The sport of football hasn’t been without its share of negative press the last few years, particularly regarding player safety.

Concerns have been raised over the prevalence of concussions and head injuries in the game. Last fall, Evergreen High School senior Kenney Bui tragically passed away three days after collapsing on the sidelines during a game against Highline. A defensive back, Bui had been injured making a tackle. That same night, senior David Young of Adna High School in Chehalis suffered a neck fracture and needed four screws to stabilize the injury.

Last Christmas, the biographical sports drama “Concussion” hit theaters. The film centers on Nigerian forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, his research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the NFL’s unwillingness to acknowledge the potential link of CTE to football.

Mercer Island youth football has seen its enrollment numbers take a hit, with registration down 35 percent for the upcoming season, according to Mercer Island Boys and Girls Club athletic director Becky Shaddle. Wolverine Junior Football in Bellevue has also seen enrollment decreases of approximately 17 percent in each of the last two years, according to president Greg Pardee.

None of this has escaped the radar of Mercer Island coach Brett Ogata. When it comes to player safety, Ogata stresses that it’s a paramount concern in his program.

“I’m concerned about it all the time,” Ogata said. “I’m constantly concerned for the welfare of my players because they put in a lot of hard work, and I want to make sure they’re successful and that they’re safe.”

But while he may have concerns, Ogata also says he isn’t worried because of the steps his program has taken to ensure the safety of its players. He believes kids are safe playing football, so long as the game is played the correct way.

“I think it’s real important for me as a head coach here at Mercer Island that I ensure that we’re teaching everything in a proper way because we have to save this game,” Ogata said. “If we don’t take a stand and do things differently, there won’t be a game in 20 years.”

Among the safety aspects the Mercer Island program has instituted are an emphasis on keeping players’ heads out of the game through heads-up tackling, limiting helmet-to-helmet contact as much as possible and keeping players’ heads out of blocking techniques. When it comes to equipment, Ogata says the program always has the latest and up-to-date helmets and shoulder pads for players.

This year, Mercer Island hired nutritionist Brittney Patera to help the players make sure they’re eating well and staying hydrated. Patera is the assistant sports dietitian with the University of Washington’s athletic department. Certified athletic trainer Lanna Pangle is at every Mercer Island football game and practice. All in all, Ogata says the Islanders have three doctors at all of their games.

“We’re doing everything we can to ensure the safety of the boys and make sure they’re supported with any immediate treatment,” Ogata said. “With any injury, the response time is there.”

Pediatrician Dr. John Schreuder had a brief stint playing football when he was in high school. His 14-year-old son began playing in Mercer Island’s youth program when he was in elementary school and has continued playing football every year since. Schreuder said he’s “very comfortable” allowing his son to play the game.

“Some kids aren’t going to be satisfied playing tennis; they want to wrestle. I think there’s something about the Y chromosome that hungers and thirsts for adrenaline,” Schreuder said. “Whether it’s football, lacrosse or boxing, they’re going to find an outlet for that. What keeps me comfortable is that this is a highly-structured, highly-supervised, highly-organized way of addressing that need. I think sometimes it keeps kids out of trouble. The coaches are trained, and some of these coaches have really taken it upon themselves to educate themselves about concussions. The coaches care about the players.”

Schreuder acknowledged there is a healthy debate among pediatricians about football player safety. Some doctors feel football is the ultimate team sport and that the playing experience can be valuable to youth, while another group advises against risking injury to young, developing brains.

Schreuder said he also believes kids are safe playing football. As a parent, he says the decision of whether or not a child should play comes down to the parents’ agenda being aligned with their child’s.

“I think the aspects of camaraderie and working together as a group, that’s very valuable,” Schreuder said. “When you look at high school and finding your way, I think that kind of social group really insulates kids from some of the hard, bad things of the world.”

Ogata said one thing he didn’t think people realized was how educated and hypersensitive a lot of coaches are to modern concussion protocol. Gone is the old-school mentality of “winning at all cost.”

“We’re not putting these kids through crazy things to make sure we’re gonna win the game, that’s not gonna happen,” he said. “I’d rather lose a game and keep our kids safe than win a game at all cost, and that’s really the idea of all our coaches nowadays.”

What Ogata wants to continue providing is the experience that has left such a lasting impression not only on himself, but also the players he has coached throughout the years.

“I think the rewards of football are so great compared to any other sport,” he said. “Everything has to work together for the team to be successful. That’s a great life skill for these boys to learn. They get to learn teamwork in other team sports, but it’s really different in football.

“That brotherhood you create, that’s what is unique about football. There’s nothing like it,” Ogata said. “It’s just something to do with this chaos going on around you on a football field and having each other’s back and supporting each other, picking each other off the ground. There’s just something about it that really takes these boys and bonds them together.”