No incidents of concussions among my kids or their soccer-playing friends, but on just now researching it, I found this:
A player heads the ball an average of six to 12 times a game, reports neurological surgeon Alejandro M. Spiotta of the Cleveland Clinic and colleagues in a 2011 article, "Heading in Soccer: Dangerous Play?," published in the journal " Neurosurgery." . . . .
While athletes in American football, boxing and hockey risk sudden impact or contact to the head, soccer athletes may face problems from a less violent action but one performed quite frequently.
Concussions
Head injuries in soccer tend to be concussions, which arise not from heading the ball purposefully but rather from a player colliding with another player, the ground or a goalpost. This is because even a fully inflated ball traveling at 70 mph is not as hard and damaging as, for example, another player’s elbow. Still, 12.6 percent of concussions in soccer do arise from heading the ball, according to one study in Spiotta’s literature survey. He reports that a second study of U.S. college soccer players found no instances of concussion from purposeful heading; concussions arose only from accidentally being struck in the head by a fast-moving ball.
I do believe that if I'd allowed my 7 year old to be a baseball pitcher, it is very likely he would have injured his shoulder/arm. So I'm still thankful to Dr. Leibowitz - a great pediatrician, for his warning.
I'm relieved that none of my kids suffered injuries on the soccer field. My now 40-something soccer playing son now plays Ultimate Frisbee and goes ocean kayaking, mountain biking and hiking - that gives him great workouts but minimal possibility of injuries. My daughters are now into yoga and dressage riding respectively - the latter with a very sturdy helmet.
I started scuba diving at the age of 60 and have had some great adventures - wreck diving (on sunken Japanese ships from WWII), night diving, drift diving, cave diving - with the thrills of encountering sharks and rays and eels. I had good training and well maintained equipment - but still the ocean can be a dangerous environment. At this stage of life, with no one depending on me, my philosophy is to balance the risk against the reward. As a parent of growing children, however, that is not a responsible philosophy for either the parent or the children. Yet another way in which it is tough to be a parent. Perhaps one guiding principle is to help a child develop skills in a sport he or she will be able to pursue beyond the high school/college years. Like tennis, swimming or skiing. My kid brother, now 66, still plays in a "senior" men's soccer league. I expect there's more huffing and puffing than heading the ball for that bunch.
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