RealAudio 3.0 |
|
||
Long: The American Academy of Pediatrics has come out and classified soccer as a contact sport because there are as many concussions in soccer as there are in football.That's Bob Long, a former St. Paul City Council member, attorney, soccer dad, and - along with his friend George Halverson - developer of the new protective soccer headgear called "Headers." A few years ago, Long's young son got a concussion in a soccer game. He went looking for some head protection for the boy, and found nothing. Soon, Long and Halverson started tinkering.
Long: We went out and started monkeying around with a headband idea. And we had our 10-year-old sons working with us in the backyard, and of course we used a professional testing and design firm, but conceptually it started out cutting a piece of life preserver up and sewing it into a ski headband to try it out.Headers are simply padded headbands designed to absorb impact without affecting the way the soccer ball performs. A North Dakota researcher hired by Long determined Headers reduce by half the strain on the brain at impact. But first kids have to be willing to wear them.
|
|
Anderson: It can tear some blood vessels and cause some damage without any direct blows or impact to the brain and helmets tend to be better at preventing direct blows to the skull but are not going to necessarily prevent that acceleration deceleration which can cause the brain to slosh around in the skull. From a biomechanics standpoint, I'm just not optimistic that's going to be enough to eliminate the stresses that have potential to cause injury.Instead, Anderson says kids should not do drills in which they head the ball repeatedly, and they should stop playing for some time after any head injury.
Lagos: It provides a nice point of impact where you're supposed to head the ball. They're very comfortable to wear and they're comfortable when you stroke the ball, so they take away the fear factor.
|
|
Winkle:A lot of kids close their eyes when they head the ball. It makes it hurt a lot less. But when you get older and you know how to do it correctly and your skull is fully formed, I don't think it's much of an issue.
Long: People who have been playing soccer for 15 years without anything on their head, it's a bit of an adjustment.Headers developer Bob Long.
Long: It's like professional hockey players who didn't want to wear helmets. And having also coached hockey, I would never dream of sending my kids out without the equipment on, and once I learned of the risks involved in soccer, I didn't want to be a parent that sent my kids out without something on their heads.The regulatory bodies for youth soccer in Minnesota are expected to make a decision soon about whether they'll allow headers to be worn in all of their games.