Dr. Robert Cantu, a leading national expert on the issue of sports concussions, makes recommendations in his upcoming book, Concussions and Our Kids, that will no doubt raise eyebrows among some parents and youth sports coaches. Those recommendations include:
- No tackle football before fourteen.
- No body checking in youth hockey before age 14.
- Helmets should be required in field hockey and girls' lacrosse.
- No heading in soccer until fourteen.
- For youth baseball, require chin straps and restrict the headfirst slide.
If you're noticing the number 14 a lot, Cantu points out that this is a developmental milestone for kids in terms of their neck strength and the protective myelin coating that grows in their brains. Kids at this age also have the intellectual maturity to decide for themselves whether they want to engage in the risks of contact sports, he argues:
Cantu also holds up the football program at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., as a model for concussion prevention, even though the program and its unique coach, John Gagliardi, haven't been looking for publicity or studying whether their limited-contact approach to practice results in fewer injuries. The section starts with Gagliardi reflecting on his high school football days in the 1940s:
No doubt Cantu's suggestions will draw discussion and some disagreement. There is a school of thought that injuries will increase and become more severe if young athletes don't learn how to tackle in football, check in hockey or initiate other forms of sports body contact properly and safely. Cantu's book comes out in September.
