To head, or not to head, that is the question
In today’s world, the benefits of sports are huge. Sports are a way of teaching key skills that parents can’t such as sportsmanship, social values and many more. One of the most popular sports all over the world is soccer; hence soccer is the first sport that many children play and later on love. Within the past couple years, controversies have arisen over whether or not children should be heading the soccer ball while playing. For example, a header in soccer is when the player redirects the ball with their forehead, by taking it out of the air, to pass, or to shoot. With all the concussion prevention and media that has been centered on the NFL recently, the spotlight has turned over to soccer.
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The American Youth Soccer Association has rung in their opinions about the safeness of heading in youth soccer. John Ouellete (n.d), who is AYSO’s national soccer instructor, advises coaches to not teach heading before the age of ten and to use softer balls when first practicing. Additionaly, as stated before, kids can take the ball out of the air with other surfaces besides the head, so Oullete’s assertion that “Heading represents a player's earliest opportunity to play an air ball”, is false. Ouellete also claimed, “It [heading] also causes more apprehension than any other soccer skill, particularly with younger players.” If children are apprehensive with hitting a ball that’s traveling very fast out of the air, there is a higher chance they will use the wrong technique anyways. Soccer players everywhere have heard the common phrase “Don’t let the ball hit you, you must hit the ball”. If players fail to put the phrase in action, brain damage can be caused first of all because the neck isn’t rigid, secondly because the eyes normally close, and thirdly because the wrong surface of the head is used (the top of the head is hit, instead of the forehead). All of this makes up the larger picture of brain damage, therefore heading should be banned in youth
The article shares with the reader that children who join competitive sports at a young age can learn discipline and healthy habits when performed right. Jordan strongly suggests athletes, coaches and parents need to be properly educated on safe training techniques and know how to read their children when they have an injury. This way the young athletes can join in on as many sport teams as they want. Over the recent years many regulations and laws have been passed, such as The Lystedt laws that “mandate a gradual return-to-play protocol to better protect youth athletes in all sports from the risks of preventable concussions”(Jordan). This will protect the players who do decide to specialize in one sport at an early
Because of this, my paper will look at the issue of headgear in contact sport and will particularly look at this issue at junior sports level. Wearing headgear has many positives, reducing injuries is the most obvious one and it could be argued that its help reduces the chance of injuries and even death. At an elite level, Chelsea goalkeeper, Petr Cech is convinced that wearing headgear saved him from suffering extended injuries after colliding with Fulham striker Orlando Sa back in September 2011. Headgear offers a form of padding when worn. It allows juniors and elite athlete’s the reduced chance of head wounds.
Are young children putting their health and even their lives at risk if they partake in the sport of football? Some claim that the American sport is far too dangerous and the risk of concussions and injuries far outway the pros of the physical sport, while others insist that technological improvements and new regulations have made the sport safer. Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of history and education at New York University, argues in his paper, “We Must Stop Risking the Health of Young Football Players,” that football is a sport that is too dangerous for the youth. He states his belief that technological improvements in helmets and changes in the rules of the sport have had little effect on reducing injuries and that nothing has worked.
American football is full of exciting competition, but do we realize the danger! Helmet safety in football remains an immense problem as the sport accounts for the highest incidence of concussions. Since leather football helmets, the technology for safer helmets has improved drastically and continue to improve. The development of newly designed helmets and technology has lowered the risk of head injuries for players. Furthermore, improvements in helmet testing methods have led to better understanding head injuries and the protectiveness of the helmet. In respect, football helmet safety still remains a challenge, such as a necessity of a proper categorization system to rank helmets and regulations to improve helmet safety. Regardless, standards and regulations attempt to address helmet safety through government intervention and a proper measuring system for football helmets. Despite the cultural perception of football, measures are taken to ensure safety, such as the reforms and education with regards to playing safer football. I intend to address the technological advances and regulation of football towards the discussion of helmet safety. Therefore the aggresivity in football’s culture should embrace stronger helmet standards and regulation that are promoted through improved testing methods and innovations because of the need to prevent further dangerous head injuries, especially concussions.
“Concussion rates for children under the age of 19 who play football have doubled in the last decade, even though the overall sports participation has declined” (Youth Football Concussion Statistics). Football is extremely popular in American culture. Children all across the world love watching and playing the sport. However, many studies have shown numerous possible long term effects of starting the beloved sport when young. Undeveloped brains have a harder time recovering from bumps and blows that occur during playing time. After examining the long term effects of children playing football, it is clear that the tradition of tackle football in youth should be held off until the brain is more fully developed,
American football can be joyful and entertaining to watch but what people do not know is that players are suffering a disease that has never been discovering before. In 2009, Jeanne Marie Laskas novel “Concussion,” brought one question to American. Can football kill people? She concludes that playing football can cause permanent brain damage, cause a person to go crazy, and to the point of death. She uses diction and anecdotes to bring a threat to football players in America to light.
