On November 4th, high school football player Luke Schemm died just five days after getting seriously injured in his football game the previous Friday. After scoring a touchdown, Schemm ran to the sidelines and collapsed moments later. Schemm was kept on life support, but on the fifth day his family made the difficult decision to take him off of it.  Luke Schemm’s death was the eleventh fatality in high school football since last spring. He was only seventeen years old and he was a student at Wallace County High School in Kansas.

Deaths in high school football have been a recurring issue across the country. Since April of 2015, there have been eleven deaths in the sport. Statistics show that an average of three high school football players die each year.

Most athletes would see this statistic and second guess their decision to play football. When asked if he would give up the game, David Verrilli, a junior at Naugatuck High School, responded,”I haven’t thought about giving up the game. I am confident my equipment will keep me safe.”

Whether the equipment high school football teams are using is safe or not, if the participants aren’t playing safely they are likely to get injured. Kids start playing football at a very young age and they are not being taught the proper techniques to play safely. In effect, it’s putting these children in danger.

Debra Pyka, a parent whose son died at age 25, is against the kids playing tackle football at such a young age. Her son Joseph committed suicide in 2009, and it was later revealed that his brain had a severe CTE, caused by concussions from football. Pyka believes that Pop Warner football fails to protect its young players and prepare them for this dangerous sport.

Cheryl Campbell, a parent of a former high school football player, stated, “They are starting the kids off way too young. They should be a certain age to start playing, and it should be when the kids are in middle school.”

Football is viewed as the most dangerous sport today, and many people are taking action to make it safer. Some believe better equipment is necessary, and others think there should be a certain age limit for kids to play football. When asked what could make football safer, Campbell said, “We need to change the football mentality. People think you have to be tough to play. If a child suffers from an injury, a coach’s or teammate’s first instinct is to tall the player to ‘suck it up and get back out there’. this is far too dangerous and it must be changed.” Devan Aviles is a senior at Naugatuck High School who was forced to give up football due to several head injuries. when asked about what needs to be changed, he says, “Coaches need to be teaching their players from a young age the safe and correct way to play football. I was never taught that.”

The new movie Concussion, which was released on Christmas day will definitely be an eye opening film for those who aren’t aware of the serious issues of football.