I played high school and junior football ( under 23 league) over 40 years ago. I was average size and build but always amongst the fastest. Still, anecdotally, it became clear that football at these levels was a tough sport. It would often take me  a couple of days or more to recover from the soreness. 
I wouldn't let any of my sons play football because of the violent nature of the sport. I should have put my foot down on hockey. I didn't know then what we know now about concussions.  
Frankly, I don't enjoy seeing big hits and subsequent injuries as a result of collisions either. No one is " soft" for not wanting to be hit in a sport. It hurts and, knowing that our brains are rattling around in our skulls we should eliminate the violent collisions. But when?