Chelsea - MI - Youth Football Initiative

Anonymous poster:

What would be the reasoning of wanting your children to start so early? When kids don’t even know how to run and catch very well let alone learn how to “properly tackle” someone without injury especially to the head. When there has been significant research on head injuries and the developing brain. As a Pediatric nurse I find all of this very troubling. There is absolutely no need to start any younger. This is why Chelsea has their program set up the way they do.

My response:

I understand your point of view. But the reality is that a high percentage of the kids that play flag never play tackle. We are trying to make sure the game we love doesn’t disappear. Like any sport, there are risks. People need to gauge that for themselves. I don’t think this should be decided by anyone other than those that have the choice. Right now, there is no choice. Folks who want their kids to play tackle are left with having to get their kids to practices in other towns on school/ work nights. And all their games are away games. I just want people to have a choice that is better than what they have now. Nor do I want to see the game that was so important to me die out.

Thoughts?

Flag Football Under 14 | Concussion Legacy Foundation Flag Football Under 14 is an educational campaign for parents about delaying enrollment in tackle football until the age of 14. Click to learn more.

Is there anyone who has liked this page that would be interested in helping to develop a program here in Chelsea?

If you would like to help get this program off the ground, let me know so I can add you to our chat group to discuss the best way how!

Welcome to a page where we can discuss developing a youth football/cheer program as a community.

I am a long time student of football and have coached at the youth level previously. I am interested in developing a program in our community for those kids that love football/cheer. Please join me in starting something that could be amazing for the kids in our city!