Fordson High School football coach Fouad Zaban (in sunglasses and white t-shirt) speaks to his players at practice on Wednesday, August 17. Zaban said that his team is closely tended to by medical staff and also noted that players will undergo concussion testing prior to the season as many advocates have suggested for high school football players. PHOTO: Nafeh AbuNab/American Elite Studios

DEARBORN — Due in large part to the success of local high school teams, along with the highly-anticipated “Fordson: Football, Faith, Fasting” documentary movie, American football has gained a strong foundation in the Arab American community in Dearborn and metro Detroit. 

Pickup games of football are even more commonplace than soccer in many communities, and kids are signing up in droves to participate in the country’s favorite “collision sport.” 

But some advocates and studies are raising concerns about the participation of kids in full-contact football and recommending flag football as an alternative, even as tackle is being played by millions of kids across the country. 

When it comes to football, injuries are seen as part of the game, and most are minor. But concussions are part of the risk and can have serious effects on developing brains of young players, especially if they are rushed back into action too soon. 

A 2011 study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine titled “Trends in Concussion Incidence in High School Sports: A Prospective 11-Year Study,” found that there are 60 concussions in high school football per 100,000 player games or practices, defined as athletic exposures, and the concussion rate in high school football has increased 8% annually from 1997-2008. Concussions in team sports in general have also been rising with football rated as the sport most likely to cause them. 

It is for these reasons that former NFL defensive lineman Brad Culpepper decided to originally enroll his son in flag football instead. 

“I played tackle football for 18 years, including nine in the NFL. No one loves football more than me, but there are two arguments I would make for flag football versus full-contact football for kids. One is safety — in particular, the risk of concussions — and the other is skill development,” he said, in a release from i9 sports, a flag football organization for kids. The organization also offers soccer leagues where heading the ball is not allowed because of injury risks. 

“Kids are just not physically developed enough to absorb helmet-to-helmet contact without serious risk of concussion, and the possibility of nerve or brain damage is very real. In the area of skill development, flag football is more about throwing, catching and agility and less about pounding bodies around.” 

Former NFL player Mark Carrier, who coaches youth football, has a different view. 

 “If it’s coached properly, tackle football is safer than flag football,” said Carrier to ABC Action News of Tampa, Florida. “But only if it’s coached properly.” 

Culpepper told the same station that he will now allow his 13-year-old son to play tackle for the first time this year. 

In Dearborn, Ali Sayed’s HYPE Athletics organization provides various sports opportunities to kids in and around the city including flag football leagues that don’t feature tackling and hitting, only basic blocking. 

Sayed said the decision to use flag football was made because the Dearborn Lions youth football organization was already well-established, not necessarily because of safety. HYPE’s  flag leagues also provide football to kids who can’t afford helmets and pads. 

Still, he recognizes the merits of teaching fundamentals and developing kids as athletes before letting them hit. 

“For tackle, and all sports primarily in football, the focus should be on developing your body and allowing the kids to establish the foundations of athleticism which are endurance, flexibility, balance, and then strength and agility,” he said. 

“These are traits kids need to have before they put on pads or a helmet or before you teach them to hit.” 

Sayed said former pro and college athletes have told him they would never put their kids in football because of the pain they endured from the sport.  

Professional and college football are played by much larger, faster and stronger men, which leads to an increased risk in injuries, even with perfect technique. Sayed played football prior to high school and still believes that the sport is excellent at teaching life skills and is generally safe enough for those who are tough enough to endure the bumps, bruises and sprains along the way. 

Current Fordson junior linebacker Adil Nasser agrees with Sayed. He remembers one teammate having concussion-like symptoms last year but he didn’t believe it turned out to be a major problem. 

“Football is a sport you have to be passionate about and just like any other sport there’s injuries,” he said. “You have to take the risk, you either love the sport or you don’t.”

Nasser has played since he was at Unis Middle School in Dearborn and he believes that kids should play tackle football as soon as they’re physically ready so they can get used to the fundamentals of properly delivering and taking hits. 

“If they’re only playing flag and not experiencing tackle, they wouldn’t be used to it and it would become unusual to them.” 

Nasser says that players are carefully monitored and treated for all injuries at Fordson. 

“There’s always one or two trainers on the side, even if it’s a hangnail they want us to report it as quickly as possible,” he said. 

Members of the team also recently were given a chance to visit a local Oakwood clinic for heart tests to make sure they are fit enough from a cardiac perspective to continue playing. Nasser also said that permission slips have been passed out for concussion testing for the team for the first time he can remember this year. Fordson coach Fouad Zaban said that the tests are mandated by the district and that Michigan officials are looking into potentially requiring more testing for all. 

Zaban said he will likely have his son play tackle football, however, and believes it is paramount to learning how to properly deliver and receive a hit early on as a player. 

A study released this summer by the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine has called for all teen athletes to be tested for concussions before their sports seasons so they can be diagnosed properly should they suffer a related injury. Other sports and activities that have led to the most concussions include bicycling, basketball, playground activities and soccer. 

Parents and coaches have been urged to monitor kids and to make sure they allow their bodies the proper amount of time to recover from injuries. 

While football (and other sports) can be rough, Sayed believes that the net gain of work ethics, teamwork and leadership skills learned is irreplaceable and well worth the risk. 

“For parents, the game of football is not a bad game, it’s been played for years and a very small percentage of athletes get (seriously) hurt,” he said, adding that parents should put school first. 

“The game will develop the mind and body to be strong and confident and develop the youth into becoming leaders, and overall playing sports will put kids in healthy, safe drug-free environments and hopefully help them become outstanding students as well.”