Tackle Football Canceled In Highland Park As Sign-Ups Plummet

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — As concerns over the long-term health impact of playing football are fueled with each new study associating the sport with brain injuries, the Park District of Highland Park has been forced to stop offering a tackle football program to kids in fifth through eighth grade. On Tuesday, Executive Director Liza McEloy told a board meeting the Little Giants program, which at its peak included about 150 kids, has been decimated to the point it can no longer continue.

"Our enrollment declined so much, with everything that's going on in football," McEloy said. "In the last three years, our numbers went from 54 kids in '15 to 33 in '16 to 11 in '17...People are not playing tackle football anymore." However, McEloy said flag football has not seen the same decline in participation, noting that 79 participants are registered for this fall's park district flag football program.

Park District Commissioner Terry Grossberg said if kids wait until high school to start learning proper techniques they may be at risk for more injuries when they begin playing tackle football.

"My son played freshman football after never having played. He had a great time, got a concussion — I'm not even complaining, I thought it was—" Grossberg said.

"Father of the year," joked Commissioner Cal Bernstein. "Doesn't care his kid got a concussion."

"I'm not here to rip it at all, I'm just saying he didn't know how to tackle or how to block, he never felt his 'bell rung' before," Grossberg pointed out. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Highland Park — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

In the past, teams fielded by the park district, with help from the staff of the Highland Park High School football team, have competed in the Central Suburban Youth Football league, according to the Highland Park News. Both the district and the league participate in the Heads Up Football program, which aims to increase the sport's safety and includes a certified trainer at games.

Just as tackle football enrollment has rapidly declined, McEloy said the number of participants in the park district's fall baseball program has tripled during the 2015 to 2017 period.

_{Discussion of football enrollment begins at 19:40:}

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_{Top photo: Highland Park Little Giants | Park District of Highland Park}