Concussions and who is looking out for the kid.

“A player that heads INTO the ball (which is the only proper heading technique), as opposed to allowing the ball to hit the head, does not allow the brain to bounce around inside the skull.As the player forces the head toward the ball, the brain will press forward but notforcefully, and as the forehead impacts the ball in a forward motion, the brain is not affected by the impact as it hasalready moved against the front of the skull”

I’m no doctor- but this sounds like you made it up.
The brain doesn’t get rattled if you are moving your head forward?
So if I lead with my head in an American football tackle, as long as my head is pushing forward, my brain will be fine?

What if I do it right 8 out of 10 times? But the other 2, my depth perception is off? (sun in my eyes; player knocks my from behind; etc)

I’m not asking for proof of your statement. Im sure the impact is lessened with proper technique.
 
Because I want to believe that there IS such a device that can reduce the concussion risk, I am bummed that the two Drs whom I asked said they have not seen any research to support the claims of the Va Tech testing (and there are many who criticize the "star system"). If I can get permission to copy the entirety of the responses, I will paste them here. While these are just two doctors, they are not "just anybody" and their specific areas of expertise require them to be well-informed on these developments (and, specifically, their impact on young athletes and soccer players)
 
timbuck said:
“A player that heads INTO the ball (which is the only proper heading technique), as opposed to allowing the ball to hit the head, does not allow the brain to bounce around inside the skull.As the player forces the head toward the ball, the brain will press forward but notforcefully, and as the forehead impacts the ball in a forward motion, the brain is not affected by the impact as it hasalready moved against the front of the skull”

I’m no doctor- but this sounds like you made it up.
The brain doesn’t get rattled if you are moving your head forward?
So if I lead with my head in an American football tackle, as long as my head is pushing forward, my brain will be fine?

What if I do it right 8 out of 10 times? But the other 2, my depth perception is off? (sun in my eyes; player knocks my from behind; etc)

I’m not asking for proof of your statement. Im sure the impact is lessened with proper technique.
Click to expand...
Leading with the head to tackle in football is not at all comparable. There, you are putting your head into an entire body of an opposing player, likely coming directly at you. Your neck and body often have no ability to keep moving forward, but will be snapped backward, rattling your brain inside your skull, as well as risking twisting injuries. You have little chance of keeping your head moving forward against hundreds of pounds of player vs. a 1 lb soccer ball.

Heading a ball that weighs less than a pound, and has no continuing force behind it, is entirely different.

If you don't head correctly, yes, you'll feel it in your head/brain those 2 times.
No this is not scientific nor medical, just from decades of play and coaching heading, and observing players that punch the ball with their head.
 
coachrefparent said:
Leading with the head to tackle in football is not at all comparable. There, you are putting your head into an entire body of an opposing player, likely coming directly at you. Your neck and body often have no ability to keep moving forward, but will be snapped backward, rattling your brain inside your skull, as well as risking twisting injuries. You have little chance of keeping your head moving forward against hundreds of pounds of player vs. a 1 lb soccer ball.

Heading a ball that weighs less than a pound, and has no continuing force behind it, is entirely different.

If you don't head correctly, yes, you'll feel it in your head/brain those 2 times.
No this is not scientific nor medical, just from decades of play and coaching heading, and observing players that punch the ball with their head.
Click to expand...

I used to be afraid of heading because of painful experiences. Then I took a coaching class in which one element was teaching proper heading technique. In order to do that, each of us had to learn and demonstrate good form. It can be taught.
 
dk_b said:
Because I want to believe that there IS such a device that can reduce the concussion risk, I am bummed that the two Drs whom I asked said they have not seen any research to support the claims of the Va Tech testing (and there are many who criticize the "star system"). If I can get permission to copy the entirety of the responses, I will paste them here. While these are just two doctors, they are not "just anybody" and their specific areas of expertise require them to be well-informed on these developments (and, specifically, their impact on young athletes and soccer players)
Click to expand...

We have had many discussions here about the effect a thin layer of foam on the outside of the head can have on the possibility of concussions occurring.
 
Proper heading technique does not address the issue of sub-concussive blows to the head. We are learning that repeated sub-concussive hits are bad for the brain. One of the easiest to eliminate without drastically changing the game would to make it a foul to head a ball drop kicked by the goal keeper. This would also decrease the number of potential head to head contacts at midfield. In my opinion it would also improve the game by getting the ball on the ground.
 
outside! said:
Proper heading technique does not address the issue of sub-concussive blows to the head. We are learning that repeated sub-concussive hits are bad for the brain. One of the easiest to eliminate without drastically changing the game would to make it a foul to head a ball drop kicked by the goal keeper. This would also decrease the number of potential head to head contacts at midfield. In my opinion it would also improve the game by getting the ball on the ground.
Click to expand...

I have never heard that idea expressed anywhere except here, and the "drop kicked" is not defined in the LOTG.
 
espola said:
We have had many discussions here about the effect a thin layer of foam on the outside of the head can have on the possibility of concussions occurring.
Click to expand...

