As the summer comes to a close, for the parents of rising kindergarteners to the parents of rising middle schoolers, a question emerges as college football and NFL ads begin to spam their phones and televisions: when should my child start playing tackle football? 

The answer to this question is fraught with debate surrounding concerns for brain health, injury, and burnout. However, children and parents alike are hesitant to miss out on the opportunity for their children to play the ultimate team sport.  

So what factors should parents be considering when deciding whether to enroll their K-12 child in tackle football? From a brain health and future recruiting perspective, the early advice is aligned: children before the age of 12 (rising middle schoolers) should not play tackle football, and they do not need to either.

As emerging research has suggested, holding off on playing tackle football until at least middle school can pay dividends on long-term brain health. Many articles and research centers have tackled this issue – see this Boston University CTE Center study and this Utah University of Health article using Aspen Institute data to learn more about the injury risks and recommendations of medical professionals. 

My five years working in college football recruiting and operations at Northwestern University, Harvard University, and Boston College confirms what many football experts say: children don’t need early instruction in tackle football to succeed in the sport later in adolescence. The former Ohio State Athletic Director, Gene Smith, was quoted saying, “If I was czar, I would eliminate tackle football until the age of 13 … I don’t think anybody should be playing tackle football until they’re 13 years old. You learn all the requisite athletic skills that you need to learn through flag football,” in an interview with the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program.

The football skills that young children will learn in a tackle program will be re-taught at a higher level in middle or high school. A tackle program at an earlier age is generally unnecessary if the goal is to learn the basics of the game, when alternatives such as flag football are a more than adequate substitute.

Any edge that children gain from beginning tackle football before they are teenagers lies with the benefits of the components of playing early rather than the sport itself. Playing football has many benefits for young athletes, such as building strength and agility, learning the strategy of the game, learning how to be a good teammate, and good decision-making under pressure, to name a few. Each of these are the characteristics that college recruiters look for in prospective athletes. But each of these building blocks can be achieved through participation in other sports and activities.

Flag football is a great alternative to tackle! While not a new alternative, it has risen in popularity in recent years with the NFL’s promotion of their Chase Something flag football campaign. The prevalence of teams across the country has increased exponentially, decreasing barriers to access. To find a youth flag football team near you, visit the NFL Flag website here.

Strength and agility programs are a great alternative for your child if you’re looking for something more centered around advancing their physical abilities. Focus on finding fun and engaging programs or camps that incorporate obstacle courses, injury prevention exercises, and drills that center around improving footwork and balance. 

If you’re not sure where to start looking, try your local YMCA, local strength and agility gyms or trainers in your area, or inquire with your child’s physical education teacher. If you decide to engage in individual strength and agility training over group programming, ensure it doesn’t become a replacement but rather a complement to participation in team sports.

I once worked for a Big Ten school recruiter who exclusively relied on the Tracking Football database to find receivers and defensive backs that our competitors may have overlooked. Their race times – and the ability to easily find them – helped earn them a scholarship offer and a chance to earn a spot on a team in one of the most competitive conferences in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision). 

If your child is high-energy and goal-oriented, consider finding a youth track and field team or running club to join. If your child wants to play football in college, having recorded times widely available to recruiters as a skill position player is invaluable.

One of the most successful players I met while working at Harvard was a talented high school ice hockey player whose skating drills sealed the deal on his recruitment. With a Harvard degree in-hand, he now looks at being drafted to the NFL as part of the 2026 draft class. 

Being a multi-sport athlete is the only alternative that not only provides the same basic athletic building blocks as tackle football, but also provides more opportunities for development. Additionally, multi-sport high school athletes reap immense recruiting benefits. The mental flexibility required to juggle the transition from one sport and season to the next, while also juggling the pressures of academic achievement, exemplifies to college coaches that an athlete can multitask at a high level and succeed under pressure.

The choice to forego tackle football until later in an athlete’s development can be hard, especially for an enthusiastic child. And making a choice different from what is accepted practice in your community and among your peers makes it harder. However, it’s important for parents to know that while it may be a hard choice, you are not sacrificing your child’s football future. College football recruiters want well-rounded, diverse athletes. Football can be an important part of a child’s athletic journey - it just should not involve tackle at a young age.

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