The majority of children who play football will not avoid the inevitable and most likely sustain an injury to their body. However, there are some positive attributes for children to learn when participating in youth football. Some positive attributes children will learn are physical fitness, discipline and structure, and the importance of teamwork. The aforementioned attributes are favorable for children where they will learn to be young men, adapt to life, and adjust to different circumstances off the
Hitting players head to head cause way too many life threatening injuries for both opponents. On Bill Brink’s "Tackling the Issue of 'proper' Tackling," Robert Cantu was quoted saying, “football teams should practice without helmets.” That would be the best way to teach players to avoid head-to-head collisions, avoiding life threatening injuries(Brink). The problem coaches have with that is they think there players will develop bad tackling habits. But Cantu, argues that tackling isn’t all physical it’s a lot of mental toughness and muscle memory. The head to head collisions don’t just come from tackling, it also comes from blocking, blind siding, and pancaking. On Bill Brink’s "Tackling the Issue of '...
Millions of people are registered throughout North America for participation in Canada’s national sport and pastime, ice hockey. Most young hockey players have the dream of making it to the National Hockey League (NHL). Because of this incentive to keep striving towards their ultimate goal in their hockey career, they idolize the players in the NHL. Therefore, youth players may obtain certain habits from the elite, whether those habits are good or bad. Some cases are of bad influences, such as young players obtaining the dirty playing habits of the professionals. The primary action that influences the youthful population is body checking. With the thought of losing a game, it is no wonder why players have the urge to play rough and potentially hurt the opposing team in order to be victorious. For that reason, hockey is a strong collision sport that requires great skill and motivation. Although body checking is believed to be a useful tool in the winning of hockey games, it can be the cause that leads to injury among players. Because of the rougher play, lasting brain injuries are becoming a worry and too many players are exposed to the lasting effects of the head injury. According to Michael Cusimano July 22, 2003 the article entitled “Body Checking and Concussions” states, “With the rising incidence of traumatic brain injury in hockey, too many players are exposed to the lasting effects of such injuries, some of which are not fully realized until the brain completes its maturation.” For this reason, new equipment and regulations need to be devised for use in the near future.
In recent years, there has been an increase in research investigating the long-term effects of repeated head trauma on the brain, especially in athletes. Following his discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Dr. Bennet Omalu inspired a movement of research aimed at establishing better safety standards and protocols in football. It was not until 2002 that the initial connection between repetitive head trauma, such as concussions, and brain injury was suspected (Ott, 2015).
Since football’s inception, it has been considered a manly sport. Young boys have been encouraged by their parents to participate in the game. For many boys, it is considered a rite of passage. However, football is a dangerous sport. A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found, “an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007” (Nation 201). These reported injuries include sprains and strains, broken bones, cracked ribs, torn ligaments, and concussions. A concussion usually happens when a player takes a hard hit to the head or is knocked unconscious on the playing field, and if not diagnosed and treated quickly, a concussion can result in death.
Abstract: Youth Soccer has recently evolved into a fiercely competitive arena. More and more children are leaving recreational leagues to play in highly competitive select leagues. While select sports are a valuable resource where children can learn how to socialize and become self-motivated, children who start at young ages, ten and eleven, can suffer psychological and physical damage. A child's youth sporting experience is directly influenced by the attitudes, sportsmanship and behavior of their parents and coaches.
Scientific American 306.2 (2012): 66-71. Print. The. Brady, Erik. “Changing the Game on Youth Concussions.”
Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. It is played in a lot of different ways, fashions, and other countries. It can be a very brutal sport with players hitting at the intent to hurt one another. With these intents come great consequences. In recent years the head injuries involved with this brutal game play have been getting uncomfortably high. Many rules have had to be enforced for player safety, because of the increase of head injuries resulting in tragic effects on players both old and new. One of the injuries that have had the most devastating effects is the concussion.
The amazing game of soccer is played on every continent, and is the world’s most popular sport. It is proven to be one of the number one sports to be played and watched. Because its fans and players are so dedicated, the sport continues to grow. Requiring only a ball and open space, the activity is available to anyone, whether rich or poor, male or female, athletic or not. Over the years, soccer has won the hearts of many because of its unique history, many benefits, and notable achievements.