[Football1]

As a parent, I can sympathize with what you've written and agree with most everything you've said.

Unfortunately, I don't believe there's a way "drastically changing the rules around contact" is compatible with keeping the nature of the game as we know it.

As long as offensive coaching teaches runners to lower his head in running "through" a tackler while defensive coaches instruct players to stand their ground or jar the ball loose from receivers, there WILL be head-to-head contact. You get away from those basics and the game of football changes on a very basic level.

It wouldn't matter how long a player would be suspended for a hit to the head, the REAL problem is the result of the hit.

I disagree. If coaches knew that head first hits and launches would cost them ejection and suspension you would see a tremendous effort to have kids not tackle in this manner. The kids who make these types of hits are often the team leaders.

The play where my son was injured is a great example. His head was six inches off the ground when the player who launched himself into Casey hit him in the head. For all intents and purposes he was already down. But because we teach that football is about the big hit this player wanted to get his share. If enough kids get ejected and suspended they will play the game differently which could save the game for everyone. So long as we keep teaching kids that the objective of this game is to inflict the big hit each time you get the chance we usher in the day that the game ceases to be played in high school.