Jefferson 1

Journal Annotations 1-11

Journal Annotation 1
Toporek, Bryan. "Sports Rules Shift in Light of Concussion Research; Governing bodies
target football players." Education Week, 29 Feb. 2012, p. 8. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,
http://link.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/apps/doc/A282746278/OVIC?u=lincclin_sjrcc&sid
=OVIC&xid=b13e7220. Accessed 22 July. 2018.

In this article they first start out explaining how the rules have changed over the years into

stricrter rules that protect all the players. It then goes to talk about the studies tested that proven

that most of the hardest head collisions take place in practice. They let us know that the numbers

of intense head collisions don’t occur too much in games. The officials in the game have

changed rules around for every level of football to secure the safety of every individual player.

This is a very useful source because it relates so much to my side of the spectrum. It’s very

reliable source it comes from the Gale databse and it isn’t a biased review. It shows all sides of

the research by telling us how the rules have changed and how the numbers prove their evidence.

They are basically telling us that its not as bad we think it is and we should shed light on the

situation and how it could be more beneficial than destructive four our youth.

The source I’m using is a source that backs up my side of the research saying how the

benefits outweigh the risks and how its not what it may seem. We think football we instantly

think of that’s it’s a dangerous sport. Yes, it is a dangerous sport but with the evaluation of the

game and changes being made and rules being added it does nothing but make the game safer for

the young men.

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Journal Annotation 2

"Youth football emphasizing safety." Brunswick News [Brunswick, GA], 18 Aug.

2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,
http://link.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/apps/doc/A264553931/OVIC?u=lincclin_sjrcc&sid
=OVIC&xid=f760f8a5. Accessed 22 July. 2018.
This article emphasizes safety in youth football to keep the players safer throughout the game.

The coaches have to go through specific training to be able to work with and coach the kids.

They have to become certified in CPR to be able to coach the kids. They also talk about the

emphasis the coaches put on safe tackling with their players. They tell them to keep their head up

when tackling to avoid serious neck injury or paralysis. Tackling is one of the biggest things in

football and they realize how serious it should be taken and they are putting forth a huge effort in

the youth football to make sure they tackle the right way an efficiently.

This is a very useful source because it shows how the safety of the youth in football has been

taken more serious than it has been taking ever since youth football started. The certificates the

coaches are required to have and certain courses they must take in order to coach the kids. The

source makes sure that the topic of safety is brought up and that the kids are put through safe

drills that teach them what they need to know.

Coaches should be the ones to make sure the kids are being safe and playing the game right,

because kids playing by themselves can get reckless when it comes to proper rules and safety.

The coaches in the youth football system must be ready for more than just teaching the plays,

they should teach the kids the fundamentals that will stick with them forever. This source tells
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how these coaches take part in adjusting the safety of the game and making sure the next

generation of football players are playing the safe way.

Journal Annotation 3

"SMART CHANGES FOR YOUTH FOOTBALL." Tampa Bay Times [St. Petersburg, FL], 4
Feb. 2017, p. 12. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,
http://link.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/apps/doc/A480233561/OVIC?u=lincclin_sjrcc&sid
=OVIC&xid=dfabad7f. Accessed 22 July. 2018.
This Is another good essay on the safety concerns of the game of football and what big-time

organizations have done to make the game safer. The USA Football knew that they had to come

up with something that made the game safer and also something to positively increase the

numbers in youth football that were decreasing. They introduce to the kids the concept of

modified tackling instead of the old school tackling that could lead to serious brain or neck

injuries that may affect them for the rest of their lives. They switched up rules and regulations to

make the game safer for the boys by putting less players on the field and changing their stance.
 Jefferson 4

This is a reliable source because it is a direct example from the USA Football Association and

their officials that they believe that they can make football safer and have put forth that effort.

This is another prefect source because it fits perfect into my side of the defense when it comes to

us trying put effort into the safety for young men.

This essay hits right into one of the big believes I have that with safety precautions we can

retake our children’s safety in contact sports, Like football. Changing the rules isn’t always the

best thing but in this case it’s for the better and for the safety of the youth. They reorganized the

game and made it easier to deal with and made it where it would be less injuries all around.

