid excessive napping during the day.

Conclusion

The goals of youth tackle football are having fun and learning proper techniques. Player safety should also be a priority. When starting tackle football, every parent should understand this information to keep their children safe and enhance the player experience.

References

1. Peterson AR, Kruse AJ, Meester SM, et al. Youth Football Injuries: A Prospective Cohort. Orthop J Sports Med. 2017;5(2):2325967116686784.
2. Ledoux AA, Tang K, Yeates KO, et al. Natural Progression of Symptom Change and Recovery From Concussion in a Pediatric Population. JAMA Pediatr. 2019;173(1):e183820.
3. Roby PR, Metzger KB, Storey EP, Master CL, Arbogast KB. Influence of concussion history and age of first concussion on visio-vestibular function. J Sci Med Sport. 2022;25(9):715-719.
4. The Neurologic Wellness Institute. Nutrition for Concussion with Dr. Nick Schmidlkofer [Video]. YouTube. https://neurologicwellnessinstitute.com/summit/nutrition-for-concussion-2/. Published Oct. 3, 2022. Accessed March 16, 2024.
5. Collins CL, Fletcher EN, Fields SK, et al. Neck strength: a protective factor reducing risk for concussion in high school sports. J Prim Prev. 2014;35(5):309-319.
6. Clark JF, Graman P, Ellis JK, Mangine RE, Rauch JT, Bixenmann B, Hasselfeld KA, Divine JG, Colosimo AJ, Myer GD. An exploratory study of the potential effects of vision training on concussion incidence in football. Optom Vis Perform. 2015;3:116-125.
7. Echemendia RJ, et al. CRT6: The Concussion Recognition Tool 6. Br J Sports Med. 2023;57(11):692-693.
8. Kontos AP, Jorgensen-Wagers K, Trbovich AM, et al. Association of Time Since Injury to the First Clinic Visit With Recovery Following Concussion. JAMA Neurol. 2020;77(4):435-440.
9. Patricios JS, Schneider KJ, Dvorak J, et al. Consensus statement on concussion in sport: the 6th International Conference on Concussion in Sport-Amsterdam, October 2022. Br J Sports Med. 2023;57(11):695-711.
10. Leddy JJ, Burma JS, Toomey CM, et al. Rest and exercise early after sport-related concussion: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2023;57(12):762-770.
11. Davis LM, Pauly JR, Readnower RD, Rho JM, Sullivan PG. Fasting is neuroprotective following traumatic brain injury. J Neurosci Res. 2008;86(8):1812-1822.
12. Chung JS, Zynda AJ, Didehbani N, et al. Association Between Sleep Quality and Recovery Following Sport-Related Concussion in Pediatrics. J Child Neurol. 2019;34(11):639-645.