Moms worry about their kids crossing the street, talking to strangers and falling off their bikes. But soccer moms are starting to discover a new worry - heading the ball.
Ohio soccer coach Stacy Strauss has witnessed this first-hand during the youth clinics she has held in Athens the past three years. Since recent medical studies have brought attention to supposed hazards of heading in soccer, Strauss said it has become more of a concern among parents. However, she remains skeptical.
"There is nothing wrong with heading the soccer ball," she said. "It's coming up in my youth soccer clinics, and there have been some moms ask that we not 'head butt,' but if done properly, I think it's a very safe, common occurrence in soccer."
The Institute for Preventative Sports Medicine in Ann Arbor, Mich., completed a study evaluating the effect of repetitive heading on cognitive functioning of 57 youth soccer players with an average age of 11.5. The two-year study was inconclusive, and its only statistically significant finding was a slight inverse association between number of head impacts and verbal learning.
However, the Institute's director, Dr. David Janda is concerned that soccer is creating "a bunch of little Muhammad Ali's," according to an article by Dr. Rocco Monto of Martha's Vineyard Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine.
The Institute's report concluded that additional longitudinal studies should be conducted, citing a Norwegian study that suggested that repeated heading might eventually lead to deficiencies in memory, attention, concentration and judgment as early as age 35.
These recent studies have created controversy among players, parents and youth soccer organizations.
Athens resident Jo Carpenter showed an article with such findings to her 11-year-old son Robert, who plays in the Athens Parks and Recreation Youth Soccer League. After reading the article, his attitude about head balls changed, she said.
"He has chosen that if a ball is coming hard at his head he will avoid heading it, whereas before he wouldn't even think twice about heading it," Carpenter said. "He won't take a full blow anymore."
Lolly Keys, spokesperson for the American Youth Soccer Organization, said that although safety is a top priority for the league, people have taken the studies out of context.
"The Norwegian study was done on players that have played for years and years and years in a professional level," Keys said. "Young children and medium age children around 12 and 13 may go a whole game without heading. People have to remember that the ball doesn't travel with the same speed and force as it does in adult soccer."
The Institute reported, however, that the youth population has a greater percentage of head injuries than older players: 15 percent in youth versus 7 percent in professional.
In a •Sports Illustrated for Kids• article by Carol Krucoff, Dr. Janda expressed concern that some youth soccer coaches overdo heading drills in practice and teach the technique to children who are too young (under 9) to head the ball safely. However, Keys said the AYSO has instructed coaches to not teach children heading until age 10 or 11, when they are more capable of understanding how to head the ball properly.
Dr. Janda has suggested more than just teaching proper technique, however. He has tried to instill protective helmets into the game of soccer.
"It makes sense to have helmets if you look at it from an absolute safety concern," Aaron Romero, assistant director of Athens Parks and Recreation, said. "My fear is if they start with helmets, what are they going to do next? Are all the kids going to have to wear football gear to play soccer?"
The AYSO has not considered requiring helmets because of the restrictions it would put on the game and the lack of evidence concluding that heading does produce negative long-term effects.
"Nobody can make a decision whether (heading) is in fact harmful to children - there is so much information on both sides," Keys said. "We are always concerned about the safety of our kids, but it is not a non-contact sport."
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Laurel Scheffel
