General Not on me 'ead, son.....

Casting my mind back a very long time the footballs of my youth were heavy, leather lumps that got heavier as they got wetter. I was more concerned about breaking a leg trying to kick them!!
The ball of today is far, far different I would suggest.
I guess it makes sense for youngsters that are still physically developing but is it the thin end of the wedge........... ?
 
If you are going to ban kids "heading the ball in training", how are they going to learn the correct technique for match day?
 
Ive been saying for years that heading in football will be banned because of this very issue. H&S/insurers will have it away, only a matter of time.
 
I always thought it was a bit soft discouraging kids from heading the ball until it was my own 8-yr old son and his team and I quickly switched to the “safety first” camp. We let the kids do lots of “risky” things (going out on their bikes, up tall trees, in the surf et ), but heading the ball is about systematic repeat injury to the most precious thing in the universe. If the game of football gets harmed because kids only learn to head the ball later on, I’ve come to the opinion that it’s probably a fair price.
 
Although I am sure that the old heavy leather balls must have been much worse for people's heads, the idea of young children damaging their brains by heading is horrible. Does the research actually show that?
Is there any mileage in youngsters wearing some sort of skull cap, or a head protector as in amateur boxing?
 
ZeroTheHero said:
Although I am sure that the old heavy leather balls must have been much worse for people's heads, the idea of young children damaging their brains by heading is horrible. Does the research actually show that?
Is there any mileage in youngsters wearing some sort of skull cap, or a head protector as in amateur boxing?
Click to expand...

There are these:

news.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk

Heading footballs 'linked to brain damage in professional players' | Join Dementia Research News

This article has been reproduced from the NHS Choices website. “As evidence of dementia link to football emerges is it time to stop kids heading the ball?” is the question on the front page of the Daily Mirror. The headline was prompted by the results of a small study where post-mortems were...
news.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk news.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk

www.telegraph.co.uk

Revealed: Footballers five times more likely to suffer from Alzheimer's disease, landmark study finds

Former professional footballers are 3.
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk

The telegraph article is based on what seems a comprehensive study.
 
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ZeroTheHero said:
Although I am sure that the old heavy leather balls must have been much worse for people's heads, the idea of young children damaging their brains by heading is horrible. Does the research actually show that?
Click to expand...

The research into football is based on looking at the long term effects on ex-pro's: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1908483

This was prompted campaigns following the degeneration and death of Jeff Astle:
www.dailymail.co.uk

Laraine Astle: Football killed my Jeff and I want answers

Laraine Astle sits beneath a black-and-white picture of her husband Jeff scoring the winning goal in the 1968 FA Cup final at Wembley for West Brom against Everton.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
www.telegraph.co.uk

Football's silent shame: Dementia 'conspiracy' is a stain on the game

Football today stands accused of behaving like the notorious tobacco industry of the 1960s and has been warned that its “scandalous” failure to carry out research into the link between dementia and the world’s most popular sport risks legal action running into hundreds of millions of pounds.
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk

In think the idea to stop kids heading the ball are based on the concussion studies in the US, but I'm not sure.
 
I suppose that's why I am asking (although if there is any doubt, kids shouldn't be heading the ball).

I know about the Astle case of course, but he was playing in an era when balls were much heavier (especially when wet) - and presumably that applies to the majority of ex-pro's who are at an age when the effects show. Again, I don't know how many cases of early onset dementia there are among footballers and how that differs from the rest of the population. I'm not putting this very well, but has the decreased weight of the ball been considered in all this?
 
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