Headers banned in US Soccerball

[Mr_B]

a couple of points here,

no children under the age of 10 should be heading balls anyway, their bodies are still developing at such a young age.

a lot of parents here are not allowing their kids to play in high school/college "footbal"l games due to the risk of traumatic brain injuries

 

[thfcsteff]

As pointed out by Raziel it's not only heading the ball, it's the collisions and impacts that happen as a byproduct of actually heading the football. So the weight of the ball is not the only concern.

I find it stranger that head injuries to kids who have developing brains isn't a concern than what is at most a slight overreaction to the problem.

The problem is that like many new 'laws' these days, it is NOT driven by 'safety and concern' it is a lawsuit-driven piece of legislation to avoid future lawsuits. Thus rampant hypocrisy. Read further into the mandate and it's like Monty Python's 'lower peg' skit. Apparently, between 10-12, you cannot head the ball in practice, only in games. Ridiculous. Because if you don't know HOW to head a ball, then you stand a rip-roaring chance of hurting yourself. Of course, when you have 'doctors' making observations such as these
<<
Besides, he says other sports don’t often get to use both hands and feet with balls.

“In basketball you can’t run up to people to start kicking the ball around,” Lodge says>>

then you are dealing with a lack of understanding. American Football allows you to use your whole body to try and 'win' a ball. Baseball allows players to 'slide' into each other at the bag. Basketball sees plenty of close-contact/elbows and arms, as well as running the risk of a 90 mph ball carrying serious heft crashing into any part of your body. Of all the major sports, football actually has the least collisions.

IF they were interested in safety, what they would do is tell you to actively discourage going for 50/50 balls/coach kids not to until they're over 10. I think that would even be silly personally, but again, I don't think they are altruists. I'm also getting sick and tired of people refusing to accept personal responsibility for their actions.

 

[thfcsteff]

a couple of points here,

no children under the age of 10 should be heading balls anyway, their bodies are still developing at such a young age.

a lot of parents here are not allowing their kids to play in high school/college "footbal"l games due to the risk of traumatic brain injuries

Most children 10 and under aren't heading balls, but you need to show them how to deal with such matters IMO. Their bodies are most awkward in development between 10-16 I would argue, when sometimes their lack of coordination due to growth can cause injuries due to awkward movement/off-timing.

 

[braineclipse]

The problem is that like many new 'laws' these days, it is NOT driven by 'safety and concern' it is a lawsuit-driven piece of legislation to avoid future lawsuits. Thus rampant hypocrisy. Read further into the mandate and it's like Monty Python's 'lower peg' skit. Apparently, between 10-12, you cannot head the ball in practice, only in games. Ridiculous. Because if you don't know HOW to head a ball, then you stand a rip-roaring chance of hurting yourself. Of course, when you have 'doctors' making observations such as these
<<
Besides, he says other sports don’t often get to use both hands and feet with balls.

“In basketball you can’t run up to people to start kicking the ball around,” Lodge says>>

then you are dealing with a lack of understanding. American Football allows you to use your whole body to try and 'win' a ball. Baseball allows players to 'slide' into each other at the bag. Basketball sees plenty of close-contact/elbows and arms, as well as running the risk of a 90 mph ball carrying serious heft crashing into any part of your body. Of all the major sports, football actually has the least collisions.

IF they were interested in safety, what they would do is tell you to actively discourage going for 50/50 balls/coach kids not to until they're over 10. I think that would even be silly personally, but again, I don't think they are altruists. I'm also getting sick and tired of people refusing to accept personal responsibility for their actions.

Cheers steff, very good post.

 

[parklane1]

Money is involved ( lawsuits) so the Americans will act, its what they do.

 

[thfcsteff]

Cheers steff, very good post.

Cheers mate. Very strong feelings on the subject as you can see.