The Importance Of Sports In Sports

Although soccer is one of the leading sports to cause concussions, I believe that soccer players should be able to head the ball at all ages because it takes away from the fundamentals of the game, and it causes the game to feel unnatural to the players while it also causes players to overthink. On February 16, 2016, the United States Soccer Federation declared that no one under the age of 13 was allowed to head the ball because of the staggering concussion numbers that soccer had brought in. A concussion is any trauma or blow to the head, and some symptoms of a concussion is headache, unconsciousness, nausea, and dizziness. This new rule has made drastic changes to the game that we used to think was soccer.

Soccer, being the most popular sport across the nation, currently has millions of fans and approximately 25 million registered players in the United States alone (Niedfeldt). Since the early 2000’s and continually seventeen years later, concussions are among the highest sustained injury to soccer players. While the sport is increasing in popularity, fear of injuries is increasing as well. In response to the arising panic, several companies have come together in order to create, promote, and sell protective headgear to concerned soccer players and their parents. The creators of this gear claim that their products will reduce concussions and any negative neurocognitive effects in relation to heading balls in soccer. Although some believe that

Concussions occur on a large scale in football. During a concussion, the head can experience a blow directly or can have whiplash. When the head is hit, the brain hits the inside of the skull, giving it a temporary bruise. This bruise or tearing of the brain can lead to mental impairments that can affect a person’s emotional state of being, physical problems like deteriorated mobility and sensitivity to light and sound. Doctors are quick to point out one of the major reasons that youth receive concussions, saying, “... children have big heads relative to the rest of their bodies and weak necks… that elevates the risk of concussions,” (P6). Along with a lack of education and care for the protection of athletes, youth are already at a huge risk. When children wear their football helmets, they are saving themselves from many injuries that could have occurred without them, most especially protecting the brain. But, in many cases, this is not enough.

4%-20% of all injuries in soccer are head injuries. Concussion and head injuries are a big part of soccer, many younger players should have to wear protective headgear while playing. Also, many of these head injuries that players sustained during soccer can affect them for the rest of their life with things such as CTE. Even though many people don’t want to change the game of soccer, at a certain age players should have to wear headgear if they want to head the ball because the brain damage kids can get from heading the ball can affect them for life, and it would decrease the amount of concussions the sport has per year.

Introduction- Specialized headgear and better concussion protocol should be utilized in high school sports to prevent serious brain injuries.

Barnett argues “Live contact during regular season and postseason practises will be allowed no more than three days a week and limited to no more than 30 minutes a day and a total of no more than 80 minutes a week. Contact also is not allowed on more than two consecutive days.”(Barnett, pg1) This will help decrease the number of concussions in children and teens in sports. Although it is not a way to prevent them it is still a serious injury that people of all ages should be cautious about. (HELMETS IN SPORTS) “Helmet use in sports spans such varied activities as race-car driving, motorcycling, baseball, hockey, football, lacrosse, equestrian activities, and bicycling. The substantial increase in helmet use is a tribute to the consumer's concern for safety, society's interest in minimizing serious injury, and the helmet industry's efforts to produce acceptable products. Generally speaking, however, helmet safety design has evolved slowly”(Coben, 1). Helmets in sports are the most important tool for protection from concussions. Even though concussions are not 100% preventable schools should pay the extra money to get the safest helmets. Helmet safety is evolving and there are new helmets specifically for concussions. “Forty-one states and Washington, DC, have youth sports TBI laws that require coaches and teams to remove young athletes from play if they are suspected of having suffered a TBI, and all of those states but Wisconsin and Ohio require

People often argue that concussions in soccer are caused by heading the ball. For example, concussion headbands were made for players to wear during soccer games to help protect them from getting concussions (Clarey). One cannot deny that concussion headbands may help reduce the impact from the ball (Clarey). According to Soccer Headgear: Does It Do Any Good? by Jere Longman, “Headgear could reduce impact forces by 10 to 30 percent” (Longman). Supposedly, players will wear concussion headgear to help reduce concussions. The headgear will help reduce some of the force from the ball when the player’s head makes contact with the ball (Longman). Not only will wearing headgear during the game help prevent concussions, but also the age at which kids can head the ball with help prevent them too. A new rule states soccer players 10 and under cannot head the ball in games or practice. Based on new rules from the U.S. Soccer and the American Youth Soccer Organization, “Children 10 years or under will no longer be allowed to head the ball in practice or games, while players ages 11 to 13 will only be allowed to do it during practice and not games” (Storrs). Having young players start heading the ball later in life will ensure that they are learning how to head the ball correctly and accurately. Heading the ball at a young age will put the young players at a higher risk to get a concussion because they most likely are doing it wrong. However, wearing

