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No More Headers in Youth Soccer? (1 Viewer)

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Footballguy
U.S. Soccer Bans Headers for Players Under 11 To Resolve Concussion Lawsuit

The United States Soccer Federation has taken a major step in an attempt to reduce concussions among youth soccer players, adopting a policy that bans players under 11 from heading the ball and reducing headers in practice for 11 to 13 year olds, the New York Times reports. The new rules—which also include changes to substitutions—are in response to a class action lawsuit, which will now be dismissed.The new rules do not apply to all youth soccer players in America, only those that play on teams under the auspices of U.S. Soccer, which includes all “youth national teams and academies, including Major League Soccer youth club teams.” They will only be recommendations to other leagues, but some leagues already ban headers under 10, and you can bet a number of them will adopt U.S. Soccer’s guidelines as their own.

Concussions are a major issue in youth soccer. The best study on the problem, published in JAMA Pediatrics, found that among nine studied sports (boys’ baseball, basketball, football, soccer, and wrestling and girls’ basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball) the girls’ soccer concussion rate was second highest, and the boys’ fifth highest.

The direct act of heading the ball isn’t necessarily a problem. The study found that only 4.7% of boys’ concussions and 8.2% of girls’ concussions were due to head contact with the ball. But overall 30.6% of boys’ concussions and 25.3% of girls’ concussions occurred on headers, mostly from banging heads with another player, but also from hitting the turf. Heading was also the “soccer-specific” activity that caused the most concussions, followed by “defending,” “general playing,” and “goalkeeping."

And while that study only examined high school sports, a smaller study also in JAMA Pediatrics found that headers caused 30.3% of concussions in female middle school players, a broadly similar finding.

Keeping kids earthbound at such a young age is undoubtedly good for their brains, but it doesn’t come without costs. Limiting how much kids can practice heading until they are 14 will lead to slower development of an integral soccer skill. And while that’s not really a concern in your average hometown league—who cares if all of the kids playing soccer for fun suck at headers—these new rules specifically apply to the elite leagues that incubate future national team talent.

The United States already faces a number of structural challenges in competing against the world’s best, and these rules should only exacerbate them. Then again, perhaps fewer concussions will mean more elite youth players will reach their absolute potential instead of being forced from the game due to head injuries, and maybe it will allow Americans to catch up on their ball-skills.

But most importantly, it is good for little kids’ brains.
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Hmm.I've got a U9 who may be under this no header policy. MYSA (MN Youth Soccer) I believe follows US Soccer guidelines. Not sure.

Either way, he's no Pele so I'm not too concerned about this hindering development.

 
I don't think it will take long for most of the other soccer organizations not under U.S. Soccer to adopt similar guidelines.

 
Makes sense to me. I'm not a doctor, but intuitively I've always thought that there's no way heading a soccer ball half a dozen times during a game can be good for brain development.

 
IvanKaramazov said:
Makes sense to me. I'm not a doctor, but intuitively I've always thought that there's no way heading a soccer ball half a dozen times during a game can be good for brain development.
Click to expand...
It's not the actual heading of the ball that's the problem. Its when 2 kids are contesting a header and bang heads or collide mid-air and then hit the deck on their head.

This was actually just talked about at our club this past weekend; heard it was coming soon. I don't think its a huge deal for the really young guys (U10 and below) since the ball rarely leaves the air nor do the kids have the skills to use their heads yet. Most of the time when the ball is 'headable', most kids are waiting for it to fall before using their heads.

 
There was nothing more fun than having the goalie punt the ball and heading it.

We did that all the time during practice. Might explain a lot :unsure:

 
Kids will be running from a punt like it's an incoming grenade. Covering their heads and diving for cover.

 
shady inc said:
Kids will be running from a punt like it's an incoming grenade. Covering their heads and diving for cover.
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In an unrelated move, I believe US Soccer is also looking into removing punting in youth soccer to encourage kids to build out from the back, a skill US players are weak in.

 
shady inc said:
Kids will be running from a punt like it's an incoming grenade. Covering their heads and diving for cover.
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I see it as a development opportunity. Mastering chesting and traps more. I see a lot of kids defaulting to just heading the ball back down the field instead of keeping it and moving it more controlled.
 
Ned said:
IvanKaramazov said:
Makes sense to me. I'm not a doctor, but intuitively I've always thought that there's no way heading a soccer ball half a dozen times during a game can be good for brain development.
Click to expand...
It's not the actual heading of the ball that's the problem. Its when 2 kids are contesting a header and bang heads or collide mid-air and then hit the deck on their head. .
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This is exactly right. Growing up, this is how I remember the majority of concussions happening in the sport. Nothing worse than smashing someone else's head.

