As a high school freshman player in 2002, Hogan collided with a goalpost, then, within a month, hit her head on the ground. That led to two concussions — and to an ultimatum. “The doctor told me I couldn’t play the rest of the season if I didn’t wear it,” said the 2005 Chatham Glenwood High School graduate. “I just wanted to play. “I wore a tae kwon do helmet at first. My teammates were nice enough to steal it and color it with markers. I had to wear it in a game against Springfield High.”
Hogan replaced the martial-arts helmet a month later with a padded headguard — a 11/2-inch-wide foam strip weighing less than two ounces — that is produced by California-based Full 90 Sports Inc.“That was much more stylish,” she said. “I was much happier.”
Soccer headgear catching on
Some players convinced by concussions
By MARCIA MARTINEZ
STAFF WRITER
Published Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Strapping on a martial-arts helmet to play soccer almost had Holly Hogan wanting to hide in embarrassment. Now, she refuses to step on a field without wearing a protective headguard, albeit a more flattering version.
The use of protective headgear in soccer is not new. Springfield girls coach Bob Wharton recalls seeing a goalie wear a white plastic foam helmet with a chin strap in the 1980s. But more and more players, especially women, are wearing headguards. Even in the professional Premier League, Chelsea goalkeeper Peter Cech has worn rugby-style headgear since he fractured his skull. Players also have sported headguards in games ranging from the NCAA tournament to Major League Soccer to the defunct Women’s United Soccer Association.
Forcefield Headbands will not only help to protect your head but they will also keep you cool!
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Do headguards really help?
There has been much debate on whether headguards, which cost anywhere from about $15 to $40, protect players.
Soccer head injuries are caused in a variety of ways, including contact with the goalpost, the ground or another player. Heading the ball also has been blamed. According to a study published in the Journal of Athletic Training last fall, in high school and college athletes, rates of concussions are highest in football and soccer. Girls suffered proportionately more concussions, although that doesn’t explain why most players who use headguards are female. High school referee and YMCA soccer director Paul Marconi says he’s seen at least 15 area players — all girls — wearing soccer headguards this spring. At least 10 YMCA players wear them, he said. “I know more high schoolers wear them than my youth players,” said Marconi.
‘It helps my mom not freak out’
Two high school players using them are Glenwood senior Kelly Short and Williamsville’s leading scorer, junior Presley Kerber. An elbow to the head during a match last season caused one of Kerber’s three concussions. She uses headgear to protect herself from further injury — and for another very important reason. “It helps my mom not freak out,” said Kerber, who sometimes also wears hers while playing basketball.
Several companies are taking full advantage, marketing their products to concerned parents and coaches. Full 90 Sports claims on its Web site that its headguards cover the crucial impact zones on a player’s head and reduce typical impact forces by up to 50 percent.
The Forcefield headband, which looks like a larger version of a wrap-around headband, advertises on its Web site that it reduces impact to the head and brain by as much as 80 percent.
Short began wearing her headguard last year, not because of a head injury, but because, she admits, she was afraid to head the ball. However, she suffered a concussion when she was hit in the face below the headguard earlier this season. Now, her headguard is a necessity. “I figure if I got the helmet that I had protection and it can’t hurt that bad,” Short said. “A large purpose of my job as midfielder is to get headballs off punts. You do four of those in a game, and your head is throbbing for the rest of the night. “The helmet takes a lot of the impact off.”
‘A half-inch of padding has to help’
Justin Stone, a Parade Magazine All-American soccer player at Springfield High in 1994, collided with a teammate during an indoor Premier Arena Soccer League game at Soccer World in March 2007. He fractured his skull in seven places and spent six days in the intensive-care unit. Stone, who was wearing nothing to protect his head when he was hurt, sees the benefit in headguards. “A half-inch of padding has to help in some way, shape or form,” said Stone. “Put a piece of foam on your hand and hit a wall — is it going to hurt worse having it on or not having it on? Given what happened to me, you never know what’s around door No. 2. It’s better to be safe than sorry. It’s better to be prepared than not.” Speaking more as a mother and less as a coach, Glenwood assistant girls soccer coach Pam Hogan — Holly Hogan’s mother — thinks headguards should be a mandatory piece of equipment, much like shinguards. “I think it’s silly we don’t protect ourselves as much as possible,” Hogan said.Holly Hogan said using her headguard eliminated the headaches she suffered as a result of heading the ball.
The only complaint Short, Kerber and Hogan have about the headguards is that heat can cause them to be uncomfortable. “Other than it getting hot,” said Kerber, “it’s pretty comfortable. I don’t really even notice it.” Her headguard has become second nature for Hogan, who continued to use it while playing for McKendree University.
“I remember playing without it in practice a few times,” she said. “It was awkward. I felt like I was playing without shoes on.”
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