Poll: Toronto School Bans Hard Balls - Do You Agree?

[DrunkPickle]

Hmm, I believe that's called communism. The government is doing everything they can to keep the citizens in the dark; just as in this story, the school officials are trying to keep the students away from reality. The truth is: you ARE going to get hurt in life, sooner or later; it's impossible to prevent ALL forms of injury -- whether it's a scraped knee, or a crushed skull. Of course, some safety measures should be implemented, but taking advice from some overprotective mom, and restraining the students from participating in real-life sports is like teaching a 5-year-old how to use a hammer and then expecting him to build a house (well, maybe my caparison is a little bit exaggerated). The idea is to expose kids to real-life scenarios during their schooling, not to keep them blind until they're adults and then throw them into the world, they're not gonna make it if they are constantly being fed the, "Don't forget to wear a helmet when riding you bicycle" bullshit (of course, this doesn't apply to BMX stunts and such).

As an aside, I think all those overprotective parents are a contributing factor to our society's demise (in terms of common sense). For God's sake, let your kids learn from their mistakes.

 

[Athol]

Ya that is rather rediculous. There are so many things in a schoolyard that are far far more dangerous that a soccer ball.

Yep. Not because I think it'll help anyone, but because (as a teacher) I wouldn't want to get sued, either. As long as schools can be sued for stuff like this, I think they're right to ban every last bit of it.

The thing is this is Canada not the US. You cant and wont be sued because somebody had an accident with a soccer ball here.

Well you could try...who knows the judge may be having a bad day and could use the laugh?


OT: Hmm I survived school with all those 'dangerous' hard balls without any perminant injury. People should stop trying to bubble wrap thier kids...all that overprotectiveness, and sterile enviroments will really mess them up in the long run.

 

[TheJesus89]

I know people who have gotten concussions from tripping.


Are we going to ban walking next?

 

[CaptainKoala]

I have an idea!!!! Lets make life more difficult more thousands of kids for this one accident that has roughly a 1 in a billion shot at happening. Let alone happening twice.

 

[Chanel Tompkins]

Bweh. I remember when a similar thing happened in our school. Hopefully they'll reach the same conclusion we did-that throwing games with hard balls are off-limits, but things like soccer and touch football are ok.

 

[spartan231490]

Most.
Idiotic.
Thing.
Ever.

Footballs and soccer balls aren't even that hard. And concussion my ass. With the number of times I got slammed in the head with soccer balls and suffered no ill-effects I'm not buying it.

Besides, give a little kid a stick and he will start beating things with it, people if he thinks he can get away with it. Are you gonna ban trees, rulers, pointers, ect? Just idiotic.

While I agree this is an overreaction, you can't act like a concussion isn't possible.

Force = mass x acceleration. Whether or not it "hurts really bad" or something isn't part of the equation. And just like every gunshot doesn't end in a death, or every cut doesn't get infected, not every impact leads to a concussion.

Just the same, I don't blame the school for not wanting to risk liability.

F=ma yes, but that's not really the question. It's not so much about force as imparted energy which is mass x velocity squared, and those air-filled balls just don't have the force. I've taken several soccer balls to the head from a punt, and I've seen twice as many as I took, and no one ever got a concussion. Sure, if you got it going fast enough, it could cause a concussion, but you should ban the cannon, not the ball.

Though admittedly, I don't have any experience with getting hit by a football, and they are a little heavier so maybe.

 

[Mr. Eff_v1legacy]

In my primary school we weren't allowed to play sports or run in the playground. Neither were we allowed to bring in trading cards, handheld games (Gameboy/PSP etc) or any other toys.

Something just seems so horribly wrong with that. I think I may just close my browser and cry.

 

[Aiedail256]

I find this picture 80% appropriate. It exists because of stories like this one.

The ban is counterproductive in the same way as using antibacterial soap to wash everything: yes, less microbes will enter your body, but that will cause your immune system to fall out of practice so as soon as anything significantly bad does get in, you're bedridden for days instead of getting a stuffed nose for an hour. You can't protect kids forever, and the longer you do the more they suffer when they have to start standing up for themselves.

 

[EeveeElectro]

I think if this was in the UK, the Daily Mail would be "ALL SCHOOLS ARE BANNING BALL GAMES FOR SAFETY REASONS!!" and then somehow make it racist or something. When one school wore goggles to play conkers, TDM completely blew it out of proportion and made out that's what all schools had to do...
That aside, people at my school used to throw those fuckers in the face and where it hurt. That's because they were too retarded to play the game properly and thought it was funny to give someone a broken nose. Those sort of kids need discipline or taken out of PE.
People are gonna get hurt, it's inevitable. I can't go a day without getting bumped into or bruised or burned or scratched. Do I wrap myself in bubble wrap? No. Do I want to? Hell yeah!