Journal Annotation 4

“Calendar.” History of ALS, 2010, dev.nsta.org/evwebs/2021p/Credits/default.html.

 Jefferson 5

This website is an advertisement for something called cool pads. Cool pads are shoulder pads

and equipment to keep players body cool. But they also give us history and where the first

shoulder pads originated from and how they weren’t very much. The shoulder pads we had been

leather and they weren’t the safest. Then we migrated into plastic shoulder pads which are safer

for us but they still present some other problems. Kids out in the heat can be a problem, but this

source is the source to a solution. This company makes shoulder pads with a cooling system to

keep the kids from overheating and passing out or dying.

This source isn’t just an educational source that informs us about the history of shoulder pads.

This source has to be reliable because they are selling a product that helps a problem that has

been up in the air for a while. It relates to my topic in a way to help my claim of we have done

many things to help any problems presented to us. I claimed that companies have done their own

research and have come up with their own solutions. This shows that completely, and will help

our kids in the future.

Looking back at this source it helps me think about even the smaller things that people have

done to help the issue of safety around football. Over the years we have advanced so much and

we still are advancing. This is one great advancement that will help our kids or any one playing

football to stay cool and not overheat.

Journal Annotation 5

"UIL tackles football safety issues." Victoria Advocate [Victoria, TX], 24 July 2018. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context,
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http://link.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/apps/doc/A547473963/OVIC?u=lincclin_sjrcc&sid

=OVIC&xid=cb3b6316. Accessed 22 July. 2018.

This is an essay about ‘tackling” the main issues in the game of football it states how coaches

are now required to take proper tackling courses and how they changed rules around. When

tackle football started proper tackling wasn’t at the top of the agenda. People would tackle you

however they could get you down. But we had to make it safer for everybody so they can play

longer and not have issues later on in life. The states started requiring these coaches to take these

courses in order to go back and teach their own team the right way to tackle without anybody

putting their self at risk. They then changed some rules around and intensified some others so

that if you didn’t hit the right way you would be penalized for it.

This essay relates to a few of my other ones that show how serious tackling should be taken

and how the rules should have been rearranged for safety. This source is one that is reliable

coming from the UIL that’s in San Antonino, Texas and the changes and rules they added

effectively made the game safer. With the tackling programs these players have no choice of

learning the proper way of tackling.

Reflecting on this source I can relate to with my paper and in real life. I remember in high

school we went through these tackling clinics before the season started and we were in full pads.

We had to go through the drills and switch our method of tackling to do it the proper way. In my

opinion it helped for some game time situations. In some cases, you have no choice but to tackle

in a unorthodox way, that’s just how the game goes. But, when you square up a player you will
 Jefferson 7

automatically tackle the way coach taught you because you practice it so much. This is a good

source because it has been proven to be effective in high schools.

Journal Annotation 6

Press, The Associated. "Pro Football; Steelers Safety Is Fined for Two Hits on Chiefs." New

York Times, 21 Oct. 2017, p. D4(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/apps/doc/A510602577/OVIC?u=lincclin_sjrcc&sid

=OVIC&xid=4daeaf97. Accessed 22 July. 2018.

This essay is about how contact sports have ended up in bad collisions and they have left

them with somebody out. It starts off talking about the NFL and its players that have been

suspended or injured due to vicious hits or head to head collisions. These collisions are coming

from improper tackling and these players are paying the price. These players are fined and

suspended so they have to learn their lesson from not tackling the proper way. It goes to talk

about other sports where they have ended up with people getting hurt from collisions.

This is a perfect source because it goes to back up how people are changing the rules to

make it safer for players. It is going to be times where some players don’t tackle the right way

but in todays time you cant just get away with it. They have to sit out the remainder of the game,

a few games or the remainder of the season. They also get somebody else in their pocket taking
 Jefferson 8

out a large amount of money. This source is based from the NFL that’s why they must penalize

them with taking their money. Little kids don’t get paid to play football so they have to penalize

them another way.

