High school football is a dangerous game. There are 20,000 injuries in high school football each year and 12% of them permanently disable the victims.
Just ask Pete Stenhoff, 17, who played football for Chula Vista High School in Redmond, Calif. He suffered a cracked vertebrae when his head rammed into a ball carrier's chest. Stenhoff will never walk again.
Last year, thirteen youths died and 35% of the injuries were to the neck or head. Heavy criticism is being levied at the helmet.
At the time of the accident, Stenhoff weighed 210 pounds; now he weighs 172 pounds. He didn't graduate with his class and he's currently trying to get his diploma by taking correspondence courses. But Stenhoff is not bitter.
"I knew the risks involved when I decided to play football," Stenhoff says, but he adds wistfully, "I wish I would have known just how bad it could be."
1 comment:
Usually the idea of a focus story structure lead is to start with the individual -- the small story -- not the big one. But I like your lead.
What I would do, however, is put all of the Stenhoff info together before I transitioned back to the larger issue -- the number of youths who died last year, etc.
14/15
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