Concussions

[Sofaking]

I'm ready to pull the plug on my kids wrestling. I think it's time to take away his teenage dream rather than saddle him with a lifetime of ****. He's been hurt a couple of times this year already and last year with concussions and the season isn't over. Wrestling isn't a dangerous sport but he has had a rough go with regards to his head.

Anyone else go through this?

This was hard to watch.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/...ream-1.4995338

[Sprout]

I empathize! But you are doing what a dad should do.

What other interests does he have? What is his body type? He's your youngest, so was he trying to copy his older brother?

[Andy]

It seems I have a kid or three absent from my classes at any given time due to concussions, mostly during football and hockey seasons. I have heard the old timers talking about how we're soft compared to how things were "back in their day," but only from anecdotal evidence, concussions aren't something I'd mess with. The science is sound and the long-term effects are potentially devastating. I don't know if I'll sign the permission form down the road if my son wants to play football. I have taught several kids whose baselines - attitude, achievement, effort - changed radically on the heels of concussions. Yeah, maybe they're milking it. Yes, maybe we're being overly cautious. But, maybe they aren't, and shouldn't we be overly cautious when it comes to the long term health of our kids?

I know all sports have the potential for concussions, but it's only logical that contact sports elevate that risk significantly. I definitely feel for your boy, as it can be hard to look at the big picture when you're young. There are dozens of articles about former athletes who are barely able to function as a result of concussions, which might help to get him to realize the risks.

[Sofaking]

I empathize! But you are doing what a dad should do.

What other interests does he have? What is his body type? He's your youngest, so was he trying to copy his older brother?

Hrggh. It's tough. He is built for wrestling, he is relatively small but is 99% muscle. He has taken a couple bad falls. In HS wrestling you wrestle kids your weight between grades 9 and 12. He's in grade 10 and has taken on a couple of matches he was just out schooled. You put a 14 year old up against a seasoned 18 year old and sometimes bad things happen. I know why they do it. They wan't to get matches between kids and that is not a bad thing. When you drive 100 miles you would like to see your kid get into a competition.

In HS wrestling there is novice and elite. Novice is basically for kids who decided to start wrestling when they entered HS and are learning. My son has been in the sport since he was about 6 so he is always in elite at the tourneys, it's a much more intense match and he has been overwhelmed on occasion being 14 and basically wrestling with an adult. He has been hurt.

He wants to win nationals (which I have no doubt he could do) and wrestle at Penn State while going to school, which is the best uni in the country for wrestling. I hate to take away his dreams but I have to look after his health.

[Sofaking]

It seems I have a kid or three absent from my classes at any given time due to concussions, mostly during football and hockey seasons. I have heard the old timers talking about how we're soft compared to how things were "back in their day," but only from anecdotal evidence, concussions aren't something I'd mess with. The science is sound and the long-term effects are potentially devastating. I don't know if I'll sign the permission form down the road if my son wants to play football. I have taught several kids whose baselines - attitude, achievement, effort - changed radically on the heels of concussions. Yeah, maybe they're milking it. Yes, maybe we're being overly cautious. But, maybe they aren't, and shouldn't we be overly cautious when it comes to the long term health of our kids?

I know all sports have the potential for concussions, but it's only logical that contact sports elevate that risk significantly. I definitely feel for your boy, as it can be hard to look at the big picture when you're young. There are dozens of articles about former athletes who are barely able to function as a result of concussions, which might help to get him to realize the risks.

Everyone should see this, it was hard to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPH99ZgcA88

[Sofaking]

It seems I have a kid or three absent from my classes at any given time due to concussions, mostly during football and hockey seasons. I have heard the old timers talking about how we're soft compared to how things were "back in their day," but only from anecdotal evidence, concussions aren't something I'd mess with. The science is sound and the long-term effects are potentially devastating. I don't know if I'll sign the permission form down the road if my son wants to play football. I have taught several kids whose baselines - attitude, achievement, effort - changed radically on the heels of concussions. Yeah, maybe they're milking it. Yes, maybe we're being overly cautious. But, maybe they aren't, and shouldn't we be overly cautious when it comes to the long term health of our kids?

