Leading off today: After checking a decade of data on concussions in U.S. high school soccer, a group of Colorado doctors has concluded a ban on heading the ball would decrease head injuries -- but not as much as consistently enforcing rules for player-to-player contact.
A paper published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics sheds a different light on what might come from a Safer Soccer campaign led by Brandi Chastain and other women's soccer stars to ban headers for players 14 and under.
The examination of incidents related to more than 1,000 high school soccer concussions concluded banning headers in youth soccer might reduce concussions by 30 percent but that a far larger decrease could be possible if rules that limit player-to-player contact were more stringently enforced.
"A lot of people felt, if we could get a ban on heading, we could keep some people safe," said Dawn Comstock, an epidemiologist at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. "My question was, is there any evidence out there that supports that?"
Among Comstock's concerns is that the ban could lead to a different set of injuries as players move differently to avoid heading the ball. Her group wondered about the efficacy of changing the fundamental nature of the game by eliminating a key element.
"It's like me walking into a football rules meeting and saying, 'I can make your game much, much safer. Just get rid of tackling,'" Comstock said.
For years, Comstock and her co-authors have studied concussions in many sports, though this latest paper seems to put them on opposite sides from the Safer Soccer leaders.
Comstock insists that isn't exactly the case. "It does seem logical to say, 'If most concussions occur during heading, let's stop heading,'" she said. "I understand the movement. But we have more data, and we can look at this in more detail."
Closer to home: Westchester County Executive and former gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino has formed a local concussion task force made up of coaches, ADs and medical professionals to develop a program for sidelines concussion management and post-injury treatment for high school athletes.
The 20-person task force from across the county will work to teach prevention measures and educate parents, athletes and educators about post-concussion symptoms.
"Our goal is to evaluate how the districts and health care professionals are working together to ensure the everyone involved understands the impact concussions can have on a child," said Mark Herceg, commissioner of the Department of Community Health and head of the Safer Sports initiative.
The task force plans a free conference open to the public next month at the Westchester County Center.
All-state baseball: Three seniors and two juniors have been selected New York State Sportswriters Association state baseball players of the year in their respective classes.
The picks are:
- Class AA: Mamaroneck senior pitcher/outfielder Kumar Nambiar.
- Class A: Byram Hills junior pitcher/outfielder Frankie Vesuvio.
- Class B: Mattituck junior pitcher/outfielder Joe Tardif.
- Class C: Hoosic Valley senior pitcher/first baseman John Rooney.
- Class D: Smithtown Christian pitcher/shortstop Vincent Ciaravino.
The full all-state team
can be found here.
