Four days before the biggest game of their lives, dozens of six and seven-year-olds wearing full pads and Kelly green jerseys bounded onto a practice field in suburban Atlanta.
Under bright lights last fall, the Buford Webb football team performed tackling drills and ran sprints. Players reviewed concepts such as how to fill a C-gap — all in preparation for the Gwinnett Football League championship game that Saturday. Winning would represent a proud achievement in Gwinnett County, where over 3,200 children ages 6-15 took part in the GFL’s 2023 football season.
Increasingly, evidence points to the dangers of repetitive hits through contact sports. A recent Boston University study found that young athletes are at risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated blows to the head. Those who played football for many years were more likely to be diagnosed, the study found.
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