This week, the US Soccer Federation announced it would be issuing guidelines that will limit the number of headers 11- to 13-year-olds can take in training, and ban them altogether for younger children.
There is increasing evidence to suggest there may be a problem with head injuries in soccer, and particularly in younger players.
Even if a player doesn’t suffer an obvious concussion from heading the ball (or going for a header – more often concussions occur from head-to-head or elbow contact with other players, or hitting the ground), the cumulative effect of repeatedly heading a ball could be damaging.