Figured as such. I do trust my “resources” because of their high professional credibility. If they had told me that something in the product or some new research does indicate a statistically relevant reduction in the risk of concussion, I’d be psyched. But it still looks like any actual reduction of risk is simply anecdotal.
 
espola said:
I have never heard that idea expressed anywhere except here, and the "drop kicked" is not defined in the LOTG.
Click to expand...
That is because it is my idea, although I would not be surprised to hear that someone else has thought of it as well. So in the LOTG, what is it called when the goalkeeper has the ball in their hands and drops it to kick it down the field?
 
outside! said:
That is because it is my idea, although I would not be surprised to hear that someone else has thought of it as well. So in the LOTG, what is it called when the goalkeeper has the ball in their hands and drops it to kick it down the field?
Click to expand...

While not in the LOTG, I have heard this discussed among “soccer people” and parents. Not as a suggested rule change but as a “best practices”
 
outside! said:
That is because it is my idea, although I would not be surprised to hear that someone else has thought of it as well. So in the LOTG, what is it called when the goalkeeper has the ball in their hands and drops it to kick it down the field?
Click to expand...

The closest thing I can find is "releasing the ball". I am guessing that when you say "drop kick" you are referring to a goalkeeper , but in some sports regimes a punt is different from a drop kick in that the ball hits the ground before or at the same time that the ball is kicked in a drop kick.
 
espola said:
The closest thing I can find is "releasing the ball". I am guessing that when you say "drop kick" you are referring to a goalkeeper , but in some sports regimes a punt is different from a drop kick in that the ball hits the ground before or at the same time that the ball is kicked in a drop kick.
Click to expand...

I use "drop kick" as you describe (ball hitting the ground) rather than "punt" (ball does not hit the ground) but I don't think either (by term or concept) appears in the laws though I do think the concept appears in the FIFA modifications for beach and futsal (not just the local or tournament rules but the actual FIFA laws)
 
dk_b said:
I use "drop kick" as you describe (ball hitting the ground) rather than "punt" (ball does not hit the ground) but I don't think either (by term or concept) appears in the laws though I do think the concept appears in the FIFA modifications for beach and futsal (not just the local or tournament rules but the actual FIFA laws)
Click to expand...
Both a drop kick and a punt result in a long ball down the field. Goal kicks also result in long balls down the field. If there were to be a change to the laws of the game, it could be changed to say when the GK drops the ball to kick it, there are no headers. Goal kicks could be included too without overly complicating the game. It would be a much easier call than the pass back to the keeper call.
 
dk_b said:
Because I want to believe that there IS such a device that can reduce the concussion risk, I am bummed that the two Drs whom I asked said they have not seen any research to support the claims of the Va Tech testing (and there are many who criticize the "star system"). If I can get permission to copy the entirety of the responses, I will paste them here. While these are just two doctors, they are not "just anybody" and their specific areas of expertise require them to be well-informed on these developments (and, specifically, their impact on young athletes and soccer players)
Click to expand...

Here is something new...
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181015105446.htm
 
dk_b said:
Wow. That is fascinating - and sort of freaks me out. Gonna pass that one along, too. Thank you!
Click to expand...

Interesting idea.

If you look up the actual paper on the company's website and read the fine print, funding for the study includes the company itself, one of the authors has a financial interest, and another serves as a consultant.

I'd want to see additional independent research verifying the results before I'd contemplate wrapping something around my kid's neck.
 
http://www.espn.com/espnw/news-comm...ball-equals-football-tackle-force-study-shows

And here's some research not too long ago that got some (but maybe not enough) press that would dispute the notion that heading a soccer ball, especially off of goal kicks or goalie punts/drop kicks are OK.

"The percentages of 100g hits was effectively the same between women's college soccer and American football, which really surprised us,"

And while Nauman insisted that men's necks are physically stronger (which means they can absorb extra force), he is sure that Premier League players are also suffering similar problems. "I'm willing to bet that if a Premier League keeper kicks it out and a player heads it back, they could be pushing 150g or 160gs," he added.
 
I’m no doctor but “restricting blood flow” anywhere near the brain doesn’t sound like a very good idea.
Kinda like “vaping is better than smoking cigarettes”. Until everyone starts getting sick and dying from sucking in fruit flavored nicotine vapor.
 
espola said:
An interesting concept. It appears, however, that the device's protection depends on slowing blood flow out of the brain, which might have physiological impacts elsewhere in he body from the lack of a full load of blood circulating after the brain has been pumped full of blood.
Click to expand...

Not to mention other physiological effects within the skull. The idea is that by reducing the flow of blood out of the head by wrapping this thing around your neck, it increases the blood volume (as well as pressure I presume) inside the head and reduces brain movement inside the skull, protecting it from injury. They're basing this off the anatomy/physiology of rams and woodpeckers, which have a muscle in the neck that supposedly compresses the vessels while they're banging their heads away.

Here's a Physiology professor who has looked into this, and basically comes to the conclusion that this is pseudoscience.

https://www.realclearscience.com/ar...ussions_is_probably_pseudoscience_110791.html

And even if this does have a protective effect, these animals have had hundreds of thousands of years to adapt to this. Maybe I'm a bit too cautious, but I'm not sure its necessarily a good idea to all of a sudden slap these things on people's neck that reduces blood flow out of the head while they're running around at peak physical activity.
 
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