How Can We Protect Young Soccer Players?

Throughout the United States, soccer has been gaining popularity among high school athletes and after the U.S. Women’s National Team captured the hearts of our nation with its latest victory in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, that will presumably grow. However, according to a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics, the rise in the sport’s popularity has likely resulted in the increased number of concussions among young soccer players.

Between 2005 and 2014, researchers sampled 100 high schools across the nation and looked at both the number and cause of concussions. They found that there were 442 concussions among boys and 627 among girls. Contrary to popular belief, the data indicated that the majority of traumatic brain injuries were a result of physical contact with another player and not “heading” the ball.

Additionally, the study calculated that for every 10,000 “athlete exposures,” there were 2.8 concussions among boys and 4.5 among girls. Although those figures sound like a lot, Sarah K. Fields, an author of the study, told CNN that “the rate is certainly much lower than football. Football is more than double that.” While high school football produces more concussions than soccer, the latter is still the second leading cause of head injury among females. For males, it was the fifth leading cause of concussions.

Soccer has widely been seen as a safer alternative for young athletes to other youth sports, but the latest events suggest that this view may be misguided. As recent as last month, the head-to-head midair collision between the United States’ Morgan Brian and Germany’s Alexandra Popp during the intense Women’s World Cup semifinal game called into question the safety of athletes on the soccer field from concussions and other serious head injuries.

The study concluded that a safer style of play needs to be found for young athletes, in which technique and skill can be taught to avoid risky body contact that can lead to collisions in an attempt to head the ball or gain possession from another player. Finding a balance between competitive play and safety from head injuries is of paramount importance to ensure a safe environment and prevent the likelihood of severe consequences that could impact young soccer players for the rest of their lives.

Washington DC personal injury lawyer Kenneth Trombly is no stranger to the ramifications of head injuries and has decades of experience helping catastrophically injured persons and their families, including those who have suffered from serious brain injuries. “The impact is multi-faceted, particularly in brain injury cases. It can range from obvious impairments in physical, cognitive, and higher executive function to subtle psychological and emotional changes,” he said.