 
I played in a coed adult league and had a girl try to head a ball that was coming directly towards me. She was about 8 inches shorter than me and she managed to launch the top of her head directly into my chin. She knocked herself out cold and clearly had a concussion when she came to.

And despite me being the one that jumped straight up and she being the one that launched herself into me, I got called for the penalty. Stupid soccer refs.

But yeah, this makes a ton of sense to me.

 
NewlyRetired said:
shady inc said:
Kids will be running from a punt like it's an incoming grenade. Covering their heads and diving for cover.
Click to expand...
In an unrelated move, I believe US Soccer is also looking into removing punting in youth soccer to encourage kids to build out from the back, a skill US players are weak in.
Click to expand...
I am all for this. Also, I try to get my kids to chest the ball but for some reason they all resist. They all want to head it. I let the air out of balls a lil before games (and use the soft select balls) to try and reduce the risk. Last night I had a kid take a Futsal ball to the face. He was ok but it looked bad initially.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ned said:
IvanKaramazov said:
Makes sense to me. I'm not a doctor, but intuitively I've always thought that there's no way heading a soccer ball half a dozen times during a game can be good for brain development.
Click to expand...
It's not the actual heading of the ball that's the problem. Its when 2 kids are contesting a header and bang heads or collide mid-air and then hit the deck on their head. This was actually just talked about at our club this past weekend; heard it was coming soon. I don't think its a huge deal for the really young guys (U10 and below) since the ball rarely leaves the air nor do the kids have the skills to use their heads yet. Most of the time when the ball is 'headable', most kids are waiting for it to fall before using their heads.
Click to expand...
Actually it is the heading. There are a lot of problems with poor instruction on how to head the ball properly. Improper form leads to issues with concussions.

 
NCCommish said:
Ned said:
IvanKaramazov said:
Makes sense to me. I'm not a doctor, but intuitively I've always thought that there's no way heading a soccer ball half a dozen times during a game can be good for brain development.
Click to expand...
It's not the actual heading of the ball that's the problem. Its when 2 kids are contesting a header and bang heads or collide mid-air and then hit the deck on their head. This was actually just talked about at our club this past weekend; heard it was coming soon. I don't think its a huge deal for the really young guys (U10 and below) since the ball rarely leaves the air nor do the kids have the skills to use their heads yet. Most of the time when the ball is 'headable', most kids are waiting for it to fall before using their heads.
Click to expand...
Actually it is the heading. There are a lot of problems with poor instruction on how to head the ball properly. Improper form leads to issues with concussions.
Click to expand...
I got a concussion at 38 y/o when I headed a ball just off center that was hard as a rock. The worst part was my son gave me perfect service on the cross and I blew the finish. That and I didn't know where I was that night.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
NCCommish said:
Ned said:
IvanKaramazov said:
Makes sense to me. I'm not a doctor, but intuitively I've always thought that there's no way heading a soccer ball half a dozen times during a game can be good for brain development.
Click to expand...
It's not the actual heading of the ball that's the problem. Its when 2 kids are contesting a header and bang heads or collide mid-air and then hit the deck on their head. This was actually just talked about at our club this past weekend; heard it was coming soon. I don't think its a huge deal for the really young guys (U10 and below) since the ball rarely leaves the air nor do the kids have the skills to use their heads yet. Most of the time when the ball is 'headable', most kids are waiting for it to fall before using their heads.
Click to expand...
Actually it is the heading. There are a lot of problems with poor instruction on how to head the ball properly. Improper form leads to issues with concussions.
Click to expand...
The study found that only 4.7% of boys concussions and 8.2% of girls concussions were due to head contact with the ball. But overall 30.6% of boys concussions and 25.3% of girls concussions occurred on headers, mostly from banging heads with another player, but also from hitting the turf.

 
Not teaching kids the proper technique, positioning, and spatial awareness behind heading a ball until they are 14 seems problematic. Hopefully it doesn't result in more injuries for older kids.

 
jonessed said:
Not teaching kids the proper technique, positioning, and spatial awareness behind heading a ball until they are 14 seems problematic. Hopefully it doesn't result in more injuries for older kids.
Click to expand...
They are only banning it for 10 and under.

Between 11-13, kids can still receive instruction and practice but it will be limited (this "limited" seems pretty vague to be honest).

Hopefully delaying this one specific skill won't be too bad. It will probably affect strikers and center backs more than anyone else.

 
GROOT said:
soccer helmets will solve this dilemma.
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to be honest, I really thought one of the newer soccer helmets for young players was going to be the result of this concussion suit but I guess the plantiffs did not push that hard for it and were happy enough with the current changes US Soccer will be implementing.

