by Why Georgia 17 Replies latest social current
Why can't the helmet wearing be optional...up to the parents who have chosen the option of putting their kids in soccer?
That would be something, imagine a boy with a helmet and a another without one have a head to head collision. I would think that helmet would hurt more than the head, no?
Hi Omar S, welcome to the forum!
Greetings WG. I've been a sports player since childhood. I can relate to your son not wanting wearing a helmet. By the way, I grew up in the South End of Boston.
I sustained a serious head injury in school but it wasn't due to playing soccer, baseball, hockey, etc. We were wrestling while I was on the shoulder of another schoolmate. When the bell rang he let me go and I landed next to a rock head first, I was lucky I didn't break my neck. The headaches resulting from this injury remains with me to this day. Death would have been a blessing for me when these headaches surface.
As an athlete all my life, yes, you should wear a head gear. I realize that its' very uncomfortable and I hate to wear a helmet but what do you prefer, headaches for the rest of your life or worse scenarios?
Golf
The safety of children playing sports has to be paramount, I agree. And 5 years old is very young to be playing the game seriously. I wonder if they are perhaps more litigation conscious than anything else?
I can only say that in Europe kids and grown ups have always played the game with nothing more protective than shin pads. I have never heard of a brain injury caused by playing football[soccer] . Players can injure their feet and legs in tackles , but again I am struggling to think of any permanent injuries , ever.
This game is great !, it has enriched the lives of millions who either play or follow their pro team . Long live the "Beautiful Game". But if Americans want to cover their kids heads, I guess it is up to them.
Physicians say requiring headgear for youth soccer players was not unreasonable because collisions between players and with the goal posts are the most frequent causes of soccer head injuries."There's pretty good evidence that growing brains are more susceptible to injury," said Dr. Lyle J. Micheli, director of sports medicine at Children's Hospital Boston. "It might make sense for kids under 14."
A 1997 study done by Northwestern University's medical school found that 2 percent to 3 percent of soccer injuries are to the head, the same rate as in football. A 1992 Norwegian study found that 35 percent of active soccer players in that country had abnormal brain scans, and another study in that country of retired professional players found a third of them had brain atrophy, or a shrinking of brain tissue that results in behavioral and cognitive problems.
I'd hate to be the parent of a brain injured child that said, "If only I had made him wear a helmet." Like I said, who cares if people laugh? I sure wouldn't care.
I think that wearing headgear would be unnecessary. Of course it can be argued that kids do sustain head injuries playing football (soccer). But so what? Are we gonna wrap up kids in cotton wool so that they don't grow into men? The physical risk is part of the game. If they are going to put headgear on soccer players what are they gonna put on rugby players? Cover them in bubble wrap? Risk is part of life. The earlier a kid realises this the better.
I played soccer since I could walk, mostly against kids who were far bigger than me physically since I was such a puny specimen. The thought of being crunched actually made me a better player since I would do anything to avoid another clattering from some meathead. As a result I would emerge with the ball and my body in good nick. On occasion I did take a whack. Once a fully grown man blasted the ball square in my face. It was an accident of course. I was only about 12 years old. I fell unconscious to the floor. But after a few minutes I came to and finished the game. I call it character builiding! Another time I was about 14 or 15 playing for my local pub team. I was flying up the wing with the ball at my feet, really running flat out. Some gorilla about 40 years of age and weighing a good 16 stone bodyslammed me, he was nowhere near the ball. I actually FLEW through the air and landed on the wet turf. I then slid for a good few feet and just lay there wondering where the hell I was. I remember a ring of faces above me looking pretty concerned. But after a while I shook it off and continued. No big deal IMV.
Sometimes people do get really hurt. Like I say, risk is part of life. If you give in to wearing headgear then what's next? There are many times more injuries in the leg department. Damaged cruciate ligaments, for example. Players often develop arthritis in the legs in later life. They are just going to have to ban soccer. Then what? Running??? Think of all the injuries that a standard athlete gets. Pulled hamstrings, archilles problems, etc, etc. Again, good risk of arthritis in the kness later on.
If the argument is that heading the ball repeatedly over many years is the big risk then they will simply have to ban heading the ball. Wearing headgear won't change a thing since the force of the ball meeting with the head (even in headgear) will still jolt the head and shake the brain.
They can't make the ball lighter since it would become uncontrollable. Ever tried playing with a plastic soccer ball?
Bigmouth, there's plenty of unsusual stories about golf. In 1996 a 51 year-old golfer was kicked and punched by a 26 year-old golfer for slow play, resulting in his death! You don't hear of such golf conduct on the news.
People's short tempers and impatience can be witnessed on golf courses.
Golf
