This is a tough read
I know that I am going to push my kids towards basketball when I have them. (Being 6’5" helps) This is just terrifying on all levels. The stigma around being a “tough guy” and not sitting yourself out is so very real.
I decided long ago that no son of mine would play football. Soccer and basketball are fine sports that don’t destroy your body.
Actually there was a study that I read a study a little while back that deflecting a soccer ball with your head at full speed can do similar damage to a developing brain as a concussion. I’ll try to find that and link when I can.
Probably track and field is the safest of sports unless someone chucks a javelin at you.
Pretty sure most/many youth leagues outlaw headers for just this reason.
OK. Pretty sure helmet to helmet contact is illegal as well.
Yeah, I always avoided headers because it just seemed like a bad idea.
Seriously? They don’t let kids use their head in soccer anymore? I mean, I made my kids wear helmets and elbow and knee pads to do stuff, but even I think that sounds ridiculous.
How is that ridiculous? You don’t want to fuck with the brain. And fast moving objects striking your head fuck with your brain.
I would have figured that was obvious, because otherwise why would anyone watch soccer?
(I kid, I kid)
There’s an ice storm warning in Kansas City for the weekend. So I was hearing the radio this morning that demand has plummeted suddenly for this Sunday’s playoff game at Arrowhead. I don’t blame them. Saturday night/Sunday morning is supposed when the worst of the freezing rain and ice is supposed to hit.
I hope the stadium is still full and rocking for the playoff game though. Somehow. Come on brave Chiefs fans!
I’m surprised they let them kick the ball, since that’s what imparts the velocity to it.
In all seriousness, I suspect most injuries from getting hit in the head occur when the player doesn’t know the ball is coming vs when they hit it deliberately or when they are struck from very close range. Not allowing kids to head the ball when it came from across the field is nearly equivalent with playing flag football.
Lol, ok. So you don’t actually know anything about head trauma and how it impacts brain development, or ways to minimize what risk will always obviously exist, but just want to argue against namby-pamby wankers mollycoddling the children? This should continue to be fun!
First: It’s not the “big hits” that people are solely concerned in preventing. Concussions bad, obviously, which is why things like helmet-to-helmet contact and any kind of shot to the head are generally banned in any sport. But we’ve been talking about CTE and the accumulation of small hits to the head for literally years in mainstream sports culture.
Second: Pretty much all the research I’ve seen talked about has been on adults/pro athletes, and it’s pretty damning stuff. We have no idea how this stuff affects developing brains, because for some reason nobody’s volunteering their teenagers to have their brains dissected by researchers. Maybe we should err on the conservative side when it comes to brain trauma in kids and teenagers?
Most injuries from getting hit in the head occur because the brain is floating in the skull, and any sudden acceleration or deceleration will cause it to fly around in there and slam into the skull, causing bruising.
Ah, gotcha. I was thinking in terms of concussions. I’m not familiar with the research on smaller hits but it sounds like a real bear to quantify/study.
No, that is not correct. My suggestion would be for you to become better informed on the topic.
I assume you mean from the perspective of brain injury risk? And are you implying that reducing that risk is soccer is a bad thing?
Speaking of educating oneself on the topic, this is making the rounds. Haven’t read it yet, but it comes highly recommended:
(shut up discourse yes I want to post the link even if @JonRowe posted it 21 hours ago grr)
I was thinking in terms of concussion, as mentioned in the post after the one you quoted, not the idea of smaller hits accumulating. Obviously, I didn’t realize how much of an issue that’s become. I played soccer for years as a kid and don’t remember anybody even getting woozy or having their “bell rung” as they used to say in those days. The biggest injury concern was usually when sliding into someone or two people running into each other. But obviously, things have changed.