The ball was in the air, coming from across the field. The young footballer had his eyes locked on it, as it made its way down.
Just as the ball was about to land on the boy’s head, he moved away. Fear, he admitted, got the better of him.
His friends laughed, but his coach heaved a sigh of relief.
“Don’t try to head the ball!” he screamed at the seven-year-old, from the sidelines.
There were whispers from several parents who said the coach “was being soft”. Some of them recalled their younger days, heading the ball to score goals.
But the coach was adamant that heading was a no-no for his Under-8 players.
Perhaps the coach was influenced by the many articles on head injuries among children that had been widely documented over the years.
In fact, a recent study in Norway revealed that repeated headings and accidental head impacts in football resulted in changes to blood patterns in the brain.
Such impacts had the potential of interfering with signalling pathways.
The research, published in the journal Brain Injury, discovered “specific alterations” in the levels of microRNAs in the brain upon analysing blood samples from 89 professional players in the country.
Stian Bahr Sandmo of the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, which led the study, was quoted as saying: “This is a relatively small sample-size exploratory study, but future findings expanding upon our research, could ultimately lead to an improved understanding of the potential hazardous effects of repetitive head impacts.”
In Malaysia, it is understood that the closest study on this subject was on sepak takraw.
Researchers from Universiti Malaysia Pahang carried out a study in 2015. They found that the maximum displacement and maximum linear acceleration of the brain’s centre of gravity is found to be 0.0080 m and 1674.5 m/s2, respectively, while the head impact power (HIP) is determined to be 11.366 kW.
“According to Newman et al. (2000), the probability of concussion is 39 per cent and based on the results obtained in this study, it can be concluded that the players may suffer from mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI) due to the high impact of the sepak takraw ball during heading.
“Hence, it is recommended that the players wear protective headbands to reduce the impact during heading and prevent the occurrence of MTBI in the long term.”
It remains unclear if any local university or research hub had gone on to study the effects of repetitive head impacts, especially on children, in Malaysia.
As sports marks a return, and football academies resume their training sessions, this would be the best time for the stakeholders, including the NSI, to conduct similar research on Malaysian footballers.
The findings could mark significant changes in the sport at the community, and grassroots level.
The Football Association last year, introduced a new regulation, in which children aged 11 and under, would no longer be taught to head the ball during training in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
The new guideline also puts a limit on how much heading older children can do.
Perhaps, we need the same guideline in Malaysia, too.
It’s okay if your child, or young player, does not head the ball. What he or she needs to learn is to stay safe while playing the beautiful game.
