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    If we won’t let our sons play football due to concussions...

    http://advocate.jbu.edu/2018/12/27/w...than-football/

    My parents and many friends were aghast that I let our sons play football due to concussion risks but no one has said a word of concern about us letting our daughters play soccer. We have seen multiple career ending concussions and too many short term ones to count on the girls side and literally none on the boys side. The handful of career ending ones on the girls side went on for years of continuing to try to have them play again...only to have troubles arise again...finally getting so bad that either the doctors or the girl themselves said “no more soccer”. In every case, the truly loving parents said if their dd wanted to keep playing it was up to them. When a boy on my son’s team was released to return to football after a mild concussion, all the parents in our friend group practically wanted to stone them to death. Why the double standard? Also weird to me that this time, our culture is expecting the girls and not the boys to just tough it out in a physical sport.

    #2
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    http://advocate.jbu.edu/2018/12/27/w...than-football/

    My parents and many friends were aghast that I let our sons play football due to concussion risks but no one has said a word of concern about us letting our daughters play soccer. We have seen multiple career ending concussions and too many short term ones to count on the girls side and literally none on the boys side. The handful of career ending ones on the girls side went on for years of continuing to try to have them play again...only to have troubles arise again...finally getting so bad that either the doctors or the girl themselves said “no more soccer”. In every case, the truly loving parents said if their dd wanted to keep playing it was up to them. When a boy on my son’s team was released to return to football after a mild concussion, all the parents in our friend group practically wanted to stone them to death. Why the double standard? Also weird to me that this time, our culture is expecting the girls and not the boys to just tough it out in a physical sport.
    I've seen life changing concussions for both boys and girls in soccer. All it took was seeing the first one for me to completely change my tune about concussions. I grew up playing football and the "shake it off" attitude of years gone by. No longer. People don't realize how bad soccer concussions can be and I don't think all coaches take them as seriously as they should. Parents can be just as bad.

    Comment


      #3
      I guess because when it happens in soccer, it's an accident typically.

      In football, it's part of the design - and don't go telling me about proper technique and all that...I get it...but...the entire sport of American football is to knock someone down.

      I had a bad one in hockey growing up that I am aware of. Had my "bell rung" a few other times so maybe there was more, who knows. I was also part of the "rub some dirt on it and get back out there sport" age....

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        I guess because when it happens in soccer, it's an accident typically.

        In football, it's part of the design - and don't go telling me about proper technique and all that...I get it...but...the entire sport of American football is to knock someone down.

        I had a bad one in hockey growing up that I am aware of. Had my "bell rung" a few other times so maybe there was more, who knows. I was also part of the "rub some dirt on it and get back out there sport" age....
        Interesting point about it being on purpose in football. OTOH, stats don’t lie and girls soccer is right up there along side football for concussions. As a society we have historically tended to go more overboard protecting our girls from physical damage but it seems the reverse now. I think another point might be that football is the most popular sport and much more in the eye of everyone. Probably only those of us with girls playing soccer realize how bad the concussion risks are for soccer girls (not to mention the acl tear risks...). Maybe precisely BECAUSE family, neighbors and friends don’t know so aren’t appalled that we let our girls play soccer but are if we let our boys play football, we follow in what our community is telling us is acceptable or not. Still surprised by individual friends who have seen the long term damage to other girls, push to have their concussed girl get back out there...

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          I guess because when it happens in soccer, it's an accident typically.

          In football, it's part of the design - and don't go telling me about proper technique and all that...I get it...but...the entire sport of American football is to knock someone down.