On November 6th, 1869 the young American sport called football was born. In 1903, the addition of the football helmet was introduced; however, the helmet was not mandatory for all players until 1943 (“History of the”). Since the mandatory protocol for the use of helmets, the football helmet has advanced in safety. The helmet evolved from a plastic shell-shaped helmet to a more protective rounded plastic helmet with a face mask and chin strap. After those improvements, the modifications for safety increased. Today, professional football players have impact indicators on their chin straps to identify head injuries. As players have gotten bigger and stronger, head injury awareness is a major part of player’s safety and if they are not aware, it often results in a concussion. Many players and viewers of the game do not know how concussions occur, what the effects are, and how engineers and associations try to prevent the occurrence.

Concussions in youth sports has recently became more popular in the news. Mukand and Serra recently discovered, “about 1.6- 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur every year, and a recent study found that 182,000 football players may sustain at least one concussion annually in youth (99,000), high school (76,640), and NCAA football programs (3,905), or about 1 in 30 players and 1 in 14 high school players” (16). The amount of concussions should be alarming to athletes and the parents. Hospitals have noticed a growing number of visits from children and young adults with concussions because of sports, but it is unclear if the rise is due to more concussions or more reports due to better awareness of concussions (Mitka 1775-1776). Concussions could be on the rise or more people are recognizing the symptoms of concussions and then reporting them. Either way, concussions in youth sports need to be reduced or completely eliminated. Sports related concussions in youth can be prevented with proper education and technique. Efficient and reliable equipment and better rules and regulations in youth sports can also prevent concussions and brain injuries in youth and adolescents.

Sports is a major part of mostly everyone’s life either you watch it or just participate in it. Though it has it benefits, everyone has the reason why they participate or enjoy watching sports. With the benefits comes with some consequence. When a football player puts on a helmet, he knows what he gets himself into. Although they have a helmet on, they are not guarantee not to get a concussion, according to Press Release “there was a new study that found out that football helmets currently used on the field does little to no protection against hits to side if the head” (AAN).

Head coming forcibly into contact with another and concussions caused by physically coming into contact with other players in sports are a swiftly escalating epidemic among young athletes. When debatable cases corresponding to CTE are left undetected, concussions can lead to the condition of long-term brain damage and may even prove untreatable. Athletes are left defenseless and useless without facts provided without hesitation accessible about their own health. Most concussions resolve with rest within a week to ten days; however, about 10% of concussions take longer to heal and some may have long-term consequences. While research is ongoing to help identify the best approach to changing the culture of concussion in sports, there are action steps that coaches, parents, health care providers, and school professionals can take now to help keep young athletes safe and supported as they pursue the sports they love to play. A shortened play clock might also make obese linemen lose weight, since there’d be less standing around and more hustling. And since all players would be more tired, they would have less strength when delivering hits. This will allow coaches would to control the basic strategy, but the players would control its application, communicating with one another more and engaging their otherwise static athletic

One reason greater precautions are necessary is because young athletes’ brains are not fully developed, and a concussion can cause long-term damage. In the article “BU Study Links Youth Football,

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that more than 200,000 children have been treated for soccer related injuries, including concussions being a main injury(Bain 4). Concussions are frequently happening time after time in the game of soccer. Contact with other players, the ground, the ball, and many other serious injuries are causing the shaking of the brain; therefore, leading to lack of knowledge, memory, eyesight and many other issues. Headgear may be the solution to decreasing the amount of concussions that occur in soccer. Concussions cause brain damage which can affect your eyesight and your thought process. This may result

There has been extraordinary improvements of helmets from the old leather to the modernized-plastic football helmets along with the face mask and energy- absorbent padding. In addition, the concern over preventing concussions, have led to helmet changes, impact testing methods and reconstruction of injuries during play helping to provide insight on concussions(4). Helmets have been successful in decreasing the risk of traumatic brain injuries, but there is much concern over concussion; therefore, scholars argue the importance of technology development to address concussion(5). As the author(s), David Viano and David Halstead discusses, there is room needed for understanding the types of collisions associated in youths and the impact condition addressing collisions. There are many variables to consider addressing concussion and where they occur.

Football is America’s most popular sport; however, recently controversy has been arising pertaining to the injuries and violence connected to football. Within the last five years the topic of allowing youth to play football has blown up. Though the injuries vary dramatically, what has really been the key subject is head related injuries, typically concussions. Parents around the country are debating whether or not their children should play the sport, specifically contact football. Although football and most sports in general have injury related risks attached with it, there are still arguments why kids around the country should be able to enjoy one of the most liked sports. Reasons such as building teamwork, physical activity and free will can lead to why many believe that there should not be a dispute regarding football.