All sports are physical in their own way but football is the most physically challenging. According to the NCAA athletics website, the average division one football player is 6’1 and 232 pounds. Football players on average will face multiple players that are 6’1 and 232 pounds or bigger at least once a week.
In the National Football League, the average player is 6 feet 2, and weighs 216 pounds according to the NFL’s official website. In high school football you will most likely face maybe 5-8 kids that are that big. In the NFL you will face someone that big everyday or even bigger. It is the most challenging for players that play on the offense or defensive line because they are getting hit every play.
Football is also one of the sports where you are most likely to get hurt. It is predicted that players are three to four times most likely to get hurt while playing football. These odds are even higher if the position someone is playing is more physically demanding.
The University of Pittsburgh medical center found out that players who play running back are 16% more likely to be injured than any other position.
One of our football coaches here at AAHS helped put into perspective how much of a challenge that is to face as a player.
“I played on the line, so it was facing 300+ plus pound players over and over,” sociology teacher, Mr. Johnstone stated.
Going up against players in substantial size multiple times a week in practice can take a physical toll on your body. So why do football players need to take care of themselves a lot more than other sports?
“It’s vital. To ensure their health & safety, athletics have to workout consistently and know their bodies,” Mr. Johnstone expressed.
Coaches not only have to worry about game planning, but have to make sure that their players are taking care of themselves.
“It is pretty tough. Football is the only sport where you get hit everyday and knocked down but you have to get back up,” senior Trey Nohrenberg expressed.
Nohrenberg shared how in football you get hit every day whether it is at practice or a game but you are expected to get up.
Football players will express more body aches, bruises, sore muscles than any other sports because of how much contact they have to endure.
“It has taken a tremendous toll on my body from my torn and detached labrum, to my sprained hand. Which will take a year to heal,” senior Jackson Jardeleza stated when talking about his injuries.
Most coaches see a lot of athletes throughout the season play through the injuries because they love the sports so much and can not stop.
Every sport has their own way of being physically demanding but not as much as football. In football you have to be strong, quick, and elusive all while you are worried about other football players trying to hit you.
Football players are held to a higher physical standard than other sports because of how physical it is. With sports physicalness increasing substantially every year who knows what next years Air Academy’s football season will hold.