I know all sports have the potential for concussions, but it's only logical that contact sports elevate that risk significantly. I definitely feel for your boy, as it can be hard to look at the big picture when you're young. There are dozens of articles about former athletes who are barely able to function as a result of concussions, which might help to get him to realize the risks.

One of the concussions was playing football. He was a linebacker and got absolutely hammered during a game two years ago. To the point I was ready to run on to the field before the play even stopped. Like I said he is ripped but still relatively small and he got absolutely unloaded on trying to make a tackle. Clean hit, no penalty. He hasn't been the same since.

[BC Green]

I'm ready to pull the plug on my kids wrestling. I think it's time to take away his teenage dream rather than saddle him with a lifetime of ****. He's been hurt a couple of times this year already and last year with concussions and the season isn't over. Wrestling isn't a dangerous sport but he has had a rough go with regards to his head.

Anyone else go through this?

This was hard to watch.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/...ream-1.4995338

As a parent, I know what you are going through. My son was very similar to the Lad in that video. He had 3 NHL teams very interested in him when he retired at the ripe old age of 21. When I looked back at the injuries he sustained during his journey, I really questioned if we were good parents to keep letting him go back out there.

As a proud supportive parent, we keep encouraging and supporting them so they can follow their dreams. We put in the time, we spend a lot of money, we travel a lot of miles, and we pick up the pieces when they get hurt or disappointed.
As they get better and better, we get caught up in where they want to go because they are good enough. As they get older, reality sets in that this has become like an apprenticeship. They train all off season and play in a very physically demanding long season.
But what other apprenticeship does a person receive A broken wrist, a broken thumb, a torn cartilage in their knee, missing teeth, over 60 stitches, back spasms from being hit from behind, and several concussions? And all by the time he turned 21.
The problem with concussions is that the players get used to what the protocol and questions are, and in fear of being sat out or losing their spot, they lie to get back out and play. Of course they are living with a billet family far away and those people don't know the players like parents know them, and don't see the changes that we would.
My son got T-boned in his car at an intersection on the way to play in a WHL game. He got hit in the drivers door and totaled his car. One of the teams brass recognized him and gave him a ride to the arena so he could play. Nobody checked him out before the game. He ended up getting in not just one fight with a very tough player and won, but a 2nd go around which he lost. We are certain he started that game with a concussion from the accident because his head snapped back against the side window and top of the door. The fighting afterwards got him a month out of the lineup. He never really fully recovered in my opinion, and held back when he got invited to his dream shot with an NHL team. They kept him until they made their last cuts and told him to keep doing what he was doing and they would keep an eye on him during the season. Well to make a long story short, he played a year of pro in the ECHL. He was loaded with confidence and was ready to take the next step in the AHL Problem was the last concussion made it easy to say to hell with this heartless unforgiving game. A couple coaches and GM'S called him several times over the next off season inviting him to come to camp. It was heartbreaking to watch him lose his dream that was so close. I hated the game that did this to my son, and I stayed away from the rinks for 10 years.

Fortunately my son married a great gal he met in the States while playing their. He has 3 amazing kids and his own carpentry finishing business. He now coaches his 2 boys in hockey and does a pretty good job. His players and their parents just love him.

It took a long time to put it all behind. Staying positive and keeping him busy looking forward to everything else life has to offer had it's challenges sometimes. No he didn't get the career he wanted, or the payday that comes with it, but he has a beautiful family, a successful business and most of all a ton of respect for giving back to hockey what he learned. Of course he's worried about the injuries that could happen a long the way, but they are still very young and he will monitor their progress as they go.
I am proud to say I get more bang for my buck now going back in the rink. In 3 years of watching my grandkids play hockey, I have only missed one practice and watched every game. I also get to see a great coach in the making learning a new craft as he goes. The other dad's on the ice are in awe of his skating and are quite happy to watch him demonstrate drills.

I hope my story helps you out. As a proud Dad, it's our job to watch over, guide, support and encourage our kids....but we also have to protect them.