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Kids don't play football anymore.........


GNR

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Guys, we've gotta face it.  Kids no longer wanna play football.  Football is a very demanding sport and the youth of today is not interested.  We have softened the sport so much and they still cant handle it.  We recruit the halls daily, but they never last.

 

What % of HS boys play at your school?

 

I'll go first: we are at 20-22% of our HS boys playing football.

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If not mistaken, most communities have some form of pee wee football. When you start at age 3-4 , a lot burn out by 9th grade. Same thing little league baseball has done to high school baseball . How many kids that play little league for 11 years wind up playing baseball in high school. I realize there are exceptions. 

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3 hours ago, GNR said:

Guys, we've gotta face it.  Kids no longer wanna play football.  Football is a very demanding sport and the youth of today is not interested.  We have softened the sport so much and they still cant handle it.  We recruit the halls daily, but they never last.

 

What % of HS boys play at your school?

 

I'll go first: we are at 20-22% of our HS boys playing football.

Depends on the program, the community, AD and head coach, coaching staff, and school board. To be successful all of the above have to be all in. Example Carthage, kids grow up wanting to be Carthage Bull Dawgs. 

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4 hours ago, GNR said:

Guys, we've gotta face it.  Kids no longer wanna play football.  Football is a very demanding sport and the youth of today is not interested.  We have softened the sport so much and they still cant handle it.  We recruit the halls daily, but they never last.

 

What % of HS boys play at your school?

 

I'll go first: we are at 20-22% of our HS boys playing football.

We have a pretty successful program (+70%) winning percentage under the current head coach who just completed his 8th season. I would estimate our participation at 45-50%. It is a very demanding sport and our staff has high expectations of our kids. I don’t think you can have a successful program without this. It’s my personal belief that more kids will participate if they think their parents support them. We have a history (not just with this staff but with the previous one that was here from 2002-2014 with very similar success) of kids not playing football as freshmen after having started as 7th and 8th graders. I believe a lot of parents aren’t bothered by their kid not playing if he’s going to be on JV. They think their kid should be starting on Friday night as a freshman, and truthfully, very few freshmen are Friday night ready. But this definitely hurts our program when it comes to depth. 

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On 1/25/2023 at 3:32 PM, Destry said:

If not mistaken, most communities have some form of pee wee football. When you start at age 3-4 , a lot burn out by 9th grade. Same thing little league baseball has done to high school baseball . How many kids that play little league for 11 years wind up playing baseball in high school. I realize there are exceptions. 

If you love the game you'll play as long as you can.  I don't think kids ever get burned out of playing they just didn't like the game or found an interest that was more exciting.  See Tom Brady.  

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On 1/25/2023 at 2:40 PM, GNR said:

Guys, we've gotta face it.  Kids no longer wanna play football.  Football is a very demanding sport and the youth of today is not interested.  We have softened the sport so much and they still cant handle it.  We recruit the halls daily, but they never last.

 

What % of HS boys play at your school?

 

I'll go first: we are at 20-22% of our HS boys playing football.

Why would they with the entitlement they have now days? Generation S……. As in soft. 

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3 hours ago, DaveTV1 said:

If you love the game you'll play as long as you can.  I don't think kids ever get burned out of playing they just didn't like the game or found an interest that was more exciting.  See Tom Brady.  

Most kids don’t know if they love the game at 14and under. A lot of them play because “daddy” wants them to . Kids do burn out- example — young lady, my neice, played from time she was 7 as a pitcher, parents took her to all the lessons she could handle, summer ball, select ball, went to state softball tournament junior and senior years, got offers galore. When asked which school she was going to, her answer was “ I don’t want to play anymore , I am burned out”. It does happen. Now she is a happy mom with a baby boy . 

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4 hours ago, DaveTV1 said:

If you love the game you'll play as long as you can.  I don't think kids ever get burned out of playing they just didn't like the game or found an interest that was more exciting.  See Tom Brady.  

That’s the issue. Too many kids don’t “love the game” anymore, for many reasons. They’ve been told it’s not worth the health risks, that it’s not worth the work they’re putting in if it’s not going to earn them a scholarship, or a laundry list of other reasons. They’re totally ok with sitting on the couch playing football on video games, but the idea of spending hours working and running in the August heat to prepare for a 3 month season doesn’t appeal to them. 

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5 hours ago, eagle34 said:

"Start at age 3-4" ? 3 year Olds playing football? Come on Man....

Yes sir ! Community close by where I live is starting a 3-4 year old buddy ball flag team. Evidently daddy did not do as well in high school as he thought he should. Now he is replaying his career through his 3 year old kid. Beats it all.

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50 minutes ago, Destry said:

Yes sir ! Community close by where I live is starting a 3-4 year old buddy ball flag team. Evidently daddy did not do as well in high school as he thought he should. Now he is replaying his career through his 3 year old kid. Beats it all.

Wow! That is crazy!!! 

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54 minutes ago, eagle34 said:

Wow! That is crazy!!! 

So right. I feel sorry for some of the kids . Fun for awhile but to a young kid it could get old in a hurry. Daddy should be out in the back yard playing catch with the kid instead of playing competitive sports at this age. I guess I am so old school it is unrealistic. Kids haven’t changed, parents have.

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On 1/28/2023 at 8:41 PM, trueblue82 said:

That’s the issue. Too many kids don’t “love the game” anymore, for many reasons. They’ve been told it’s not worth the health risks, that it’s not worth the work they’re putting in if it’s not going to earn them a scholarship, or a laundry list of other reasons. They’re totally ok with sitting on the couch playing football on video games, but the idea of spending hours working and running in the August heat to prepare for a 3 month season doesn’t appeal to them. 

I'll see a couple throwing a football around, but I think some of it has to do with helicopter parents that think their kids aren't safe doing so at least in large and mid-size cities. I still look at places where I could play football or baseball, and I don't see kids playing any sports there.  The days of sandlot baseball and even street football are gone, and I do think video games do have a lot to do with it.  

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There is a lot of pandering to "this generation of kids" in here, and "its them video games". When the reality is there are several more options for kids to pursue outside of sports in todays world that have both positive and benefits for each individual kid. Today's world is far more complicated and nuanced than any generation previous has been. It is no longer boys play football because boys grow up playing football or baseball or basketball or x, y or z. Between helicopter parents, an increased exposure and demand to specialize at a young age, access to outlets beyond sport, and old heads constantly calling them soft its not hard to see why many kids have zero desire to play. Let kids be kids and play what they want to play without criticism. whether that be esports or team sports. 

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