U.S. Soccer to eliminate heading of balls for players 10 and under

In a safety measure, U.S. Soccer announced that the heading of balls will be eliminated for players age 10 and under and heading should be limited in practice for players 11 to 13.

The directive is aimed at players who take part in U.S. Soccer youth, development and academy programs. But the power of U.S. Soccer figures to influence other soccer organizations in trying to help lessen the potential for concussions.

The safety initiative comes after a lawsuit was filed in 2014 against U.S. Soccer and several other organizations over concussion concerns.

It remains to be seen if any additional safety measures will be implemented at the high school level.

On Tuesday, the executive director of the state CIF, Roger Blake, was meeting with the CIF medical committee, and the soccer initiative was expected to be discussed.

David Hussey, the coach of defending City Section Division I champion El Camino Real, said his team doesn’t conduct heading drills in practice.

He said most of the concussions that occur in high school soccer result from “going up for a header and they hit heads or falling down.”

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