Who is really to blame for football injuries?
By: Marisa Urbano, Staff Member
PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA - Pete Stenhoff was a physically fit, 210-pound linebacker for Chula Vista High School, when he planted his head into a ball carrier’s chest on the opposing team and cracked his spine. He is now confined to a wheelchair.
As he took his place with his teammates on the field that fateful day, he waited to hit his opponent to stop a possible goal. Unfortunately, he cracked his vertebrae instead and stopped his chance of ever walking again. Pete is a fighter on and off the field. Although confined to a wheelchair, he has his sights set on graduation.
Pete is an example of what happens 20,000 times a year in a high school football season. In fact, in 2,400 of those 20,000 injuries, adolescents are becoming permanently disabled. And like Pete’s injury, 7,000 of these football injuries are to the neck or to the head. Thirteen youths died last year alone from this prevalent issue. (Attribute to the Workbook)
As Pete stepped onto the field, he said he could never have imagined his career ending at only 16 years of his age as a junior in high school. Pete is not bitter about the accident. Pete states, “I knew the risks involved when I decided to play football…but I wish I would have known just how bad it could be.” (Attribute to Workbook) What do you think about football?
- For more information about the proper football attire and injuries, click on these links for two other stories: http://www.parentdish.com/2010/01/27/bizarre-emergency-room-injuries/
- http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1957046,00.html
- For more information on this story, click the link to my sidebar on my other online website: www.wix.com/marisaurbano/Marisas-online-journalism-switcharoo
- For Audio Clips about Football Injuries to the head (and comparing it to Dogfitghting), click on this link: http://www.newyorker.com/online/multimedia/2009/10/19/091019_audioslideshow_football
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