US Soccer is banning heading in practice or games through U10. U11-U13 can head only in games, no practicing. U14 and older is normal.
In general I think this will be ok for the younger ages as not a lot of real heading goes on anyway. There are exceptions here and there where the more adventurous/athletic kids are doing full speed long headers and 50/50's but in general there is not that much going on. There are quite a few headers on throw ins and bouncing balls though and that is going to be very weird, I guess the players will have to adjust. There is something to be said about conditioning yourself to head the ball properly. This new rule is going to prevent coaches from teaching and drilling until U14. That sounds like a disaster for HS age players, where heading plays a much larger role on clearances, 50's, corners, etc. They won't have ever experienced the proper technique and repetitions.
Is this a total knee jerk to the lawsuits? I am a little torn on this. Life long soccer lover, player, coach etc and my youngest is 9. He loves to head the ball. Obviously I don't want him to get hurt but I don't know if I like this direction. Interested in the opinions of the board.
One thought I had is give the ref a dangerous header call like dangerous boot for the U7-U10 ages. But I guess banning it may be the only practical way.
In general I think this will be ok for the younger ages as not a lot of real heading goes on anyway. There are exceptions here and there where the more adventurous/athletic kids are doing full speed long headers and 50/50's but in general there is not that much going on. There are quite a few headers on throw ins and bouncing balls though and that is going to be very weird, I guess the players will have to adjust. There is something to be said about conditioning yourself to head the ball properly. This new rule is going to prevent coaches from teaching and drilling until U14. That sounds like a disaster for HS age players, where heading plays a much larger role on clearances, 50's, corners, etc. They won't have ever experienced the proper technique and repetitions.
Is this a total knee jerk to the lawsuits? I am a little torn on this. Life long soccer lover, player, coach etc and my youngest is 9. He loves to head the ball. Obviously I don't want him to get hurt but I don't know if I like this direction. Interested in the opinions of the board.
One thought I had is give the ref a dangerous header call like dangerous boot for the U7-U10 ages. But I guess banning it may be the only practical way.