Soccer is the most popular sport in the world; between the fans and the players, soccer is a part of many people’s lives worldwide. The sport has not been altered much throughout the years but recently the issue with concussions has gotten some attention. There have been rule changes to United States youth soccer preventing players from heading the ball. These rule changes are an attempt to reduce headers and create a different style of soccer to make players less reliant on headers. These rule change can change the way soccer is perceived and can affect the enjoyment of the youth soccer. Preventing youth players from heading the ball will not be an effective rule change because the concussion reduction will not be significant, the United states players will have a disadvantage in international games and it would be harder for United States players to develop on the highest level. 

There has been major concern involving the safety of players with concussions. Player safety should always be considered especially with the numbers of concussions in soccer. Concussions can lead to serious long term effects and can cause a player to stop playing soccer. There are a few ways players can get concussed in soccer. There is player to player, which a player contacts another player with their head, elbow or other body part. Another is player to the environment or the goal, where the player can hit their head on the ground or the goal post and cause a concussion. And there is contact when the player heads the ball which can be problematic when the player not prepared to head the ball or is hit in the temple or top of the head with the ball traveling at high speeds. When the ball is traveling at higher speeds there is higher head acceleration and can contribute to more concussions when the players are hit in sensitive places of the head. All the ways that concussions can happen in soccer need to be addressed for there to be noticeable differences in the reductions of concussions. 

Concussions are a well-known problem in soccer and measures should be taken to reduce the number. Caccese and Kaminski state, “However, before a more widespread approach can be implemented, we must learn more about the actual impact of the ball on the head; verify the exposure to heading across all ages; conduct longitudinal studies on soccer players, focusing on exposure and injury; and determine the minimum safe age to begin heading the soccer ball [32]” (Minimizing Head Acceleration in Soccer: A Review of the Literature). There is not enough information on what causes concussions to make a significant difference and there has not been extensive research conducted on the long-term effects of players repeatedly heading the ball. However, small studies have been conducted on source of; more concussions come from player to player contact and player to environment contact. A study was conducted where 1,393,753 female players were studied to find 627 concussions and 1,592,238 males were studied to find 442 concussions (An evidence based discussion of heading the ball and concussions in high school soccer).  Wise states “For boys (68.8%) and girls (51.3%), contact with another player was the most common concussion mechanism” (Banning heading in soccer would have limited effect on concussions, study finds). With the rule changes only affecting headers, the players still have a chance to get concussed during player to player contact and player to environment contact. With these results, there needs to be more attention to addressing player to player and player to environment contact to significantly reduce the number of concussions. The United States Youth Soccer League has made some changes within the rules and is implementing ways to reduce the number of concussions.  

 With the concussions happening with young players the parents are very worried about their children. Youth players and parents filed lawsuits which caused the league to take it more seriously. The way the league US youth soccer league has dealt with this issue is by changing rules. Stated by UsClubSoccer.Org, the rule changes currently only affect youth players under 13. When the players are in U-11 or under they cannot head the ball and if they do deliberately there will be an indirect free kick going the other way for the opposing team. When the players are U-12 to U-13 they can limitedly head the ball in practice and they can head the ball in games without restrictions. These rule changes only affect younger players to let them develop more before allowing them to head the ball. With better coordination, the players can control their own actions better which can help them maintain proper technique. Heading is more safe for players when they head the ball with their forehead and attack the ball more than just letting it hit them. Proper technique is being taught to players at a young age but with the rule change the league is wanting the players to develop other skills more than their heading ability. The restrictions will keep heading completely out of youth soccer. 

These rule changes are preventing players from heading the ball as a solution to the issue with concussions. As previously stated, the main causes of concussions in soccer come from player to player or player to environment. The league is not addressing the more hurtful types of contact as much as they are addressing headers. With headers being taken out of youth soccer there can still be contact with other players or the ground, therefore there will not be a drastic change in the amounts concussions. Soccer for young players will be different than it was and there is going to be a much bigger change in the style of play rather than the safety of the players. 

The rule changes can also help shape the game in a different way. Per Prince-Wright, the rule change can potentially make players “more technical on the ball but less competent in the air” (What does new “no heading” rule mean for soccer’s future in USA?). This different type of players should be better with their feet and prevent miss hit balls and keep the ball under control better. There will not be many opportunities that two players will challenge each other to head it.  The players will have more control of their footwork and be more skilled in that area which would not require them to have to head the ball as often. The style will be different than the rest of the world and it will change for the United States’ players starting from a young age.

