Millions of people everyday find love and entertainment in the sport that they play. Whether it be football, soccer, baseball, etc. people continue to play even if there are risks. To these athletes, a life with sports is a happy life. Sports to them are what gives them a drive and what keeps their life exciting. A recent rise however in concussions has deter many parents from letting their children play contact sports or continue after getting one. They are starting to worry for the short and long term safety of the child and wondering if it is really worth the risk. The effects these head injuries have on families is tremendously frightening and stressful. They worry for the child’s brain when it comes to the issues of concentration, headaches, and sensitivity. The parents or guardians must now pay for medical bills and go through the child missing sports and school. With all of this in mind however parents and guardians still allow their children to play the contact sport once they recover. What should be adjusted is how the to make the sports safer to avoid head injuries as much as possible. With wanting to accomplish the goal of reducing the number of concussions. the solutions are properly learning or even reducing the number of headers in soccer, taking the concussion seriously and properly following the instructions of recovery, and having more coaches be certified in injury prevention to inform and teach kids how to play safe. “A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that alters the way your brain functions,” (Mayo Clinic Staff). With only temporary effects, these brain injuries can cause headaches, problems with concentration, memory, and balance. These concussions do not even necessarily have to come from a blow to the head. Whiplash is also something that can cause concussions too. This is what the concussion specialist, Dr. Rempson, informed me. In contact sports these injuries are actually quite common. Doctors state that with the proper acknowledgment, rest, and care, concussions can be no big deal and the child can go back to playing. With realizing there is a longer recovery time for children and teenagers, doctors do not have a problem with most athletes returning to the game they love. When it comes to this issue, there are many perspectives to find a solution. Of course all of these sides have in mind the negative side effects of these injuries though. One perspective is the people who believe in letting the kids just play the game. These people believe the kids should just play and do not take the injuries that seriously. Their side believes there should not be any safety restrictions to try to reduce the concussion issue. The other perspective argues that the kids should not play anymore contact sports. Although this side does not have as big of supporters they still have an impact on people’s mindset.
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One contributing factor to this is headers. According to Dr. Rempson, girl’s neck muscles are nearly not as strong as boy’s. When a girl goes to head and ball there is more of a chance of her heading the ball wrong or getting whiplash. 54% of athletes said that they have played injured (safekids.org pg 2). This includes the people who get hit in the head with a soccer ball. Although there is the rule that once a player is hit they have to leave the field immediately, there are still players who tell their coaches they’re fine afterwards and coaches that let them back in. There is even an upcoming argument that was just recently brought up that soccer players should not start heading till the age of 14. According to, “Changing the Culture of Youth Sports,” a study showed that 11-14 year old girls playing soccer have 31% chance of receiving a concussion. Research has even shown that heading could lead to abnormal white matter that changes in the brain and can have the effect of worsening memory. However there has not been a set rule that no heading is allowed yet. An efficient way though is for coaches and parents to encourage the players to trap the ball with their body instead of their head. This way can reduce the number of concussions especially in the sport of girl’s
One contributing factor to this is headers. According to Dr. Rempson, girl’s neck muscles are nearly not as strong as boy’s. When a girl goes to head and ball there is more of a chance of her heading the ball wrong or getting whiplash. 54% of athletes said that they have played injured (safekids.org pg 2). This includes the people who get hit in the head with a soccer ball. Although there is the rule that once a player is hit they have to leave the field immediately, there are still players who tell their coaches they’re fine afterwards and coaches that let them back in. There is even an upcoming argument that was just recently brought up that soccer players should not start heading till the age of 14. According to, “Changing the Culture of Youth Sports,” a study showed that 11-14 year old girls playing soccer have 31% chance of receiving a concussion. Research has even shown that heading could lead to abnormal white matter that changes in the brain and can have the effect of worsening memory. However there has not been a set rule that no heading is allowed yet. An efficient way though is for coaches and parents to encourage the players to trap the ball with their body instead of their head. This way can reduce the number of concussions especially in the sport of girl’s