While parents have many choices, flag and tackle football imparted alternatives and unique concepts for children to enjoy. In flag football and tackle football, the latter presents a rough-and-tumble style that becomes ingrained in American sporting culture and contributes to a heightened player experience. Flag football has amassed followers and piqued the curiosity of families because of its inclusive play, less aggression, and safety procedures to ensure extensive learning and fun for all ages (Sarmiento & Waltzman, 2021). Tackle football presents physical and health risks to all ages compared to flag football because of the aggressive plays. However, tackling allows for the advancement of strength, agility, and endurance in which players should be permitted to engage if adequately managed, taught, and equipped. Flag football is an alternative to eliminate the likelihood of injury and mortality rate among players. The paper explores flag football as a developmentally appropriate, safe, and engaging alternative sport for all age groups.
Literature Review
The growing debate between flag football and tackle football continues to expand as fans and experts contribute to various arguments and points of view. Each sport has pros and cons, as ball sports are considered highly physical and taxing to the body. According to Ainsworth & Sallis (2022), there is also an issue regarding choosing to opt for other team sports, such as basketball and volleyball, as the level of play is more moderate than the former. The literature review explores various research works and pertinent data about the benefits of playing flag football and tackles football, in which emphasis would be given to the characteristics. Through the gathered data, the literature review provided enlightenment and expanded knowledge about the pros and cons of the two sports. Furthermore, the study facilitates making informed and sound choices regarding suitability. For instance, CDC’s data affirms flag football is a good alternative for children to pursue a physical sport with fewer head collisions and severe impact.
Flag Football
Flag football’s approach, technique, and level of play provide appropriateness and stability for everyone to partake. Flag football lays the foundation to acquire simple to complex skills, football tactics, and safety procedures to eliminate the risks brought about by tackle football. According to the Aspen Institute (2018), the future of football pertains to a shift toward flag football being utilized in various school settings and levels. The Aspen Institute (2018) highlighted that flag football creates a feeder system in which coaches and organizations could conduct talent identification systems for scouting and acceptance in competitive football programs. Flag football provides necessary skills and discipline among participants that they could utilize in other sports. Moreover, various research works pinpointed flag football as an emerging discipline that should be normalized in high school environments to sustain objectives and acquire healthy standards. Despite the merits that come along with flag football, it has potential physical hazards.
Flag football is a potential hazard to youthful adults and kids because of the significant injury rate. The age of ten years has been recognized as the median age when most of these accidents arise due to these children’s lacking abilities and experience (Ogundele, 2018). According to Sarmiento et al. (2021), flag football players had an overall average of 0.4 head hits throughout training and 0.8 hits throughout a match, leading in twice as many 10g head impacts in matches like in sessions. Nevertheless, tackle football has strict restrictions preventing excessive hitting in practice compared to flag football. As a result, the chance of tackling accidents has fallen dramatically since youth coaching staff nationwide are much more acquainted with safety regulations. At the onset, the coaches train the players on safety precautions and undergo thorough training to prevent possible injuries. Youngsters that play tackle football would acquire numerous valuable lessons from the activity, such as responsibility, assertiveness, and collaboration, at a higher degree than any other sport.
References
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