I have witnessed plenty of huge collisions that were head to head or just have left somebody

knocked out cold. These hits are ugly to see but they are part of the game. That’s why the NFL

and other leagues and coaches have been taking tackling so serious with their players. When I

saw these hits these players were automatically ejected. This is a good way to have players try to

avoid tackling the improper way so they can stay on the field as long as possible and keep them

safe.

Journal Annotation 7

Gerdy, John R. “Organized Sports Do Not Benefit Children.” Sports and Athletes, Vol. 1, 2005,

188. Opposing View Points in context.

http://go.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Viewpoints&resultListType=R

ESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition

=1&docId=GALE%7CEJ3010233241&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Relevance&contentSe

gment=&prodId=OVIC&contentSet=GALE%7CEJ3010233241&searchId=R1&userGroupNam

e=lincclin_sjrcc&inPS=true. Accessed 22 July. 2018.

Organized Sports for Children aren’t really for children but for the parents. When it comes to

children and sports parents can sometimes get carried away. What is wrong is that parents tend to

live through their children. Over react during soccer games etc. children need more control over

the sports they play. As studies show that children are very capable of organizing their own
 Jefferson 9

games. This article informs us about the ways adults tend to take over children’s sports. How

children don’t get the chance to make their own decisions within a “play” during a game. It also

explains how children are more than capable of organizing their own games. Kids being able to

do it themselves are more inclined to actually have fun. It shows ways that kids can go about

creating pick up games. Then ends with the age kids should start doing “organized sport, But

should have more power and responsibility than just playing the game their coaches way. This

source is very helpful on giving an opinionated view on what’s better organized sports or pickup

games. It gives both pros and cons on either side. The article will be a great source to add a

broad section of examples on the cons of sports and how they affect children. Mostly talking

about how adults are a big problem on controlling things and affecting the actual fun kids are

suppose to gain from playing sports.

Journal Annotation 8

Zimmerman, Jonathan. “We Must Stop Risking the Health of Young Football Players.”

Opposing viewpoints online collection, Gale, 2018. Opposing viewpoints in Context,

go.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Viewpoints&resultListType=RESUL

T_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=2&d

ocId=GALE%7CVWETBE693994308&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Relevance&contentS

egment=&prodId=OVIC&contentSet=GALE%7CVWETBE693994308&searchId=R1&userGro

upName=lincclin_sjrcc&InPS=true. Accessed 22 July. 2018.

 Jefferson 10

Risks for injuries have always been a big problem in the sport football. Changes have taken

place in the early 1900s according to the article. Adding new rules, changing the rugby

resembled game. President Roosevelt pushed to help the sport and the players. Introducing the

forward pass idea. Although a coach argued that the forward pass was a bad idea. Increasing

chances of high speed collisions. Then the helmet! Not being the biggest help, helmets gave the

players a weapon to use head on literally. Now kids are playing this game at younger and

younger ages. Putting them more at risk due to not being fully developed. Through out the nation

people have pushed for the safety in football especially at the high school level and younger.This

article helps give information on the risks of football. It gives facts about when, who, and how

people have tried to help in the means of safety in football. Talking about some of the rules and

regulations added to protect players. But shows that some of the safety ideas really aren’t all that

helpful. For example the helmet, being an excuse to hit someone head on. The article will be

very helpful in a research paper giving an idea of the injuries people not just kids are at risk of in

sports not just football. It gives information about the ways people have tried to add safety in

sports. But those ideas haven’t all helped. Also the article points out how kids are playing sports

at younger ages being put more at risk due to not being fully developed.

Journal Annotation 9

Maroon, Joseph, and Julian Bailes. "The Health Benefits of Youth Contact Sports Outweigh the

Risks." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2017. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EEAYEC052799645/OVIC? u=lincclin_sjrcc&xid=83657386.
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Accessed 21 Sept. 2017. Originally published as “Weighing the childhood risks of contact

sports," Washington Times, 29 Jan. 2015.

This essay is on the positive side of the line of whether kids should participate in contact

sports. They are telling us how the benefits of the contact sports outweigh the risks of these

sports. They tell us the benefits of football on little boys and their parents at a young age. It states

how football instills teamwork and discipline, character and self-control in these young men.

