Taking the head out of soccer

The United States Soccer Federation surprised many by announcing new restrictions on heading the soccer ball and banned the skill at the lower levels.

The organization is charged with making the rules for organizations such as the American Youth Soccer Organization and announced last month that it was prohibiting players age 10 and younger from heading the ball and will reduce headers in practice for those from age 11 to 13.

This news comes with the increasing pressure in the National Football League and the sport in general to do something about head injuries in the sport.

Pahrump is part of Region 808 and there is not much hoopla about the rule change.

Regional Commissioner David Clasen said these rules went into effect last month with little fanfare.

"People don't realize that a ball kicked in a men's league can travel at 75 miles per hour and when that strikes your head it has an impact," he said. "In AYSO we are all about the safety of the kids and this means no heading for 10 and under in games or practices."

Las Vegas club soccer coach Joe Sladek said this is not a game changer.

"At that age kids are not even taught the skill and rarely use it," Sladek said.

Sladek was OK with the ban.

The club coach was behind the strategy that took the 2012 girls team to the state title.

"In soccer most of your head injuries don't actually come from heading the ball," Sladek said. "They come from physical contact from other players, elbows to the head, head-to-head contact or even ground-to-head contact."

He said these new sets of rules will not affect him much and that it is all about protection of the kids which he is all for.

"I really don't think it's that big of a deal," Sladek said. "This movement is swinging way right of center now and will come back to center. They are just being careful and that's OK."

Clasen agreed with Sladek on what caused concussions in soccer, but felt that the ban on heading on the younger kids is looking after their safety.

"At the lower levels heading was never a factor like Joe said," Clasen said. "At U-14 it is done more. We want the kids to learn the proper technique and it is important to learn the proper way to do things to reduce injury. So the bottom line is that we don't teach it until the upper divisions, and when we do, we teach them the proper way."

The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association said they are unaffected by the rule change and are not governed by the U. S. Soccer Federation.

"We answer to a different governing body," said Donnie Nelson, NIAA assistant director. "So at the moment there is nothing in the works to change the rules for high school soccer. This doesn't mean we won't, but right now there is nothing in the works."

-Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com