密歇根新闻广播 因参加人数减少 高中橄榄球队由11人降至8人

 

On Friday night, a football state championship will be on the line when Deckerville High School and Powers North Central square off. The game will be played in Greenville, which is just northeast of Grand Rapids, and for those in attendance it will seem like your average high school football game. Except that instead of 11 players on each side, there will only be eight.

The state of Michigan has seen the second-biggest decline in high school football participation¹ in the nation and because of this, there is a growing number of schools who are electing to play eight-man football rather than the traditional 11.

Many would be quick to blame safety and the increased awareness² and threat of concussions³, because that's a legitimate⁴ concern. However, for some programs, it's just a numbers games with many schools seeing a decline in enrollment⁵ and not having enough kids.

Is there cause for concern about the future of the sport of football?

To help answer that question, John Johnson, the communications director with the Michigan High School Athletic⁶ Association (MHSAA) and Kevin Bellefeuil, the head coach of the Powers North Central High School (Powers, Mich.) football team, joined Stateside to talk about it.

According to Johnson, concussions are an obvious concern for parents, but many smaller schools are dealing⁷ with drops in enrollment that have made it difficult to field full teams. There are also some anecdotal examples like a lack of motivation for student athletes and others where kids are focusing on just one sport.

Concussions are being closely monitored by the MHSAA and there has been a significant increase in the number of players reporting them. Johnson says, in a way, this is a good thing, because it's not necessarily that there are more concussions then in past years. He says there is just more awareness and more players are reporting concussions to their coaches and trainers.

When Cynthia Canty talked with Coach Bellefeuil, he was in the process of traveling with his team from the Western Upper Peninsula to Greenville for Friday's championship game. He talked about his school's decision to move from 11-man to eight-man and some of the challenges with fielding a team at a school of roughly 115 students.

Bellefeuil also takes pride in one of the few schools in the state that have elected to go with "no contact" practices.

By not tackling each other in practice, it minimizes injuries along with the wear and tear of a high school football season. At Powers North Central, the kids are taught proper technique when they tackle. Some criticize the "no contact" approach because there's a difference between tackling another player and tackling a dummy⁸ or one of Coach Bellefeuil's "donuts."

Bellefeuil' disputes that notion based on what his players have done on the field. He says he receives plenty of compliments about how well his team tackles. And let's not forget, they've reached the state championship game, so clearly they're doing something right.

Listen to the full segment above to hear more about the efforts to make football as safe as possible -- or if that's even possible -- and why we're seeing the rise in popularity of eight-man football.

1 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

2 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

3 concussions   

n.震荡( concussion的名词复数 )；脑震荡；冲击；震动

参考例句：

• People who have concussions often trouble thinking or remembering. 患脑震荡的人通常存在思考和记忆障碍。 来自互联网
• Concussions also make a person feel very tired or angry. 脑震荡也会使人感觉疲倦或愤怒。 来自互联网

4 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

6 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。