After it lays out some of the benefits football and other contact sports has it comes back with

facts about concussions and CTE. We all consider concussions while we are thinking about

contact sports. But in the midst of it really isn’t too much of a problem. CTE has only been found

in a few players and they are all former NFL players. Even with concussions being a concern in

sports we have had so many different technological advancements with protection in sports

recently. With these advancements we have been able protect our children and allow them to

play these sports. The benefits outweigh the risk in contact sports for kids. This essay is a

valuable source because it displays the facts about the questions we have. With us all being

concerned about the health of the kids this essay tells us a little of how we have been countering

those concerns. This essay is compatible with another of one our sources I have because it tells

us certain values kids pick up and even the health benefits. This is a good essay that tells us both

sides of the story with the good and the bad and how we defeating the bad.

While I’m reading this essay I’m agreeing with it at the same time. It fits right into our research

because it isn’t one-sided when it comes to the facts. It gives us the benefits that the kids gain

while playing and also tells us how it can be dangerous. Also it tells how certain athletes that

have played a long time hand now live problems. It doesn’t end at telling us the negative or how

dangerous it is, it continues and tells us how we are counter reacting to these dangers and
 Jefferson 12

concerns. Whether it be certain neurological tests or advanced protection for the brain and body

we are doing plenty to take control. I’ve always thought that we have had a way better system

when it comes to health in contact sports than we did 60 years ago.

Journal Annotation 10

Cohen, Rebecca. “The Benefits of Contact Sports: Why Your Kids Should Participate.” North

Shore Pediatric Therapy, Stephanie Jones Http://nspt4kids.Com/Wp-

Content/Uploads/2016/05/nspt_2-Color-logo_noclaims.Png, 5 May 2017, nspt4kids.com/sports-

2/benefits-contact-sports-kids-participate/.

In this essay they discuss the benfits and values gained through participating in contact

sports. They dont leave out the part about the risks regarding playing these contact sports, but

they express how we have made good progress into the safety of the game for the kids. Some of

the values these kids gather are teamwork, discipline, respect, organization, protection and

confidence. Along with the health benefits, such as, increased cardiovascular conditioning and a

decrease in childhood obesity. It continues to discuss some of the safety precautions you can take

heed to help keep your children safe. This is a very reliable source because it relates to my other
 Jefferson 13

source of how the benefits outweigh the risks. The essay elaborates on how the risks are

prominent and you can’t escape them, but also on how there are way more values to benefit

from. This is reliable information because it has been assessed in every kid that has played

contact sports before. The goal of this source is to show you how your kids would benefit more

than suffer from playing contact sports with ways on how to keep them safe. I agree with this

source because I do believe that young kids can benefit from playing contact sports instead of

suffering from it. Kids can easily gain these character values at a early age whereas it would be

harder if they weren’t playing sports. I can use this source to relate and agree with my other

sources of how the benefits outweigh the risks.

Journal Annotation 11

"NCAA targets football safety, game speed." Pittsburgh Tribune-Review [Pittsburgh, PA], 14

Feb. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/apps/doc/A174757359/OVIC?u=lincclin_sjrcc&sid

=OVIC&xid=b4baa910. Accessed 22 July. 2018.

The NCAA said they had two goals to make the game better and safer for everybody. They

were determined to switch things around so they basically told the coaches to propose safer

tackling to his team and then they wanted to make the games run less time. At the college

football level, you are still learning but you aren’t going to be going over the fundamentals all

the time like you would with a little kid but coaches still have to make sure they are tackling the

right way. With the game clock decrease this will sped up the game and remove most of the

overuse injuries.
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Making changes and enforcing proper tackling are some of the main things that I have

harping on a regarding the safety of football. These things have been helping shape the new

culture of safety. Safety is the main problem for people who aren’t sure if they want their kids to

play football. But with all these requirements and with the teaching of technique tackling it

makes the game safer for all the players.

Reflecting on this I remember going through the same tackling circuits that taught you how

to tackle the right way. Tackling is a huge part of football and can also be a huge problem if not

done properly. Players run up full speed and can’t tackle the proper way every single time but

should consider the proper way of tackling every time they go to hit somebody. They might

not all do this every time, but with us instilling these circuits it cuts down the number of bad hits.