          I had a bad one in hockey growing up that I am aware of. Had my "bell rung" a few other times so maybe there was more, who knows. I was also part of the "rub some dirt on it and get back out there sport" age....
          I completely agree. In football the goal is to go out and wreck someone and there are collisions on every play. In soccer if it happens it is an accident and players can for the most part avoid it.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            I completely agree. In football the goal is to go out and wreck someone and there are collisions on every play. In soccer if it happens it is an accident and players can for the most part avoid it.
            Not always so easy to avoid, hence the word "accident "

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              Not always so easy to avoid, hence the word "accident "
              "For the most part" = not always

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                #8
                It's going to get worse in the near future. Rather than working at younger ages to strengthen girls' necks and helping them to judge trajectories better, by working on soft-tosses and then longer tosses, they have eliminated heading until U13. Boys judge the ball better in the air and deliver the blow to the ball rather than getting stunned and having their head jerk backwards after impact. Help them to get stronger and play the balls in the air better, don't ignore the issue, stick your head in the sand and hope it will go away later .... concussions are happening at high rates at older ages and by delaying heading it is really going to complicate this issue. Some kids are certainly seem to be more prone to concussions than others and I dont think much can be done for those kids, but, for the masses, training and strengthening at younger ages would help a lot, IMHO.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I think it's because it just isn't widespread knowledge. NOTHING is being done about it as a previous poster mentioned they just make heading against the rules and think that will solve the problem instead of teaching girls how to head and working on strengthening their neck muscles etc. I have never seen that kind of work being done at club practice.

                  Additionally, many parents are super caught up in how soccer will either get their kid a scholarship or help their kid get into an IVY or top NESCAC. And for most kids, even the smartest, it may be true that the only way into Harvard or Williams in this day and age is being super smart and a great athlete (or a superstar violinist but this isn't a chamber music board). The thing is, I firmly believe you can go to Hamilton and still have a perfectly happy life. At least I am really crossing my fingers ;)

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Hamilton's not that easy to get into!

                    Otherwise, I completely agree.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      It's going to get worse in the near future. Rather than working at younger ages to strengthen girls' necks and helping them to judge trajectories better, by working on soft-tosses and then longer tosses, they have eliminated heading until U13. Boys judge the ball better in the air and deliver the blow to the ball rather than getting stunned and having their head jerk backwards after impact. Help them to get stronger and play the balls in the air better, don't ignore the issue, stick your head in the sand and hope it will go away later .... concussions are happening at high rates at older ages and by delaying heading it is really going to complicate this issue. Some kids are certainly seem to be more prone to concussions than others and I dont think much can be done for those kids, but, for the masses, training and strengthening at younger ages would help a lot, IMHO.
                      I agree that's all very important but it's rarely taught anywhere, even before the age restriction. There's also some (ableit limited) evidence that wearing a mouth guard can help reduce the odds with hits to jaw area. All of my kids' bad knocks, however, were head-to- head blows, other kid was fine but not mine. We take them very seriously as well, screw the coach.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Problem with teaching the technique is that is repetitive flows.

                        We went to using a volleyball to teach her, as it's softer, similar size, and can replicate the action without the damage.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          Problem with teaching the technique is that is repetitive flows.

                          We went to using a volleyball to teach her, as it's softer, similar size, and can replicate the action without the damage.
                          I dont disagree ..... having girls catch tennis balls will also help them to judge a ball in the air far better with time and repetition. When they get better at it, they will be able to better time the impact and determine the outcome, rather than let the ball dictate everything because they were not ready. I think that boys are so much better because when they are little they are throwing and catching baseballs, footballs, socks, basketballs .... anything ... and they quickly learn to judge the trajectories very well.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            I dont disagree ..... having girls catch tennis balls will also help them to judge a ball in the air far better with time and repetition. When they get better at it, they will be able to better time the impact and determine the outcome, rather than let the ball dictate everything because they were not ready. I think that boys are so much better because when they are little they are throwing and catching baseballs, footballs, socks, basketballs .... anything ... and they quickly learn to judge the trajectories very well.
                            Funny you say that. I personally was never great on long, high balls in the air. My CB who played next to me for, literally, decades rarely lost one. He attributed it to being a centerfielder growing up playing baseball. I was a shortstop in that time.

                            Interesting....

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              Funny you say that. I personally was never great on long, high balls in the air. My CB who played next to me for, literally, decades rarely lost one. He attributed it to being a centerfielder growing up playing baseball. I was a shortstop in that time.

                              Interesting....
                              my best BB coach was an ex minor league outfielder and once he taught me the secrets to tracking ball flights it was like a lightbulb went on. TL/DR; similar to how pilots recognize whether planes are at higher or lower altitudes.

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