 

[Dastardly]

F=ma yes, but that's not really the question. It's not so much about force as imparted energy which is mass x velocity squared, and those air-filled balls just don't have the force. I've taken several soccer balls to the head from a punt, and I've seen twice as many as I took, and no one ever got a concussion. Sure, if you got it going fast enough, it could cause a concussion, but you should ban the cannon, not the ball.

Though admittedly, I don't have any experience with getting hit by a football, and they are a little heavier so maybe.

If the question is whether or not they "have the force," then yes, F=ma is the question. They have mass. When kicked/thrown, they've got acceleration.

Lots of people have survived horrendous car crashes without grievous injury... does that mean the crash didn't generate "enough force" to kill them? Or does it just mean some of that force was exerted in other ways that mitigated some of its effect? Not everyone who uses certain drugs dies, some die the first time. It's not an issue of "strong" versus "weak." It's pretty much just bad damn luck.

If you're hit with a baseball in the middle of the chest, you could get not so much as a great big bruise... or, if the timing is exactly wrong, it could stop your heart. Doesn't matter if you're a body builder or a strand of spaghetti.

All a concussion requires is that your head is shaken/shocked just enough for the brain to bump against the skull. It might not be a major concussion, but the brain is a squishy organ. So people just need to accept that 1. yes it can happen and 2. it has nothing to do with "weak" or "strong."

I still agree that the ban is an overreaction, but I don't think the school did it because balls are "dangerous." I think they did it because lawsuits are "expensive," and too many parents are "greedy."

 

[AlexLoxate]

Oh my god, whats next? They're going to replace floors with marshmallows in order to prevent falling injuries.

 

[BLAHwhatever]

Well, as a kid, we always played soccer with a soft ball in school
Didnt really matter cause we loved the game anyway. And some first graders faces were saved.
So to me, banning hard balls doesnt have any real downsides.

 

[Kopikatsu]

I think they did it because lawsuits are "expensive," and too many parents are "greedy."

Can't remember the name of the show for the life of me, but that reminds me of Principal Pixiefrog. Freaked out at the word 'lawsuit'.

Oh my god, whats next? They're going to replace floors with marshmallows in order to prevent falling injuries.

They already do that. Well, not marshmallows, but it's some kind of cushion-y material.

 

[Dastardly]

I think they did it because lawsuits are "expensive," and too many parents are "greedy."

Can't remember the name of the show for the life of me, but that reminds me of Principal Pixiefrog. Freaked out at the word 'lawsuit'.

Art imitates life, mate.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Depends.

I remember that in my primary school bullies often used the hard balls specifically to assault people with (I was on the receiving end of more than a few). My friend had his nose broken because someone deliberately kicked one of the hard footballs at his face. So I can in theory agree with this.

However, banning all use of hard footballs is just a bit silly. Teacher supervised Physical Education should still be able to use them.

 

[AlexLoxate]

Oh my god, whats next? They're going to replace floors with marshmallows in order to prevent falling injuries.

They already do that. Well, not marshmallows, but it's some kind of cushion-y material.

Hmmm alright, then I suggest they only give kids water fresh from a mountain spring to preserve their fragile little bodies. Also, when I was a kid I ate sand. A lot of sand.

 

[Zantos]

If kids could be trusted to just responsibly play with them, it would be a stupid idea. But our school did do this after kids were kicking them at peoples faces. Then there was the time the guy got his nose broken with the cricket ball, those things do a lot of damage. Though it was a fair way and it was bowled properly, so you couldn't help be impressed.

 

[Mafoobula]

No. Nononononononononono. Nooooooooooooo. Very no. Really, very no.
Look, I can understand where these parents are coming from, I really can. Little Johnny might get bonked in the head with a baseball, and seeing your kid get hurt is never a good thing. On the other hand, NO.
.... GOD NO.

Wait, what about rubber kickballs? Kickball is one of the best sports of all time. If they took away the kickballs, then we have a real problem.

 

[The Lesbian Flower]

I kind of agree with this. Yeah, you can't play soccer or basketball or whatever involves the use of a hardball but on the other hand I remember getting hardballs thrown at my head a lot when I was in elementary school. I was the fat girl so everybody thought the best way to pick on me would be to throw the balls at my head and run off. It hurt and it happened frequently enough to be a problem. Some kids are mean enough to use these balls as tools for bullying as well as for fun. Besides, foam balls are fun too.

 

[Desaari]

I don't really see how it's news that some school banned footballs. My school did the same thing. Thing is, my friends and I got the smart idea to start playing football with stones instead. After I ended up with a broken front tooth and 4 stitches in my lip the school unbanned the balls.
This is something this school in Toronto could learn from. If kids want to play football they're going to do it with or without a ball.