http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rock-center/47364208/#47364208 I doubt many of you were aware of the report done by Rock Center on this issue. However, it seems that the media is starting to give some more attention to girls soccer, especially in the issue of concussions. One of things that jump out at me is that it seems that they only touched briefly on the fact that many soccer programs aren't teaching the proper techniques. In fact, there's another video with Brandi Chastain that is about proper heading. This is not an issue of gender but one of which too many soccer parents emphasize wins over teaching the game the right way, something many of us BigSoccer aficionados are very familiar with. I would love to see your comments on this. Here's the article that is attached to the video: http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/09/11604307-concussion-crisis-growing-in-girls-soccer?lite
Nearly 20 mins. dedicated to the topic in two segments. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/47364208#47364208 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/47364254#47364254 Not enough mention of ground contact vs. ball contact injury, the former being more damaging in one impact than the latter over many.
I read the article heading the modern day ball that is inflated right is not the problem. The problem is head to opponents elbow or forearm contact is the problem. Players have to know how to protect the space they are playing in. If they don't then concussion injuries can be a problem. There was a Womens High school coach who was respected in some circles who when a players family told him they did not want their daughters to head the soccer ball he just said okay. He never even told them how to protect the space they were playing in when challenged for a high ball. Then he moves up to coaching Womens college soccer then looks for women who can head the ball. Why he was respected I have no idea. On concussions and injuries in general "A-Active Movement. This is the first time you ask the player for her to move the affected area.You may have decided from the above to NOT ask for movement. The manual, at this point, goes on. I'll just say between the two of you, you'll decide if the she can continue or not. If not, advise the parent to head to the ER or make an appt for the family doc. You may decide to not let a player play IF there was, for example, a head injury. You are the coach and you need to make as best a decision for the players safety as you can" Who cares if the team may lose a game if she does not come back in. In suspecting head injury she does not come back in period. ------------------------------------- will make two posts on this now, but first on Medical trainers. You can get a young kid training to be a medical trainer for free or very cheap. They need and are looking for some practical experience. They want to do older teams, so if you do some looking chances are you can get one. First post "These are tests that a coach should give a player after any kind of head injury. The player saying he or she is okay is not good enough. ------------ Immediate past memory test - Ask them to describe what just occurred in the game before the hit. If they don't remember, they fail. Current thinking test - older players have them count backwards by 7s. Younger players just count backwards. If they cannot, they fail. Ability to retain new memories - Ask them to remember 3 random words (e.g., apple, car, Cleveland). If they cannot, they fail. Exercise test - If they cannot do 5 pushups without feeling woozy, then they fail. -------------------- Each year, several players in various sports die after second-impact concussions. The second-impact doesn't have to be the same day, or even the same week. Apparently, as long as the player has symptoms there is still some brain injury which needs healing. So there is a danger of making the condition worse if they get another head injury after the first. ------------- Watch out for nausea, dizziness, ringing in the ears, headaches, confusion, sensitivity to light, erratic behavior or there vision changes in some other way. They should see a doctor and or neurologist, maybe even a trip to emergency on a knock out injury for a catscan to check for bleeding under the skull which can kill you" Last post was in answer to this post. "Concussions are often brushed aside in athletics as trivial and players are often encouraged to push through the symptoms. This attitude is slowly changing as concussions are becoming more fully understood, and screen/evaluation tools are becoming more widely used. A concussion is an alteration in mental status caused by a traumatic force to the brain which may or may not cause a loss of consciousness. The early symptoms include: headache, impaired attention, speech problems, incoordination, disorientation, memory problems (retro/antro grade amnesia), and any LOC. Later symptoms can include: dizziness, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), sleep disturbances. Pupil reaction/size is rarely indicative of a concussion although if the pupils are different sizes this is indicative of a more serious brain injury. Second impact syndrome occurs when multiple concussions occur within a short period of time. It is caused by swelling of the brain which results in a great increase in intercranial pressure. This is the main reason that concussions must be so closely monitored. Early recognition/assesment of concussions is essential. Headaches are normally the most reported symptoms. What Nick outlined is good for a quick assessment suitable for the sidelines by a non-medical personnel. I would make one change, exercise testing is the last thing done and is only done if all the other things are normal. Push-ups are okay, but sit ups are better. The goal with exercise testing is to mimic the valsalva maneuver which increases intercranial pressure. Sprints and other types of running are not used as they actually lower the ICP and will decrease the symptoms. As an ATC I use both the SAC and IMPACT tests. The SAC test is a quick test that assigns an objective value to the symptoms. This is used on the sidelines, while the IMPACT is used to determine when it is safe to return the athlete to play. Both tests are also used as pre-season screening tests. This will establish a baseline value which can be used to compare to the post-injury test to determine the relative severity of the concussion. In terms of returning to play, it is based on the symptoms. If the symptoms resolve within 15 minutes the symptoms do not return with exertional testing, and their SAC scores are within 1 point of their baseline they can return to the game. If the symptoms persist for longer than 15 minutes they are not allowed to return and are evaluate the next day. If any LOC occurs they must be cleared to participate by a doctor. Bear in mind that these are guidelines used by doctors and ATCS alike and should not be implemented by someone without medical training. Generally, if a concussion occurs and medical personnel are not immediately available it is better to error on the side of caution and require a doctors release. This is often required in the case of high school teams depending on the school's specific guidelines. __________________ On heading besides jumping ability think of another perspective. How much space do you take up when you head the ball? Think big as you go up------ elbows out and up, forearms out and extended forward about head high and your hands are attached to them which always helps to move an opponent. Besides all that, you got your chest taking up space. You built yourself a pretty big area to head in. You also made an area that could keep opponents away from your area to head in. All you need to do for that to happen is beat the opponent to the jump. You made yourself a lot of room to head the ball. ------------------------ How to teach young players how to head the ball Players pair off, each pair with one ball. Each exercise numbered. 1. Light headers facing.. Five yards apart, standing, ten light tosses to partner, head back softly, face on. Emphasis on accuracy. Each do two sets of 10, switching off on each set. 2. Squat headers. Partner squats, is tossed ball high enough to come out of squat to head ball in full standing position. Two sets of 10 each, switching off. 3. Light headers snap.. Five yards apart, standing, ten light tosses to partner, doing snap headers side on. Emphasis on accuracy and good form. Each do two sets of ten, switching off. 4. Sit up headers. One partner lies flat on back. Partner on knees facing. Kneeing partner tosses to situp partner so heading of ball is done at height of sit up. Soft tosses, emphasis on good snap at the top of sit up and accuracy right back to kneeling partner. Two sets of 10 reps each. 5. Low/high. Players around 10 yards apart, standing. Low toss for header directly back. Then high toss for jump header. Two sets of 10 each. 6. Belly diving header. Partner flat on belly. Toss at around three feet above ground. Lying player gets to knees, then full extension to mimic diving header body shape, and goes belly to ground. Two sets of 10 each, switching off. 7. Header juggling. Standing position. Light toss to partner, try to juggle three times with head only, then head to partner, who attempts the same. You can start with higher number or vary as appropriate to skill level. Tosses should be light so many reps are possible, and, of course, you can do just one set to keep the sequence short. Emphasis on good form throughout --------------------------------------------
neck strength to reduce concussions... http://sports.yahoo.com/news/neck-strength-reduce-concussions-womens-093308356.html