When a Football Injury Hits Home

Did you know 70 percent of all football players in the United States are under the age of 14?  My 10-year-old grandson is in that statistic.

Did you also know that football has the highest injury rate of any team sport and each child between the ages of 9 and 12 who plays the sport experiences an average of  240 head impacts during a single season.  My grandson is also in that statistic as a running back/linebacker/quarterback.

This weekend we learned first-hand the dangers of football when my grandson was injured by an opposing player who head-butted him in the arm.  Jarod, starting as quarterback, was forced to leave the game and taken to Urgent Care for x-rays and treatment.  Fortunately, his arm wasn't broken but he did suffer a tear of the muscle in his right bicep which will require an MRI to determine how serious the tear is. 

I know my daughter (and other parents) invest hundreds of dollars every season to give their children the right to play a sport they enjoy.  As a grandmother who is a huge fan of football, I am now questioning if that investment is worth it. I am looking at it differently now that an injury has hit home.