Nine-year-old Max Langlois, all 63 pounds of him, loves tackle football.
“It’s fun because you get to knock people off their socks,” said Max, a linebacker and quarterback for the Eagles of the Arapahoe Youth League. “I’m like a lion when I’m out there.”
Max has played tackle football since he was 5. His mom, Jeanne, has cheered, cringed and held her breath ever since.
“When Max started playing, I kept thinking, ‘He’s only 5!”‘ she said. “It still bugs me to see him get hit. I get excited, I’m on the edge of my seat every minute and I’m so proud of him. But at least two or three times a season, Max is flat on his back. I almost ran out on the field last year.”
For parents who fret about whether tackle football is good for someone at such a young age, there’s an increasingly popular alternative: flag football. The sport’s proponents say it’s less risky than tackle football, helps develop better athletic skills such as throwing and catching, and invites greater participation.
“Kids who play in our league all get to run, throw and catch,” said Cyndi Elia, director for We Sport U, a 5-on-5 flag football league based in Longmont that boasts more than 300 players. “In some football leagues, the bigger kids have to play on the line and they do nothing but block and tackle. We think flag gives everyone a chance to play, then if they want to play tackle when they get older, they have the skills.”
We Sport U is part of the NFL’s youth flag football program, established in 1996. It has grown to more than 150,000 participants nationwide and is open to boys and girls from kindergarten through eighth grade. There are numerous types of flag leagues, many of which have 8-on-8 teams and allow blocking. In all flag leagues, tackling is against the rules and contact is minimized.
The Broomfield Youth Football League offers flag football for kids 5-7. At age 8, kids strap on the pads.
“We don’t encourage tackle at first,” said Tom Weaver, a league board member and coach. “We like the idea that all kids can learn the basics of football. It’s the ultimate team sport, and in flag we can teach formations, discipline, hustling to the end of the play. All of those things.”
But for kids such as Max, flag football is not real football. Walt Weiss, the former Rockies shortstop who is now a special assistant to general manager Dan O’Dowd, understands that. He’s coached his 12-year-old son Brody’s team to three Arapahoe Youth League Super Bowl titles.
“Tackle football is not for everybody, and I completely understand that,” said Weiss, who has coached Brody for six seasons. “I tell our parents all the time that this is different than any other youth sport. It’s very demanding on the kids, and on the parents who have to sit there and watch their kids get hit.”
Yet Weiss believes the intensity of tackle football molds young athletes in a special way.
“I think there are lessons to be learned in football that you aren’t going to get in other sports,” he said. “You have to be willing to collide with your body, and it’s not very natural. So this sport challenges them physically and mentally.”
David Langlois, Max’s dad, agrees. He chuckles about his son’s early sojourn into a rough-and-tumble sport.
“I never worried about him getting hurt, even when he was 5,” David said. “I just thought he might topple over because his helmet was too big for his body. But really, I’m more afraid of him getting hurt riding his bicycle or crashing his skateboard.”
The biggest challenge for young players, Weiss said, is overcoming fear.
“That’s always going to be there because of the nature of the game,” he said. “How they deal with that fear will determine if they continue to play. We think it’s a good lesson to learn. But tackle football is certainly not for everybody. If parents don’t want their kids to play, I totally understand that, and I respect that. Those who do want to play, we’re out there to coach them.”
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
“Our analysis showed that youth football injuries are uncommon.” — Dr. Michael J. Stuart, orthopedic surgeon and principal author of the Mayo Clinic’s 2002 study on youth football
“I like starting kids with flag football. It allows them to be introduced to the game without being afraid. If kids are introduced to tackle too soon, they get gun-shy. I’ve seen it backfire too many times.” — Gary Gansar, Niwot High School running backs coach and longtime supporter of flag football in the Longmont area
“I tell our parents all the time that this is different than any other youth sport. It’s very demanding on the kids and on the parents who have to sit there and watch their kids get hit. It’s tough when their kid takes a shot or gets blindsided or something. But tackle football teaches things other sports don’t.” — Walt Weiss, former Rockies shortstop, who has coached his tackle football team to three championships in the Arapahoe Youth League
“Some kids just aren’t meant for tackle football. Flag football gives young kids a chance to play a great team sport and a chance to learn the fundamentals.” — Tom Weaver, coach and board member for Broomfield Youth Football
“My son’s 13 and he plays tackle football as well as flag. He likes playing flag because it’s fun, it lets him do more things. He gets to catch passes and run, all of those things. Flag enables kids in all shapes and sizes to play.” — Cyndi Elia, league director for We Sport U in Longmont
“Football is a contact sport, so I don’t think playing flag is the same thing. There is a big difference. I think little boys are going to be little boys, and I think they like playing tackle.” — David Langlois, whose 9-year-old son, Max, plays tackle football in the Arapahoe Youth League
About this series
This is the third of an occasional series exploring viewpoints about youth sports, both locally and nationally.
The series includes video clips from Colorado neighborhoods at .
Readers are invited to log on and give their views on each subject or alert our online community about issues concerning youth sports.
Our third stop in the series concerns youth football.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
