Is Futbol safe for kids? Amid concussion fears, a parent searches for answers

[bing101]

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/parents-dilemma-soccer-safe-kids/


PBS Newshour does an examination of Futbol injuries. As in Soccer.

[Bruce]

Please don't call it futbol unless you're speaking Spanish. It's just soccer if talking about the sport in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and parts of East and Southeast Asia. Otherwise, it's football.

There isn't a real solution to the concussion problem, since heading is an essential part of how soccer works.

[english si]

Pediatrician in that article probably doesn't want kids playing sarcastaball...

The concussions/head injuries don't really come from headers themselves - they come from running into each other, arms being used to gain extra height to win the ball, etc. They are still pretty rare to have serious ones where the player needs to be subbed off, rather than checked that they are alright during a short sit down and/or have the blood wiped off and waiting for it to clot before coming back on. Still rarer for a head injury to mean missing the next game - unlike leg injuries.

It's just soccer if talking about the sport in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and parts of East and Southeast Asia.

And English public schools (eg Eton), where the term originated from to distinguish it from the other football: Rugger.

Rugger gives teams unlimited 'blood substitutes' because injuries are so common, especially facial wounds that have a lot of blood.

[jeffandnicole]

This has been discussed for many years by many 'professionals'.  It seems the only way to prevent head injuries is by finding things for kids to do that don't require interaction with each other, like video games, texting, and looking up stuff on computers. 

I betcha someone will have something against that stuff too, as if it'll make kids fat and lazy and not want to go outside.