 
Parrothead said:
what do they do in Europe? is there a concussion issue there with youth soccer?
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Europe is well behind the US in terms of recognition of the seriousness of concussions in all sports. They are just barely past the stage of "it is just a knock lad, get back in the game"

 
Played for 20+ years through Div 1. This is a skill easily taught at older ages - not like foot skills. I see no issue here.

 
I wonder what this would be like in a game. Would header be like a handball in a game where this is banned? Would a cross in the box being cleared out by defenders header be a PK? This will be very interesting to see how it works.

 
NewlyRetired said:
jonessed said:
Not teaching kids the proper technique, positioning, and spatial awareness behind heading a ball until they are 14 seems problematic. Hopefully it doesn't result in more injuries for older kids.
Click to expand...
They are only banning it for 10 and under.

Between 11-13, kids can still receive instruction and practice but it will be limited (this "limited" seems pretty vague to be honest).

Hopefully delaying this one specific skill won't be too bad. It will probably affect strikers and center backs more than anyone else.
Click to expand...
NewlyRetired said:
jonessed said:
Not teaching kids the proper technique, positioning, and spatial awareness behind heading a ball until they are 14 seems problematic. Hopefully it doesn't result in more injuries for older kids.
Click to expand...
They are only banning it for 10 and under.

Between 11-13, kids can still receive instruction and practice but it will be limited (this "limited" seems pretty vague to be honest).

Hopefully delaying this one specific skill won't be too bad. It will probably affect strikers and center backs more than anyone else.
Click to expand...
If they can't use it in a game they aren't going to learn it properly.

It's not like they are banning the forward pass where the plays can simply be taken out of the playbook. The ball is going to be in the air a lot in that age bracket. How do you teach a kid to head the ball while teaching them to not head the ball? They need to learn when, where, and how to jump in tight spaces, with opponents contesting, or they are going to get hurt.

Under 10 seems fine. Banning it from Jr. High level games is silly.

 
PIK95 said:
NewlyRetired said:
shady inc said:
Kids will be running from a punt like it's an incoming grenade. Covering their heads and diving for cover.
Click to expand...
In an unrelated move, I believe US Soccer is also looking into removing punting in youth soccer to encourage kids to build out from the back, a skill US players are weak in.
Click to expand...
I am all for this.Also, I try to get my kids to chest the ball but for some reason they all resist. They all want to head it. I let the air out of balls a lil before games (and use the soft select balls) to try and reduce the risk. Last night I had a kid take a Futsal ball to the face. He was ok but it looked bad initially.
Click to expand...
Until US Players are crappy winning balls in the air

 
jonessed said:
NewlyRetired said:
jonessed said:
Not teaching kids the proper technique, positioning, and spatial awareness behind heading a ball until they are 14 seems problematic. Hopefully it doesn't result in more injuries for older kids.
Click to expand...
They are only banning it for 10 and under.

Between 11-13, kids can still receive instruction and practice but it will be limited (this "limited" seems pretty vague to be honest).

Hopefully delaying this one specific skill won't be too bad. It will probably affect strikers and center backs more than anyone else.
Click to expand...
If they can't use it in a game they aren't going to learn it properly.

It's not like they are banning the forward pass where the plays can simply be taken out of the playbook. The ball is going to be in the air a lot in that age bracket. How do you teach a kid to head the ball while teaching them to not head the ball? They need to learn when, where, and how to jump in tight spaces, with opponents contesting, or they are going to get hurt.

Under 10 seems fine. Banning it from Jr. High level games is silly.
Click to expand...
It is my understanding that they are not banning heading in a game between 11-13. They are limiting its use in practice for that age group.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
trogg78 said:
I wonder what this would be like in a game. Would header be like a handball in a game where this is banned? Would a cross in the box being cleared out by defenders header be a PK? This will be very interesting to see how it works.
Click to expand...
you have to remember that at the under 10 age group, things like classic crosses into a crowded box don't exist.

These age level games are all 5 on 5 mostly so crossing happens very very rarely and it is almost always on the ground when it does happen more as a pass.

I have not yet read what the actual penalty is in game if some kid tries to head it.

 
NewlyRetired said:
trogg78 said:
I wonder what this would be like in a game. Would header be like a handball in a game where this is banned? Would a cross in the box being cleared out by defenders header be a PK? This will be very interesting to see how it works.
Click to expand...
you have to remember that at the under 10 age group, things like classic crosses into a crowded box don't exist.

These age level games are all 5 on 5 mostly so crossing happens very very rarely and it is almost always on the ground when it does happen more as a pass.

I have not yet read what the actual penalty is in game if some kid tries to head it.
Click to expand...
They do exist, although I would agree they are rare. U10 is currently playing 6v6.

This would affect my daughter (9) who has a very good header.

 
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