9/7/22 New Helmet For Our Knucklehead?

     I am glad they are treating the head as a more important part of the body in football nowadays.  With that, Mijo is on the third generation of helmets since he started playing, which I guess is a good thing.  I am hoping these new helmets tested better than the ones Mijo was calling "Speedflex".  As early as eighth grade, he had been wanting one of these "Speedflex" helmets and he finally got one his sophomore year, when they also put him on the varsity squad.  I am guessing the helmet has been doing its job more or less, when used correctly.

    He has a friend on the line who last week disappeared Wednesday through Friday, he was not picking up his phone, he did not show up to school and missed the game on Thursday night.  Turns out, his parents took him to the doctor to get his head examined, he is on his fourth concussion and was having migraines last week, which prompted his mom to take him to the emergency room.  This is one of Mijo's closer friends, so we know him well enough.  Our boy says he is the hardest hitter on the team, but he is reckless, he will go at a tackle with no regard for himself and manages to bust his head against opponents all the time.  Not in a spearing fashion, but he is still rattling his brain every time he makes contact.  Our son says he uses his hands to bring the guy under control, but this kid is using his body which is more jarring.  I worry that maybe he should hang up his cleats and call it a season, for his own good, especially when he says he is not thinking about playing in college, he is just too accident prone.

    Mijo is still on the fence about continuing to play.  He will commit if there is a scholarship to help him pay for school, but if not, then he would be fine without football.  If he goes to Texas State as just a student, I am sure he will still tryout for the wrestling team they have, if not outright invited.

    It is rough for the coaches, with this being a poorer school, coach was telling us the budget he works with and right off the top, as an example, he buys 8-10 new helmets every year to put into circulation.  These run almost $300, so there goes almost $3000 before the season even starts.  I am glad Mijo gets dibs on the good equipment, which I asked him "wouldn't it be fair to give these new helmets to the guys wearing the buckets (term he uses for the old-style helmets)?"  He said no, the good shit is for the guys that play, not for the ones on the sidelines.  Kind of a dick answer, but it does make sense.