What do you think?
Rate this book
Head Games: Football's Concussion Crisis from the NFL to Youth Leagues
America's favorite sport has a serious problem. Many of the NFL's top players--including Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Merril Hoge, Ted Johnson, Al Toon, and Wayne Chrebet--have had their careers ended by head injuries. But few realize that most NFL players a
195 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2006
22 people are currently reading
340 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 17, 2012
This book should be required reading for all coaches of youth sports and all parents who have children in any kind of contact sport.
This book not only details Chris' journey into finding answers for his own condition but it relays stories from other wrestlers and football players. Chris manages to write a book that gives a solid scientific explanation into post concussion syndrome and head concussions in general while remaining extremely reader friendly.
For more information on head concussions and to view Chris' work since this book was published, visit: http://sportslegacy.org/
Chris Nowinski is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI), a non-profit organization dedicated to solving the sports concussion crisis. He also serves as a Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (BU CSTE) at Boston University School of Medicine. He also serves on the National Football League Players Association Mackey/White TBI Research Committee and on the board of directors of the Brain Injury Association of America.
This book not only details Chris' journey into finding answers for his own condition but it relays stories from other wrestlers and football players. Chris manages to write a book that gives a solid scientific explanation into post concussion syndrome and head concussions in general while remaining extremely reader friendly.
For more information on head concussions and to view Chris' work since this book was published, visit: http://sportslegacy.org/
Chris Nowinski is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI), a non-profit organization dedicated to solving the sports concussion crisis. He also serves as a Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (BU CSTE) at Boston University School of Medicine. He also serves on the National Football League Players Association Mackey/White TBI Research Committee and on the board of directors of the Brain Injury Association of America.
January 16, 2020
First book to convince me to donate a body part.
I picked up this book as research for the book I'm writing on traumatic brain injuries. I was not expecting to be so moved by Chris's story and infuriated by all the work the NFL did at denying and hiding the concussion crisis. After reading the stories of teenage boys who had their lives destroyed or lost altogether be prepared to change the way you think about football and contact sports with high rates of concussions. This is a great book for both athletes and parents.
After reading the book I did sign up to donate my brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation Research Registry.
I picked up this book as research for the book I'm writing on traumatic brain injuries. I was not expecting to be so moved by Chris's story and infuriated by all the work the NFL did at denying and hiding the concussion crisis. After reading the stories of teenage boys who had their lives destroyed or lost altogether be prepared to change the way you think about football and contact sports with high rates of concussions. This is a great book for both athletes and parents.
After reading the book I did sign up to donate my brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation Research Registry.
October 6, 2025
A little terrifying as a mom but well researched and honest. As a physician great to learn about warning signs and risks of the second hit to know to keep kids out and take signs/Sx seriously. I appreciated this one.
May 9, 2013
Nowinski tells a story that is perhaps familiar to many that have played high school and/or college football. He has multiple instances of getting dinged, having his bell rung, etc. What football players, coaches, and professional wrestlers don't realize is that each of those cultural phases for going loopy after hit are basically the recognition of the symptoms of a concussion (without actually saying concussion). I had ONE pretty serious concussion as a high football player, but thinking back on my career, it is likely that I had multiple "minor" concussions that never took me out of the action.
This book caused me a lot of consternation, but it also confirmed a lot of my beliefs about youth football. I am one that believes that tackle football at ages less than middle school/junior high is counterproductive. First, there is such a great disparity in body size at young ages that there is an inherent problem of the smaller players quitting (or never starting) because of the size mismatch with larger kids. Second, there is nothing that is taught or learned at those young ages that is neglected in higher levels of football. Finally and probably most importantly, the coaches of these Pop Warner or Pee Wee leagues don't have the training to recognize the signs of head injury. For that matter, neither do some high school or college coaches if we are to believer the recent reports from Texas Tech.
I think that every youth, junior high, and high school football coach should read this book. I think that coaches care about their players. Living with the fact that they could have prevented an injury (or death) of a player would be extremely difficult. I also recommend this book to anyone involved with high school athletics. Finally, I would recommend that high school coaches associations around the country bring in neurologists or other doctors to train/inform coaches on the dangers of head injuries for adolescents. Emphasizing the dangers might reign back some of the cavalier attitude toward head injuries that can be seen on almost any Friday night during football season.
