Red Card: Game Changers

Over time, things change. Even things we consider to be permanent, such as laws and language, have changed throughout the years. Whether the changes are for the better or the worse, sports are changing, too. With new technology and scientific research, athletes can now be safer while participating in sports, thanks to updated equipment and certain rule changes. While any change to a sport that puts the safety and well-being of the athlete at the forefront is probably a good change, it is hard to avoid asking whether or not changing certain aspects of sports is changing the culture that lives within that sport and the techniques required to play a sport the way it is meant to be played.

The National Football League has updated the texts of many of its rules over time, with the intention of preventing injuries that could occur from dangerous tackles. For example, the horse-collar rule first came into effect in 2008, which added a 15-yard personal foul when a player committed the yanking-style tackle. In 2017, the fine print in the definition of the penalty was updated to include plays in which a player uses the inside or the outside of another player’s jersey to yank them down. The rule is used to only penalize a player for reaching inside the back of another player’s jersey and pulling them to the ground. With this slight rule change, what counts as a penalty was expanded upon, but the ultimate goal remained the same: to prevent injuries from dangerous types of tackles.

Aside from dangerous tackles, the NFL has looked into how it can help prevent head trauma in football players. While the NFL and the National College Athletic Association both know head injuries cannot be completely eliminated from the game of football, they have made strides in reducing the risk of these injuries by improving helmet design and features and also by educating players about behavior modification. Although new helmet features can dissipate some of the forces that cause concussions among football players, behavior modification has helped NFL players get to the root of the problem, according to Kevin Guskiewicz, an expert in sport-related concussions and a member of the NCAA’s Concussion Committee. He said instructing athletes to not lead with their head and to be aware of how they go into tackles can be just as effective as new, lightweight helmets that have been tested on crash dummies. While the perfect helmet does not exist, the technology and research behind sport-related concussions is ever-improving, with the goal of lessening the risk of head injuries in football and educating athletes on how they can play safer.

With sport-related concussion research on the rise in recent years, changes have been made to the game of soccer as well. The U.S. Soccer Federation and the American Youth Soccer Organization announced rule changes that limited and removed heading from soccer, depending on age. For players ten years old and younger, heading has been removed from practice and games entirely. For players between the ages of 11 and 13, heading practice can only take place for a maximum of thirty minutes a week, with no more than 15-20 headers per person each week. Like the rule changes in the NFL, the U.S. Soccer Federation implemented changes to lessen the risk of head injuries associated with soccer players heading the ball. However, with these changes, children who play the highly-physical sport of soccer are not being taught the proper way to head the ball until they are older, and they are even penalized in games if they do head the ball.

Without the proper heading education and training, these players don’t get the chance to gain experience and become confident in heading the ball properly until they are 14, which is arguably way too late. Nonetheless, numerous studies have been conducted, undoubtedly linking heading the ball with concussion symptoms. Thus, the changes were made. While these changes do effect the way the game of soccer is played, the limitations ultimately protect players from physical harm.

Now that young players will no longer be able to learn the valuable technique of heading a soccer ball, coaches are filled with questions. Many are inquiring whether or not they can safely and legally educateplayers on the proper heading technique with smaller, softer versions of regulation sized soccer balls.

Others are fearful about how players will react to a ball in the air once they are old enough to head it, after being trained for years not to touch the ball with their heads. Will referees blow their whistles at “head balls” just like they do for hand balls? Will athletes rely more on foot skills and a game primarily played with the ball on the ground, instead of in the air? Should throw-ins be eliminated from youth soccer since throw-ins put the ball into the air?

I can’t help but wonder what will come next. Sports are changing to protect athletes, but will sports change so much that our grandchildren will be playing a game completely different from the one we played growing up? There is no denying that head injuries are common in football, soccer and many other contact sports; this is why soccer has eliminated heading from youth soccer. Will football eliminate tackling for younger-aged athletes next? What about the NFL? Could football be played without tackling the way soccer is being played without heading? Will changing these sports change the techniques and skills required to excel in them?

I do agree that the safety of athletes is a huge concern among athletic associations, but I also believe that athletes choose to take a risk and push the limits of their body when they choose to compete in a physical sport at a high level. While protecting athletes from long-term brain damage should obviously be a huge priority of the athletic community, I hope these game changers don’t end up completely changing the games we know and love.