Under 12's banned from heading the ball (in training)

I think they’ve missed a trick here. Instead of banning heading and looking like a negative thing taking an important part of football away, they could’ve introduced a system of playing with balls that don’t bounce and are difficult to launch upfield, like a Futsal style ball. If that was introduced into schoolboy (or girl) football, the kids would have to learn ball control and learn how to play their way out of trouble instead of launching it into touch when in trouble. Technique would be improved massively as would spacial awareness and knowing where the nearest pass is. Ultimately I think this would benefit the whole game for years to come as the country would produce more technically and tactically astute young players.
If the kids learn to play like that the knock on effect would be less high balls and therefore less heading of the ball would be a natural progression. All in my humble opinion of course.
 


Irishblackcat said:
Kids these days have it soft . The ball is lighter and softer than back when we used play with the mitre ball that was like a rock growing up .
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Aaaaaaye and it was a five mile walk too and from school and it snowed each time and was uphill both ways, and you had to do it with plastic bags over your leaky shoes because it's all that your folks could afford, I'd wager 🙄🙄

Good days, those, good old days
 
Needs putting in to perspective:
How many times will the average kid head a ball, what type of ball are we talking about, what will the velocity of said ball be, and so on
When was the original data collated, what was the type of ball at that time, what sort of velocity are we talking about in what was a full grown male game and how many times would it have been headed.
The current legislation is to ban heading in training but not in the actual competitive matches. Surely this could be more dangerous as the kids would not have been taught the correct techniques.
 
This is only in training - not in games.

Very sensible decision IMHO

The “updated Heading Guidance”, drawn up in conjunction with Uefa’s medical committee, states that children between the ages of 6 and 11 should no longer head the ball during training sessions. A “graduated approach” will be taken to children between the ages of 12 and 16, but there will be no limit applied to heading in matches for any age group.
www.theguardian.com

Mixed reception for move to ban children heading footballs

Campaigners welcome ‘positive step’, but some working in children’s football question how enforceable it would be
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com

Landmark study reveals link between football and dementia

Former professional footballers are three and a half times more likely to die of dementia than the general population, a landmark study has found
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

The family of the former West Bromwich Albion striker Jeff Astle, who died in 2002 of what a coroner said was an “industrial disease” partly caused by heading heavy footballs during his career, said they were shocked at the scale of the problem.

“My overall feeling is that I am staggered even though my own research and instinct was always that there was a serious problem,” said his daughter Dawn Astle, who has been contacted by more than 400 families of former players with dementia.
 
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chriswallace85 said:
The research is pretty inconclusive. And a lot of the data is based on old men who practically played a different sport with a very different ball to the football of today. These men also lived very different lifestyles to many of today's players. That's without considering the genetic factors.
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well 5* more likely to die of Parkinson’s is fairly conclusive. Does it even matter? Surely the risk is enough - as in its much more likely to be linked than not - to stop it in the early age groups. This isn’t about stopping it for adults. It’s about young kids with still forming brains and skulls. as I say it would seem strange to me to decide otherwise. It’s ownly a game of football man
 
I see it as a positive, it allow the young kids to focus more on skill and technique, which should mean long term we see more senior pros who can handle the football on the deck.
 
REDNWHITE TRACTOR said:
I think they’ve missed a trick here. Instead of banning heading and looking like a negative thing taking an important part of football away, they could’ve introduced a system of playing with balls that don’t bounce and are difficult to launch upfield, like a Futsal style ball. If that was introduced into schoolboy (or girl) football, the kids would have to learn ball control and learn how to play their way out of trouble instead of launching it into touch when in trouble. Technique would be improved massively as would spacial awareness and knowing where the nearest pass is. Ultimately I think this would benefit the whole game for years to come as the country would produce more technically and tactically astute young players.
If the kids learn to play like that the knock on effect would be less high balls and therefore less heading of the ball would be a natural progression. All in my humble opinion of course.
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Sounds great in theory, but pitches can be in a shocking state, which makes playing the ball on the deck at every opportunity unrealistic, especially in difficult weather conditions. Also, a direct style of play although considered outdated in some circles, should not be discounted.

I don't believe a futsal ball was created to be played on grass in wet conditions.
little e said:
Needs putting in to perspective:
How many times will the average kid head a ball, what type of ball are we talking about, what will the velocity of said ball be, and so on
When was the original data collated, what was the type of ball at that time, what sort of velocity are we talking about in what was a full grown male game and how many times would it have been headed.
The current legislation is to ban heading in training but not in the actual competitive matches. Surely this could be more dangerous as the kids would not have been taught the correct techniques.
Click to expand...

Good points, I'd say heading will be limited anyhow as at that age many kids struggle to kick the ball hard enough and crossing long balls into the box won't be as common as it is compared to the older age brackets.
 
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