In recent years it has become "cool" for teenage boys to "sag" their pants so that their boxers show.  A side effect has been that even in youth sports such as soccer we see a lot of boys wearing boxers who used to wear briefs.  While briefs give little protection compared to athletic cups, boxers provide no protection at all.  There used to be an an article called "Boxers vs. Briefs" that I had linked to this website.  It has been removed from the website where it was located.  Since I can't find that article I am adding some information about the sports injuries caused to males who wear boxers instead of briefs or athletic cups. 

The Team Talk:

     When talking to your teams on this somewhat touchy subject I have a great ice breaker about the situation.

    One mom was complaining about having to go to the athletic store to buy an athletic cup for her young son, who was seven years old and just starting the soccer league.
    She said, "The man asked me what size of an athletic cup I needed."
    "I shrugged and held my thumb and index finger about an inch apart and said, 'He's about this big.'"
    "The man behind the counter said, 'No, ma'am.  What is his *waist* size?'"

Health Advice for Boys:

      If you don't avoid athletic cups and supporters because they're too much of a hassle, then you probably keep them at the bottom of the closet because you think wearing one makes you a sissy. In fact, only one out of ten adult men engaging in recreational contact sports bothers to don one of the plastic guardians before running onto the playing field. New research suggests that that leaves the other 90 percent of us vulnerable to an injury that can lead to permanent infertility.
     Most of us would probably agree that's a bad thing. Luckily, there are concrete steps you can take to prevent an injury and to stop long-term damage from occurring if you do get into trouble. Here's our best advice on protecting your family jewels.

 

1. Get support. Whenever you stray onto a field of play that involves contact, arm yourself with a high quality athletic cup and supporter. This applies if there's any chance of a direct hit--for anything from baseball to club soccer.
    
2. Choose your support wisely. The efficacy of supporters in preventing injuries varies, according to Marc Goldstein, M.D., director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Microsurgery at the New York Hospital--Cornell Medical Center in New York City. "I actually recommend the hard plastic cups that ice-hockey goalies are required to wear--they're the most protective of all," Goldstein advises.
    
3. Take it smooth. Bicycle riding emerged as the second most common source of injury in the recent study.  "Most men who got injured on a bike, did so while going down steps," says Wolfram E. Nolten, M.D., principal investigator and associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. If you encounter any kind of extremely bumpy surface while riding a bicycle, either swallow your pride and walk your bike past it or stand up on the pedals to keep the vibrations from affecting your groin.
    
4. Rest. After any injury that results in testicular pain, this is the first thing your body needs. Lie down and apply an ice pack to the affected area, suggests Dr. Nolten. You may also want to take an anti-inflammatory medication like Tylenol or ibuprofen.
    
5. Know the signs. We've all had the dizzying experience of a sudden hit that's left us groaning out loud - that's not necessarily a medical emergency, just a fact of life. But Dr. Goldstein suggests reporting to your nearest emergency room if the testicle becomes swollen, black and blue or if severe pain persists for more than several minutes.
    
6. Sound it out. If you do go to the emergency room, insist on being seen by the urologist on-call and request a scrotal ultrasound. "It's the most accurate way to diagnose injuries to the testicle," says Dr. Goldstein.
    
7. Make a change. Advocate for a mandatory policy of wearing athletic cups and supporters for boy's athletic teams. "I'm an assistant Boy Scout master and when we go camping, the boys have to show their rain gear or they don't go," says Dr. Nolten. "Same thing should be put into place for athletic cups and supporters and sports: If the boys won't wear them, they should be sent home."

  The above information is copied from the website at http://members.tripod.com/StrikingEagles/health_advice_for_boys.htm

More Medical Information:

     The following information was posted to the Soccer-Coach-L e-mail list by Phillip L. Blansett, Ph.D.

       The following is from Dr. Peter J. Minich, The Center for Urological Treatment and Research in Nashville. Dr. Minich is a world renown urologist:

     "We at the Center for Urological Treatment and Research feel it prudent that boys playing soccer wear athletic support such as brief underpants as opposed to boxer shorts while playing soccer. Testicular injuries are painful, often require surgery, and can result in a loss of the organ.
Players with no scrotal support are likely at higher risk of this happening. Certainly, a jock would be the safest thing."

     Yet soccer remains the only sport of its ilk where boys, not guided by adults in this area, wear boxers, not briefs.



The following is an excerpt from one of my newsletters:

      Dallas Cowboys Burn Jock Straps --- Wear Boxer Shorts Instead!

     Vanderbilt and University of Tennessee Football Players discover "sagged pants" (pants worn down below the buttocks so that their fashionable boxer shorts can show) Helps Team Win!

     Nolen Ryan Admits He NEVER wore a "Cup" while pitching!! Says his Boxer shorts wouldn't hold it in place!

     NOT!!!

     Yes, there are Posers ... and there are players. Players who are on winning teams whether soccer, football, baseball or any other speed-based and potentially contact-based sport and who have learned that pants worn at the waist as designed, shirts tucked in and kept tucked in ALL OF THE WAY AROUND their waist even during practice so their focus can be on play not fashion, and, for boys, wearing underpants such as Jockey Style Briefs or athletic supporters are
important to winning and to maintaining good health.

     For boys and men, according to our nation's Urologists, the vast majority of sterility and infertility problems in men can be directly traced to testicular bruising in adolescence WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED IF, WHEN BOYS PLAY AGGRESSIVE COMPETITIVE SPORTS SUCH AS SOCCER, they are required to wear jockey-style knit briefs or athletic
supporter underpants instead of fashionable boxers.

     But out of a fear of rejection by today's youth, parents, teachers and coaches, afraid to speak about underpants, afraid to set standards, and afraid to require proper equipment, allowed sagged pants, allow posing to replace playing, requiring shin guards while ignoring anatomical support thereby short changing our youth.

     Do you REALLY think the Cowboys "sag" their jerseys? Do you REALLY think Michael Jordan wore boxers during a game? Not on your life. And Nolan Ryan ALWAYS wore a cup ... his coach REQUIRED it (maybe his Mom did, too),

    And his shirt tail was tucked in, too.
--
    Phillip L. Blansett, Ph.D.

     If all the above fails to persuade your players try this tact.  When I talk to my players about wearing athletic cups I use the magical word "amputation" a lot when discussing groin injuries.  It tends to work.

Ken Gamble
dsports@hiwaay.net