They United states youth players are the starting point to develop into the players that play on the United States National Team. When the first generation of the players exposed to the rule changes make it to the professional level, international play will be changed for the United States. If the rule changes succeed in creating a different style the players will experience difficulties while playing against other nations. Statements have been released in other countries about being concerned with concussions in youth soccer but no actions are being made. These other nations will still be dependent on headers to defend and attack. Many goals are scored while heading the ball, stated by an article “around 20% of goals come from headers” (Soccer Header). Headers are used often in the soccer in a variety of ways. An article discussing the importance of heading states that “Heading the ball is now a vital part of playing the game from both a defensive and offensive point of view” (Soccer Header). On goal kicks many times the ball is hit into the air for a player to flick it on to another player or to direct it toward a player for them to control it easier. On corner kicks the main objective is to kick the ball into the box for a player to get a head on it to score. Without the skill of heading the ball it would be difficult for a player to score on a corner kick which can be a big part of an attack for teams. Similarly, defensively for the team they would not be able to properly clear the ball off a defensive corner and it could make the team very vulnerable during corners. This different style of play could prevent The United States from being higher up in the world as the struggle against the more dominant countries in the world at this point. The game of soccer is just too dependent on headers to try to reduce them. Headers have always been a part of the game and for just one country to change without the rest of the world complying can cause issues for the competitiveness of the United States Men’s National team in the international games.  

With the way soccer is today the highest-level soccer is overseas in Europe. Many young players dream of going overseas and playing for Barcelona or Real Madrid. There are many clubs in Europe and many players that are eager to earn a spot on a roster. These teams overseas do not have very many American players playing there. Carslie states “He recalls hearing how, when he was playing in Germany, players from certain South American countries were avoided because they had a reputation for not adapting well. He says a similar calculus is applied to U.S.-developed players” (Americans in the Premier League -- why have numbers dropped recently?). The United States youth will be developed in a different way and be much different that the development of European players. The attitude on the way our players are developed will get worse and it will be much harder for the United States Players to make it on to the roster of a major soccer club overseas. This is a serious matter for young kids to have a different mindset of whether it is achievable to make it there or not. This can also be a problem for the United States National team to have a successful team. 

Some of the top players to play for the US Men’s National Team have been players that had played in Europe. Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore, Tim Howard and Michael Bradly are a few players that have played on the next level and have also been very successful with the US Men’s National team. When these players play on such a high level they develop quickly and become better players. Christian Pulusic is eighteen years old and plays for Barisa Dortmund. That is a big-name club and he when he first arrived there he did not play much but with the club helped him improve and now he is doing very well for them. His level of play has improved since playing there and it continues to improve with his first champions league goal this year. He is becoming a rising star for the United States National team. Analysts are comparing him to Landon Donovan which is a huge compliment for such a young player.  The US does not often develop players like him and when the rule changes start to unfold more the US might not see many more at all like him. The European big name clubs are very difficult for a United States player to make already and it will get worse which can contribute to a decline in skill of the national team. Concussions need to be dealt with in another way other than affecting the playing style of soccer the United States players are exposed to. 

A more effective way that can be used to help prevent concussions in youth soccer is to add concussions bands to the equipment requirements. Concussion bands are just a headband or helmet that goes on your head to help prevent concussions. Per an article on reducing head acceleration, the headgear will reduce head accelerations during head to head contact (Minimizing Head Acceleration in Soccer: A Review of the Literature).  With head to head contact being the most common cause of a concussion in soccer, this headgear can help reduce concussions. Many goal keepers use them and some field players will use them if they are worried their number of concussions can prevent them from playing soccer. The referees can enforce it the same way they do with shin guards. They can check to make sure every player has them on before they start the game to help prevent concussions that way. Just as shin guards are accepted as part of the game the concussion band can be similar in the way that it’s for the player’s protection and they are required to wear them. The bands have been used by professional players like Petr Cech, a famous goalkeeper who formerly played at Chelsea. The professional players who wore them can serve as icons for young kids. Kids will not be embarrassed to wear them and may enjoy wearing them when they feel like they are wearing the same thing as the pros. A downside to concussion bands at this point is that they are too big and can affect their ability to head the ball. But, as the players continue to get used to the change in required equipment it can just feel normal to them and when they grow up using them they would not notice a change in their ability to head the ball. The technology could continue to progress as well which could make the band smaller, more comfortable and even more effective and create a much more concussion free game of soccer.

With these rule changes, there will be more harm than good. Concussion reduction will not be affected much which is the main reason for the rule change. The United States will also be creating a different type of soccer that is different from the rest of the world which will have a negative effect on our competitiveness in international play. The young players will have less of a chance to try to make it overseas, play in more high level competition and play with their dream club. The “superstar” players from the United States will be more limited as they will not have as much opportunity to develop at a higher level.  The concussion prevention rules involving headers will not an effective way to prevent concussions; a more effective way would be to require players to wear concussion bands and they will play the traditional way but have more protection. With everyone required to wear them there will not be any unfair advantage and there will be more support for them to become more advanced technology and prevent concussions in more than just one way and not change the sport. The United States Youth Soccer League is not approaching the issue in the proper way and hopefully the rules can be revoked before there is any harm done. 
