The American tradition is for a high school boy to play football under the lights, with the whole town watching as the ball soars through the sky. The fans in the stands explode with cheers as the referee blows the whistle to call it a touchdown. However, no one ever thinks about the true horrors behind playing football throughout your youth until it happens. 

The pressure of being able to feel “the high school experience” overrides the want for safety for some boys. From an athlete at Ipswich High School, Jacob Putur, who is on the football team, “You only have four years to play high school football, so might as well do it.” For most players scoring a game-winning touchdown is all they could ask for in their athletic career. It is the reason why they would play a sport that could hurt them

Nonetheless, long-term injuries are almost always on the minds of parents and some players. In football, all of the little hits that seem not important can be the most concerning in the end. Being hit multiple times in the head can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE for short. This is a neurodegenerative disease that can cause the person to lose their memory, have difficulty thinking, and often behavior changes. 

Many injuries can happen on a football team, and it is very common for them to happen to multiple people in one season. It is important that the coach teaches the players how to tackle safely and properly so there is the least amount of risk. This year at Ipswich it was a priority to minimize the amount of concussions that can happen from poor tackling. Many parents may not let their kids come back because of the injuries that took place on the field.

A teacher at Ipswich High School, Mrs. McShane, prioritizes safety over fun all the time, as most parents do. The long-term effects are always on the minds of parents, as Mrs. McShane states, “It’s our job, as parents, to make sure safety comes first.” In most cases safety does override fun, but some struggle with the line where safety takes away something they find joy in. 

In addition to the worry of getting one, there is a worry about when it is too soon to let the player return, if at all. If you have already had a concussion the likelihood of you getting another is greater. Also, the more you have had the worse the symptoms can be and it can take longer to recover. Jacob has had a concussion himself, and it took about a week and a half for him to return to playing. Some might think that this is too soon, but it is what the doctors told him. He has even recalled a time when he was hit hard but did not have a concussion.

It is very common to be hit in the head and not think it is anything however it is important for parents, players, and coaches to realize when someone has a concussion. Not only know the signs as a parent, but to make sure if you are a player you know the signs and are aware if you have one. Different types of injuries concern parents which cause them to not want their children to engage in football.

Among all sports, football has one of the highest injury rates which is not a good statistic to parents. For players, it is a scary number but in general, it does not stop them from playing a sport that they love. This is important because if not the dream of playing football under the lights will go away, but they need to know when to stop.