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Heading The Ball

mano-obe

Well-Known Member
Mar 2, 2005
4,238
7,518
I used to hate heading the ball, no matter what I always did it and half the time it hurt!

I'm curious to see Shearer's documentary about the link with dementia. Taking blows to the head in training and in the game surely can't be good in the long run
 

michaelden

Knight of the Fat Fanny
Aug 13, 2004
26,386
21,685
They made the ball lighter to help with this but now it travels faster. A few studies on this have been done and most agree heading is bad in the long term.
 

Archibald&Crooks

Aegina Expat
Admin
Feb 1, 2005
55,533
204,721
It was interesting to watch. There's a link to it on BBC iPlayer in this article about the documentary

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41902953

From what I can gather (at this point my attention was distracted by my dog Hugo jumping off my lap and crushing my balls), it seems the FA are taking things into their own hands after waiting several years for FIFA to do fuck-all and are finally commissioning their own studies and research into it all.

In the USA they have banned heading the ball for under 11yr olds and there was also an interesting interview with the FA's doctor.

There's also another article on the documentary here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41929924
 

WalkerboyUK

Well-Known Member
Jun 8, 2009
21,658
23,476
My grandfather played top flight football in the 40s/50s and suffered from severe dementia in his latter years.
The last time I saw him, before he passed away, he thought my brother and I were different grandchildren.
He was known to go out for walks, only to be brought home by the police because he had no idea where he was or where he lived.
I can't help but believe there is some link between his heading a football that was basically a medicine ball, and his development of dementia.
There was nothing else about his lifestyle that would suggest it came from anything else - didn't drink, didn't smoke, was active right up until he died.
 

tototoner

Staying Alert
Mar 21, 2004
29,387
34,059
It was interesting to watch. There's a link to it on BBC iPlayer in this article about the documentary

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41902953

From what I can gather (at this point my attention was distracted by my dog Hugo jumping off my lap and crushing my balls), it seems the FA are taking things into their own hands after waiting several years for FIFA to do fuck-all and are finally commissioning their own studies and research into it all.

In the USA they have banned heading the ball for under 11yr olds and there was also an interesting interview with the FA's doctor.

There's also another article on the documentary here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41929924

I agree with this, in fact i would even say it should the banned for U14's

The game is football after all, not headball
 

mpickard2087

Patient Zero
Jun 13, 2008
21,886
32,513
It's going to need long term comprehensive studies, I suspect in the end it wont show anything definite and that just maybe it leads to a higher susceptibility.

I don't though think it's a bad thing if all the evidence is there and presented, and individuals can then make a choice. Personally I wouldn't stop playing football or heading a ball, or be worried about kids or grandkids, because I think it's pot luck as to whether you get it - whatever you do in life. My nan has about the most severe form of dementia you can have for instance, and that's certainly not from contact sports... May as well live life and do what you enjoy and then see what hand you get dealt as it draws towards the end.

Having said all that, I think it's a very good idea for the kids to be learning heading technique and repetitive drills using foam balls rather than the real thing.
 

DJS

A hoonter must hoont
Dec 9, 2006
31,261
21,760
It is quite dodgy.

Maybe a weird suggestion but maybe footballers should wear mandatory protective head gear?

Might have helped prevent the shocking head injuries to Cech and Mason who come to mind in recent years.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
I don't think it takes a scientist to work out that repeatedly being hit in the head, even lightly, will lead to problems. I think the question is more about the extent i.e. does it just cause a very slight increase in likelihood to develop problems or is it a significant enough increase where we have to take action.

It was interesting to watch. There's a link to it on BBC iPlayer in this article about the documentary

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41902953

From what I can gather (at this point my attention was distracted by my dog Hugo jumping off my lap and crushing my balls), it seems the FA are taking things into their own hands after waiting several years for FIFA to do fuck-all and are finally commissioning their own studies and research into it all.

In the USA they have banned heading the ball for under 11yr olds and there was also an interesting interview with the FA's doctor.

There's also another article on the documentary here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41929924

Saw someone talking about this, might've actually been Shearer himself, and they were saying that banning heading for kids might actually be causing more problems because when it's suddenly introduced at an older age, the kids haven't learned the proper technique etc. and so they may or may not suffer more damage as a result of that than if they'd always been heading the ball properly.
 

fridgemagnet

Well-Known Member
Jan 18, 2009
2,410
2,864
Having said all that, I think it's a very good idea for the kids to be learning heading technique and repetitive drills using foam balls rather than the real thing.

I remember having a cheap foam thing when i was younger and left it out in the garden overnight; anyway me and my brother rush out the next morning for a kick about, my brother throws the ball up the air for me to head it, it had pissed down overnight so this fucker soaked up everything it could and now weighed half a ton, i got soaked and had neck ache all day :LOL::(:wtf:

I hope technology has moved on :LOL:
 
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