mrsblue
Banned
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2012
- Messages
- 9,419
The third one. Removing drop kicks from the game? Why stop there, why not eradicate every action that results in the ball going above head height? I'm not doubting that repeatedly heading the ball will have contributed towards brain injuries in the past, but I am doubtful that the modern football has the potential to do this. The old leather puddings of the 60s and 70s were substantially heavier than today's engineered footballs and were made even heavier still by the amount of water they retained.
Without making sweeping changes to football that would be to extreme detriment to it (in my opinion), then one of the best ways to resolve something like this would be to ensure players are properly educated on heading technique. I'm not talking about having rows of 7 and 8 year-olds lining up to do heading drills for weeks on end, but I see no reason why heading can't be something that's taught properly as and when it becomes prevalent in the game, such as when kids step up to U14/15/16 football when set pieces are properly introduced.
I'm all for football being a progressive sport that continually adapts and bends as per the demands/requirements/safety/spectacle of the sport, but effectively prohibiting the ball from going above head height? I'm not so sure. Footballers would be far, far better served by the introduction of free substitutions for head injuries and mandatory weeks out for concussion cases.
You have no worries if your young children join a team so they can repeatedly head the ball at various angles/height/speed and ignore the probable damage they are sustaining?