Heading the ball

[belvederebee]

With an investigation into the effects of heading the ball under way, it is interesting to imagine how the eleven a side game would look if headers were banned.

 

[Vid]

It would look like 5 a side football but with more players.

 

[wibs]

In America children aged 10 and under are not allowed to head the ball while 11 to 13 year-olds have headers limited in training

 

[Lush55]

I can understand the head/brain injuries in older players now,due to the weight of the old leather laced balls.
I remember nearly being knocked out once with one of those balls,sodden and muddy.

These days the balls are so light, I cannot see much damage happening,however I suppose the tests will prove right or wrong.
It will be a sad day should headers be banned or helmets/head protectors having to be worn!

 

[Banana]

It will be interesting. But I suspect that it would be generally a "good thing" if (say) U14s did not head balls.

 

[whyteleafebee76]

It will be interesting. But I suspect that it would be generally a "good thing" if (say) U14s did not head balls.

I think at under 14s its something that they should be doing but maybe U12s and below would be a good thing. Interestingly most teams I see playing on Sundays (my son is playing at U14s) are encouraged to play out from the back so there seems to be a lot less aerial stuff compared to when I used to play. I wonder whether a combination of lighter balls and more football being played on the deck means this is less of an issue now compared to previous eras.

 

[Isleworth_Bee]

I can understand the head/brain injuries in older players now,due to the weight of the old leather laced balls.
I remember nearly being knocked out once with one of those balls,sodden and muddy.

These days the balls are so light, I cannot see much damage happening,however I suppose the tests will prove right or wrong.
It will be a sad day should headers be banned or helmets/head protectors having to be worn!

Im not so sure mate. Even one of those balls to the head cant be good for you?

 

[jlove]

Repeatedly banging your head, no matter how hard, cannot be good for anyone. The weight of balls in the past, coupled with the changes in the game to play more on the ground, will also be a controlling factor in the research. The question to be answered is 'to what degree is it harmful?'. There has been some discussion about banning/reducing heading for younger people but there is a counter-argument that those young people must develop their neck muscles and technique if they are to do it at a later age.

 

[BeeHomeSoon]

I'd never get another game of football if headers were banned.
That's the only reason I get a game these days lol

 

[sonofabee]

All that smoking, riding my bike without a helmet, drinking water from the outside tap, headers and volleys and practising head butts on my brother didn't do me any harm?
Maybe the old leather ball with laces could have caused problems but nowadays no issues and I think kids should be taught to head a ball as soon as they can walk.

 

[ruislip bee]

All that smoking, riding my bike without a helmet, drinking water from the outside tap, headers and volleys and practising head butts on my brother didn't do me any harm?
Maybe the old leather ball with laces could have caused problems but nowadays no issues and I think kids should be taught to head a ball as soon as they can walk.

What was the question again.............

 

[Isleworth_Bee]

I'd never get another game of football if headers were banned.
That's the only reason I get a game these days lol

Dont know mate it was a top finish at GP with the right peg if i remember correctly lol

 

[halibutbee64]

Maybe I am a little slow on the uptake but I have just read that 4 of the '66 team had/ has Alzheimer's. One article said it was attributed to heading the heavier ball.

 

[ruislip bee]

Maybe I am a little slow on the uptake but I have just read that 4 of the '66 team had/ has Alzheimer's. One article said it was attributed to heading the heavier ball.

Yep.

 

[Banana]

All that smoking, riding my bike without a helmet, drinking water from the outside tap, headers and volleys and practising head butts on my brother didn't do me any harm?

Er.....no comment

 

[BURFORD BEE]

Would certainly spell the end of hoofball which would be a bad thing. Would that most damage is from clearances by the keeper in the main. Could be an answer if that were restricted but allowed in opponents half?
Also restricting it in training.
Must admit that I hate the thought though.

 

[whyteleafebee76]

Joe Root just headed the ball in the test match.

 

[GlasgowBee]

It would be interesting to see the scope of the study. A quick wiki search notes that there is very little difference in symptoms between alzheimers and alcohol related dementia.

I am not insinuating anything in this post other than if you look for one thing you will probably find it, but it's the quality of the query that counts, not the output.

Repeated heading of something heavy would increase the risk of damage to that area, however it is not the only factor that can cause such symptoms. Blame can cause a bias.

 

[Lionel Bart-At]

My dad passed away 18 months ago. He had been diagnosed with dementia and was plagued by mini strokes. Finally a big stroke (bleed on the brain) did for him. He was a semi-pro and played centre-half for most of his career. He was involved in coaching all his life. Doctor's had not been able to confirm a link, but we suspect differently.

 

[Nada Bee]

It would definitely cause some sort of effect. Whether minor or big. I think we’ve all ducked out of a high ball header and thought **** that. Cos it’ll smart. I mean banging your head softly against a brick wall all day would eventually cause some damage, wouldn’t it?

 

[The Pipe]

The likes of Warnock would have to totally rethink the way his teams play!!!!!

 

[sonofabee]

My dad passed away 18 months ago. He had been diagnosed with dementia and was plagued by mini strokes. Finally a big stroke (bleed on the brain) did for him. He was a semi-pro and played centre-half for most of his career. He was involved in coaching all his life. Doctor's had not been able to confirm a link, but we suspect differently.

I was lucky and by the time I went to secondary school we'd starting using white Mitre Multiplex balls so heading wasn't an issue.
However those old heavy wet leather laced up balls with pigs bladders must have been a nightmare to head and I'd imagine do some harm if you'd spent 30 odd years jumping up to head for anything up to 6 hours a week(Saturday, Sunday, midweek league and at least one training session, often 2)

 

[halibutbee64]

Joe Root just headed the ball in the test match.

Maybe that's the answer footballers wearing helmets.

 

[mhead bee]

With an investigation into the effects of heading the ball under way, it is interesting to imagine how the eleven a side game would look if headers were banned.

It’s worth a pilot. The only people that really head it with any intent are defenders, other than Andy Carroll most players duck out of headers. If you had to chest it or bring it down with your foot would the game really suffer that much?

 

[mhead bee]

Maybe that's the answer footballers wearing helmets.

Harlee Dean headed it like he was wearing a helmet most of the time anyway so why not. You don’t see that many headed goals nowadays as most players try not to.

 

[Lionel Bart-At]

Harlee Dean headed it like he was wearing a helmet most of the time anyway so why not. You don’t see that many headed goals nowadays as most players try not to.

Really? No, I think it just looks that way when you follow Brentford.

 

[ruislip bee]

Blimey my whole game revolved around winning headers, executing slide tackles and winning whole hearted 50 50 tackles. Bit of a dinosaur now!

 

[Lionel Bart-At]

Blimey my whole game revolved around winning headers, executing slide tackles and winning whole hearted 50 50 tackles. Bit of a dinosaur now!

If I'm honest this no heading concept would suit my game down to the ground!