A Soccer Player’s Opinion: Why Your Kid Should be Wearing a Head Guard

If you knew that I was a 26 year old adult with no kids, it might strike you as weird that I am giving parenting advice. However, as a lifelong soccer player who recently starting wearing a head guard while playing in my adult soccer league, I feel that I am in a good position to give advice. Two years ago, after taking an elbow to the back of the head during one of my soccer matches, I decided to start wearing some protection. Today I can say confidently that I think it is best for everyone, especially kids, to wear a head guard of some kind while playing. In fact, I will be bold enough to predict that within the next decade the USA soccer organization will mandate that all non-professionals wear head guards while playing. We are already seeing individual college and high school teams adopt full team policies to increase head protection, and the town of Princeton, NJ, is mandating head gear for all soccer players under the age of 14.

What does the research say?

The research clearly shows that soccer is one of the most dangerous sports in terms of concussion risk, ranking #3 after just football and wrestling for boys sports. For girls sports, soccer ranks #1 for concussions and has been shown to have more concussions than even boys football. Between heading the ball, head to head contact, elbows to the head, colliding with goal posts, and hitting the ground, there are plenty of opportunities for head trauma while playing soccer. In fact, USA soccer has mandated no headers in leagues for kids under 10 years old. However, despite the focus on headers, the majority of concussions in soccer are not from heading the ball, but rather from head-to-head contact or other head impacts. Given the extensive research and publicity of concussions in the NFL, most people are now aware that frequent concussions are highly detrimental for mental health.

What is a head guard?

A head guard is a foam padded layer of protection you wear around your head. Some models are full “caps” that cover your whole head, while others look more like headbands with protection only in the front and back of the head. Importantly, head guards not only cover the forehead, but also provide expansive protection in the back and side of the head, where the skull is the weaker than the forehead. From my knowledge, the two leading brands in the industry are Storelli and Full90. To be clear, these “head guards” are not full helmets and they still allow the player to head the ball effectively.

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How does a head guard help?

A head guard simply provides some padding around your head which reduces the force of impact. Just like how wearing a helmet has been shown highly effective in reducing impact in football, the same basic science supports the use of a head guard. In fact, Virginia Tech performed a study that shows that headgear reduced g-force impact to the head by as much as 50%, resulting in a potential 84% reduction in head injuries. There is no doubt in my mind that wearing a head guard reduces your risk for a concussion, but it certainty doesn’t completely protect your head from damage. There is always going to be some risk in soccer, but wearing a head guard is a common sense way to reduce that risk. This is particularly true for reducing the impact of non-intentional head contact, since most of the head guards have larger padding areas in the back/side of the head. This helps to alleviate accidental head-to-head or elbow-to-head contact.

Can Better Technique Help?

One of the counter arguments for head guards is that instead soccer players should focus on better heading technique. The idea is that if you are able to intentionally head the ball with the center of your forehead, which is the strongest part of your skull, there is a significant reduction in concussion risk. Additionally, it helps to reduce whiplash if you actively use your neck muscles to head the ball rather than let the ball hit you passively. This is particularly an issue in girls soccer due to relatively weaker neck muscles. I agree that it is important to teach better heading technique, which can help reduce concussion risk.

All that being said, technique alone is not enough to remove the risk of concussions in soccer. In fact, only 25% of the concussions in soccer are from intentionally heading the soccer ball. Most concussions are from events out of the player’s control like bumping heads with other players, getting hit by an elbow, hitting the ground, or from the ball unexpectedly hitting you in the head. There is no way that improving heading technique will help prevent these concussions. However, I believe a head guard can be effective in reducing the severity of such impacts.

What’s the downside of wearing a head guard?

Style/perception. It is not usually considered “cool” to wear a thick protective headband during sports. However, most of the popular head guards have relatively low profile designs which will likely make them more bearable for self conscious teenagers.
Cost. Most of the high end options cost ~$60 which can be a significant amount for many families. I strongly believe that it is worth the cost.
Heat. Wearing a fully covering head guard can be suffocating if you are playing soccer in the summer heat. Fortunately there are many options that provide open top options that look more like headbands that leave room for heat to escape. From my personal experience, I can pertest that getting overheated is not a concern for the headband-like designs.
Comfort. People who don’t like the feeling of wearing a headband are unlikely to enjoy wearing a head guard. Additionally, if you have the slightly wrong size, a head guard can feel constricting.
Weight. There has been some pushback on wearing head guards due to the idea that they could increase whiplash by making the head heavier, therefore making it harder for your neck muscles to create positive forward momentum into a header. However, the typical head guard weighs only 8 ounces vs. the typical adult head at 160 ounces, so it is very modest increase in weight. Additionally, as discussed earlier, most concussions are not from heading the ball but rather from unintended contact, where this issue doesn’t apply. That being said, for younger kids and girls this could be a reason to opt for the lightest possible head gear options.
Ability to head the ball effectively. There is often concern from more serious soccer players that wearing a padded head guard will reduce their ability to use their head effective to redirect the ball to complete passes and score goals. From my experience wearing a head guard for multiple seasons, I can personally attest that there is limited to no impact on the way that you can head the ball. In fact, I scored two headed goals this season while wearing the head guard. For the most part, you will rarely notice that you are wearing a head guard even when heading the ball.
Increased risk taking. Just like in football with helmets, there is some concern that the increasing use of head guards will make soccer players more reckless. The idea is that if your know that your head is safe you will take more risks and therefore end up putting yourself in just as much danger (if not more). Although there is probably some truth to this concern, the fact that most concussions come from unintentional contacts makes me believe that it is unlikely that more aggressive play will cause significantly more risk. Additionally, despite this concern in football, everyone still wears helmets, so clearly the leagues have determined that having protection is the better option.

Why I Wear a Head Guard

The logic is pretty simple. We know that concussions are a problem in soccer. It has been proven in a lab that head guards work to reduce concussions. What else do you need to know? None of the reasons against wearing a head guard are particularly compelling to me. Once I realized there was a way to continue to play my favorite sport while reducing the risk of permanently damaging my brain, I jumped on that opportunity. Now that I have been wearing a head guard for a while, I feel strongly that I should recommend it to everyone. When my future kids play soccer they will definitely wear a head guard while playing. To anyone who disagrees: I challenge you to bang your head against a goal post with and without a head guard, and then see how you feel.

Disclosure: I have no economic interest in any of the head guard manufacturers listed in this article. I have received no payments from any of the listed companies. I purchased my exoshield head guard for full price from amazon. All of the above is my own opinion and I have received no compensation whatsoever for this article.

A Soccer Player’s Opinion: Why Your Kid Should be Wearing a Head Guard

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