Should Youth Soccer "Ban on Heading" be Reversed? (Essay Sample)

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Should Youth Soccer Ban on Headers be Reversed?
Concussions have been the topic of significant interest to players, coaches, and regulators due to the potential of serious negative effects, both short and long term. Some sports like football or soccer may have an increased risk of concussions for players. The cause of concussions in soccer is not as straightforward as events like collisions with other players, but “heading” alone could cause concussions. The term heading means that a player uses their head to pass or shoot the ball. Ultimately, sports professionals began to search for solutions to minimize concussion risks for professional and recreational players. For soccer, these efforts ultimately ended with a ban of "heading," which increases the risk of concussion among soccer players. The argument was that this is an area of concern for young soccer players who are still developing, as the concussions could be extra damaging for a growing individual. This decision to ban “heading” has been controversial since its inception because the available scientific evidence regarding the dangers of heading and its link to concussions is inconclusive. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate available scientific evidence and provide evidence-based recommendations on whether youth soccer’s ban on headers should be reversed. Youth soccer players’ heading ban should be reversed or at least re-evaluated because available scientific evidence does not unequivocally show that heading is the most common reason for concussions or that heading is as damaging as concussions resulting from collisions with other players.
Ban the use of the head in youth soccer. To me, banning the use of heads in soccer is like running without bending your knees, it like it's there, but don't use it know it is there. If the use of heads were banned, it only hinders a child if they wish to further their soccer career. The term heading means that a player uses their head to pass or shoot the ball. The image that comes to mind is from the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the player Robin Van Persie of Netherlands lobs the goalie from 20 yards out, this is was highly considered goal of the tournament. Had Robin not been allowed to use his head as a child while learning the game he would have never scored not only the greatest goal in his career but one of the best goals that has happened ever in the World Cup because he would have been too scared to attack the ball with his head. In my opinion, I believe that instead of banning the use of headers from the youth that they should be taught how to use their head or wear protective gear properly.
Ban on heading puts U.S. soccer players at a significant disadvantage against European teams because the heading is not banned in Europe (Kooistra and Kooistra). In the game of soccer outfield players, which is everyone except the goalie, is allowed to use every part of their body, but the hands and arms, to keep/control or earn possession of the ball. So by banning the use of one of the most used limbs in the game can make it very difficult to play. The term cross is used when one play kicks the ball for a teammate to be on the other side of the pass and head the ball towards goal. This usually where the taller players who aren't as great with the ball at their feet tend to blossom. This is because these players will rise and have a good chance to score due to their height. Players such as Mario Mandzukic, Andy Carroll, Peter Crouch, and Olivier Giroud, have all made names for themselves because of their abilities aerially. Their heights ranging from 6′ 2″-6′ 7′′ and I ask with someone that tall you can only assume that they will tower over their opposition prompting the use of the head. Now let's take a player like Mandzukic and go deeper into his stats. He has scored a total of 105 goals in his career 42 of which he used his head. But had Mario Mandzukic grown up being told not to use