I agree that Football, with it's 2 a days and tough culture is great for raising a gritty athlete. I have a 2025 LHP who is 6ft 175lbs and wants to play high school tackle football (for the first time!; flag only before!) next season. I told him flat out "No. No discussion". This is a kid who is the 1 or 2 LHP in state. While he hasn't verbally committed yet like a few of his teammates (crazy people), he's certainly getting a lot of interest. As much as I like some of the benefits of football, one has to be practical. While you could get a knee, back, head, clavicle, hand injury just randomly in life, a sport like football in the sophomore year has to exponentially increase the risk. I feel a little like a helicopter parent but you gotta just do the best you can as a parent. That one didn't pass my sniff test.