Young children who play peewee football could be getting tackled as hard as college players.

A first-of-its-kind study looked at head impacts experienced by first- and second-grade football players found young children experience hits hard enough to cause a concussion.

Researchers at Wake Forest University and Virginia Tech outfitted seven youth football players with helmets designed to measure the impact of a direct hit. They found each player recorded over 100 hits during the season, ranging from something you'd experience in a pillow fight to a hit similar in force to those seen in college athletes.

Most of the hard hits occurred during practice, which experts said is encouraging because practice plans can be changed.