This book caused me a lot of consternation, but it also confirmed a lot of my beliefs about youth football. I am one that believes that tackle football at ages less than middle school/junior high is counterproductive. First, there is such a great disparity in body size at young ages that there is an inherent problem of the smaller players quitting (or never starting) because of the size mismatch with larger kids. Second, there is nothing that is taught or learned at those young ages that is neglected in higher levels of football. Finally and probably most importantly, the coaches of these Pop Warner or Pee Wee leagues don't have the training to recognize the signs of head injury. For that matter, neither do some high school or college coaches if we are to believer the recent reports from Texas Tech.
I think that every youth, junior high, and high school football coach should read this book. I think that coaches care about their players. Living with the fact that they could have prevented an injury (or death) of a player would be extremely difficult. I also recommend this book to anyone involved with high school athletics. Finally, I would recommend that high school coaches associations around the country bring in neurologists or other doctors to train/inform coaches on the dangers of head injuries for adolescents. Emphasizing the dangers might reign back some of the cavalier attitude toward head injuries that can be seen on almost any Friday night during football season.
February 10, 2013
This was a good book -- an important one, and worth reading. Especially if you are an athlete in contact sports or have kids in contact sports. There is so much we don't know about brain trauma and concussions, but this book makes clear that we are learning a lot. One really important thing I walked away with is that kids should not be subjecting themselves to repeated impacts, not just in games, but in practice. And horrible things can happen if a concussion goes undiagnosed and significant trauma occurs not too long afterwards.
The writing itself isn't great -- the book is disjointed and not well organized. Kind of a jumbled mix of the author's bio/life story, his fight to take on the NFL, previous research on CTE and concussions, and a current manifesto of concussion research and steps to implement it.
The writing itself isn't great -- the book is disjointed and not well organized. Kind of a jumbled mix of the author's bio/life story, his fight to take on the NFL, previous research on CTE and concussions, and a current manifesto of concussion research and steps to implement it.
November 4, 2013
Head Games might be the single thing that assured me I was going to college for the right reasons. Concussions fascinate me, and Christopher Nowinski did his research when he wrote this amazing book. My school's Athletic Trainer introduced me to Nowinski and I was amazed with what I found.
I saw the documentary before I read the book, and I highly recommend the documentary as well. Upon learning what Nowinski had to teach, I was horrified by what is allowed to happen in major and minor sports.
It becomes painfully obvious what is going wrong, and even more obvious that you want to fix it as you continue reading Nowinski's work. Everyone in sports (parents and athletes), athletic training, sports medicine, and coaching should be required to read this book.
I saw the documentary before I read the book, and I highly recommend the documentary as well. Upon learning what Nowinski had to teach, I was horrified by what is allowed to happen in major and minor sports.
It becomes painfully obvious what is going wrong, and even more obvious that you want to fix it as you continue reading Nowinski's work. Everyone in sports (parents and athletes), athletic training, sports medicine, and coaching should be required to read this book.
February 16, 2011
This book was very interesting and a must read for any parent of a child playing football or a high contact sport. It gives alot of the current scientific findings on concussion research and examples of former NFL players who are suffering long term problems due to concussions. The author blends in his own story and his path of discovery of his concussion history and health problems. It really caused me to look back and wonder about my football history. I can't help but feel concerned when I see little kids especially playing tackle football.
July 10, 2013
Nowinski's story is one that comes from somebody who has lived through the debilitating effects of multiple concussions and had survived to tell the story. He is not a doctor and he does not claim to be one. Mr. Nowinski is self taught for the most part with regards to this issue. It is a very powerful story that has helped to spark the conversation in the world of athletics.
January 16, 2014
A must for any parent who has a kid participating in a contact sport. Well documented, well written and quite horrifying to see what lengths we go to for the sake of winning. The documentary movie was very good too.
January 29, 2009
A must read for any athlete and parents of athletes
September 28, 2010
Glad my kid didn't play football. Explains a lot about those who did.
November 29, 2012
Sports fans, and parents, should read this and should be paying attention to this very important situation. Concussions are serious shit.
December 17, 2011
Awsome book on awareness and incidents that has become a great deal these days. Concussions are such a huge ordeal these days.
December 2, 2011
Excellent book--Highly recommend, especially if your child plays any contact sports (not just football).
March 8, 2014
Excellent coverage of the science, policy, history and risk associated with sports and concussion.
January 22, 2015
Read for research
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews