Photo above courtesy of Kristine Sorensen.
We often think of football when we think of concussions, but girls who play high school soccer are at nearly the same risk for traumatic brain injuries as high school football players. Boys playing high school football suffered the most concussions of any youth sport studied — an average of 10.2 for every 10,000 practices and games.
Girls playing soccer suffered the second-most at 8.4 per 10,000 times playing.
But a recent study shows that rule changes in youth soccer that started in 2016 to reduce concussions are helping. Almost 10 years ago, the U. S. Soccer Federation banned headers for players younger than 10, and players ages 11 to 13 can practice headers for no more than 30 minutes a week.
The new report found that since the rule change, there’s been a nearly 26% reduction in soccer-related concussions, going from 8.2% of all soccer injuries to 6.1%.
Nine-year old Presley Markich, who plays for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Soccer Club at AHN Montour Sports Complex, knows what a concussion feels like. She was just 8 when she got a concussion playing soccer after colliding with another player.
“I started to feel sick in the car and threw up when I got home. I took a nap because my vision was blurry, and I threw up again and ended up in the ER for four hours,” she says.
The ER visit was important to Presley’s mom, Liz Whiting: “As a parent, I really did not want any long-term effects from this, especially at such a young age.”
AHN physical therapist Kim Kelly suffered three concussions playing soccer in high school and college — each one in the midst of going for a header.
“In high school, another player and I were jumping at the same time, and I hit the ball, and she hit the back of my head,” Kelley says.
PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENTS
The U.S. Soccer Federation also now requires that any time there’s a potential concussion, coaches must include the player in an assessment, and if it could be a concussion, they must call in a medical professional.
“I think it’s really important to stop and make sure that they’re evaluated so it doesn’t get any worse, because there are horrible long-term effects if it continues to happen,” Whiting says.
Evaluations and precautions can save lives.
“If they get hit in the midst of a current concussion or a fresh acute concussion, that’s potentially fatal,” says Kelley, who works with kids who have concussions. “We see that those kids have a prolonged recovery, higher risk of prolonged headaches, prolonged symptoms, some higher risks — we’re talking about depression, anxiety, things like that.”
One of the most important things for players to do is to be honest about their symptoms. It’s also vital for parents and coaches to look for subtle signs that players may not be talking about.
“You have to be honest with yourself, with everybody else,” Kelley tells young players. “It’s very hard with these athletes. They’re extremely competitive. No one wants to miss any playing time, but we are talking about your career and well-being.”
Whether it’s practice or a game, these young soccer players give it their all — every sprint, every block, every shot. They are passionate about the sport.
Eight-year-old Ivy Armel says she loves the “footwork, goalie, scoring.” Teammate Adley Valkavitch says, “I like when I have to defend,” and Markich says she likes “the games, practicing and all my teammates.”
The key is keeping safety in mind. Mia Duckstein is 15 and says the coaches teach them how to properly head the ball.
“If you do it the right way, it doesn’t hurt, but if you do it the wrong way, it kind of hurts a little bit,” she says.
These young players want to win on the field, but their parents often have a longer-term perspective wanting to ensure they win at life.
“It’s hard not to wonder if and how those headers, even when they do it the right way, are affecting the brain,” says Mia’s mom, Mikaela Halaja. “Even if it’s little bumps and bruises along the way, it is definitely a concern.”
One interesting note from the study was that girls had fewer concussions overall, but a higher percentage of their injuries were from concussions — 10% compared to 6% for boys. This could be because of female anatomy because boys have thicker skulls and stronger neck muscles, but there’s no scientific consensus.
Click here for more resources on concussion treatment and click here to learn more about concussion symptoms.
