Former Clemson and USMNT player Bruce Murray is 56
If your youth coach wants to practice headers...
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Former Clemson and USMNT player Bruce Murray is 56
Interesting video by Tifo Football and The Athletic on the impacts of changing the header rule. Their (albeit speculative...though there have been quite a few test matches in both youngers and adults at this point) conclusions were interesting. One of the big things to note is that corners will likely become a. much more dangerous, and b. much more worthless. Worthless because the goalkeeper will have (as the only one that can reach high) much more range and advantage to stop an aerial ball. Dangerous because the scramble would be for the ball by cleated players on the ground or trying to do bicycles (my own 2 cents noted in parens, but if you ban headers it seems you will likely also need to ban bicycle kicks). Another impact they note is that football players might get shorter. Finally, as has been pointed out in this thread, they note the chief impact isn't necessarily in the box but in the midfield, where most headers are played, from incidental control of the ball or from the defensive line having to head back balls over the top....the expected result is that you'll either have to have the defensive line sit way back (something people have traditionally complained makes for boring football) or (much like the U12 game in the US) you get a lot of footrace football.
Before at certain age say 10-11 the recommendation is to wait but after that is soccer header protocol says different:
usclubsoccer.org
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Yes CTE can be a problem for any athlete in a contact sport so you try to minimize risk. Using and practicing good technique will reduce the possibility of injury but it's not a zero risk game.
Head Injuries - US Club Soccer Website
CONCUSSIONS AND HEAD INJURIES U.S. Soccer announced the U.S. Soccer Concussion Initiative, which provides guidelines that were implemented beginning in January 2016. US Club Soccer clarified the following implementation guidelines as it relates to concussion initiatives and heading for youth...
usclubsoccer.org
Yes CTE can be a problem for any athlete in a contact sport so you try to minimize risk. Using and practicing good technique will reduce the possibility of injury but it's not a zero risk game.
- Players in 11-U programs and younger shall not engage in heading, either in practices or in games.
- Limited heading in practice for players in 12-U and 13-U programs. More specifically, these players shall be limited to a maximum of 30 minutes of heading training per week, with no more than 15-20 headers per player, per week. There are no heading restrictions in games.
- Clubs should be aware of circumstances in which individual consideration is needed. For examples:
- A 10 year old playing at 12-U or older should not head the ball at all.
- An 11 or 12 year old playing at 14-U or older should abide by the heading restrictions in practice.
Before at certain age say 10-11 the recommendation is to wait but after that is soccer header protocol says different:
.Head Injuries - US Club Soccer Website
CONCUSSIONS AND HEAD INJURIES U.S. Soccer announced the U.S. Soccer Concussion Initiative, which provides guidelines that were implemented beginning in January 2016. US Club Soccer clarified the following implementation guidelines as it relates to concussion initiatives and heading for youth...
Yes CTE can be a problem for any athlete in a contact sport so you try to minimize risk. Using and practicing good technique will reduce the possibility of injury but it's not a zero risk game.
Some random observations of the little ones:Before at certain age say 10-11 the recommendation is to wait but after that is soccer header protocol says different:
.Head Injuries - US Club Soccer Website
CONCUSSIONS AND HEAD INJURIES U.S. Soccer announced the U.S. Soccer Concussion Initiative, which provides guidelines that were implemented beginning in January 2016. US Club Soccer clarified the following implementation guidelines as it relates to concussion initiatives and heading for youth...
Yes CTE can be a problem for any athlete in a contact sport so you try to minimize risk. Using and practicing good technique will reduce the possibility of injury but it's not a zero risk game.
- Players in 11-U programs and younger shall not engage in heading, either in practices or in games.
- Limited heading in practice for players in 12-U and 13-U programs. More specifically, these players shall be limited to a maximum of 30 minutes of heading training per week, with no more than 15-20 headers per player, per week. There are no heading restrictions in games.
- Clubs should be aware of circumstances in which individual consideration is needed. For examples:
- A 10 year old playing at 12-U or older should not head the ball at all.
- An 11 or 12 year old playing at 14-U or older should abide by the heading restrictions in practice.
a. the 10-11 thing is an arbitrary number. My understanding is that it was as a result of a lawsuit settlement
b. one of the chief impact in the games is that you do see a lot of footraces. Ball over the top and then just have the fast player race it down. The goalkeepers can't defend 1v1 very well at that age so if you have a decent striker that knows not to shoot it at the keeper it becomes pretty easy.
c. Defensively, as a result a common tactic in the very youngers is that if your team is up 2 goals in a contested game, you just pull back your players to guard the goal (I even saw one team once pull back it's entire squad and just sit them in front of the goal...the game ended in a 1-1 tie because a handball call led to a penalty).
d. the impact of the ball over the top in the littlest ones is minimized because it's paired with the no punt rule and the GKs/defenders at that age realistically can't bang a ball over the top on goalkicks (you might get a boy that can do it once in a while, but it's not controlled or targeted).
Yeah not sure how they came up with the age suggestions, full side or small side seems like it factors in or something?
I remember our family pediatrician suggesting to wait for full on tackle football w/ helmets until age 13 or 14 I can't recall which noting the skull is softer and not full development enough yet until that age.
One of my son's soccer coaches when he was younger was a ex pro that retired early due to a vertigo & concussion problem that keep repeating that he attributed to heading partly. Being a target forward, not heading was not a practical option for him.
At upper levels, you get kids who can accurately knock the ball a decent distance.
One of the recent tactics in 7v7 girls games is to have your strongest player try to chip the goalie on the kickoff. I’d say the hit rate is about as good as it is for direct free kicks.
I've seen it in the boys too...even 11v11 until they get high enough level that they're on a full sized/football field or until 14/15 when the goalkeepers are finally tall enough to stop balls over the head. Then there's the below.
The one rule I would like to see is make goals/penalties (with the GK able to move on the whistle)/DFKs worth 2 points, an unintentional handball PK/DFK 1, and a banger from about the circle 3. "Ronaldo for 3......yes!!!!" If they do implement a no headers rule, I think they would have to seriously look at going to this system with header PK/DFK worth 1. They'll also be some more stoppages because as we know there are balls to the face and it's hard to make your head "unnaturally bigger" so you'd have to distinguish between an intentional and nonintentional header, as they do in the US youngers game.