Soccer Causes Concussions

In studies released the last few days, it been discovered that soccer causes more concussions than all other sports played combined.

All other sports COMBINED.

This is sending shock waves through the U.S. soccer community. You see, an essential skill and facet of the sport is "the header." It also is the primary reason the sport boasts so many concussions. Hitting your head repeatedly against a ball causes brain damage. Hitting your head against another player's head while going after the ball causes even more long-term damage. And high speed head collisions are common in the sport where both teams are going after higher balls.

Junior soccer leagues are starting to panic. There is talk of not allowing headers in youth leagues at all, and limiting how much headers are allowed in practice for older players. But this all comes with a catch 22: If you can't practice an ESSENTIAL SKILL for a sport when you are young, you will never truly master the skill or your sport when you get older. And if the the skill itself actually causes the concussion, should we ever really allow it in practice OR real games at any level? That's the question doctors, leagues, and maybe even congress will have to decide.

Bottom Line? The U.S. will no longer be able to compete with the rest of the world in soccer.

The rest of the world doesn't care about concussions, at least not like the USA does. The rest of the world will continue playing soccer to the best of their ability (and to the death if necessary) to be the best in the world. They aren't going to change what they do just to make their beloved sport safer.


But the U.S. will be forced to. Because that's what we do.

And that's why soccer kids, fans, parents and organizations are panicking. The U.S. brand of soccer will eventually be very different from what the rest of the world plays. And we won't be playing with the rest of the world.

I say let the kid use their hands as fist bumps.

I can hear the outrage now.

I always thought not using two perfectly good hands was stupid. Now we all know it's not only stupid, it's dangerous not to.

Like I said, purists will be outraged. I say, think of the children.