By Kate Snow, Sarah Koch, Deirdre Cohen and Jessica Hopper
Rock Center
Fifteen-year-old Allison Kasacavage, once a rising soccer star in Pennsylvania, is slowly recovering after suffering debilitating concussions while playing the game she loved.
“It’s almost like I need a sign on my back saying, ‘My head is broken.’ And you can’t see it. It’s like not visible and it’s like not many people understand, “said Allison in an interview with Rock Center’s Kate Snow.
Allison, who lives with her family in Chester Springs, Pa., has had at least five concussions. She is only able to attend school four hours a day. Her room is lit with soft blue light to ease her headaches and her family now eats dinner by candlelight.
She is one of hundreds of girls across America each year who suffer concussions while playing soccer.
“People who think of concussions as only being present mostly in guys and mostly in the sport of football are just plain wrong,” said Dr. Bob Cantu, who is chairman of the surgery division and the director of sports medicine at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass. “Soccer is right at the top of the list for girls.”
With the steady popularity of youth soccer, more girls are playing the game than ever before. Girls make up 48 percent of the more than 3 million kids registered in US Youth Soccer leagues.
Cantu said that the country is in the midst of “a concussion crisis” and that studies show girls are reporting nearly twice as many concussions as boys in the sports they both play.
‘Concussion Crisis’ impacting girls’ soccer
The number of girls suffering concussions in soccer accounts for the second largest amount of all concussions reported by young athletes, according to the American Journal of Sports Medicine. (Football tops the list.)
“What’s happening in this country is an epidemic of concussions, number one, and the realization that many of these individuals are going to go on to post-concussion syndrome, which can alter their ability to function at a high level for the rest of their lives,” Dr. Cantu said.
Allison still remembers when she suffered her first serious concussion in October 2008. It came when she collided with another player on the field.
“When I like got up, my head was like pounding,” Allison said. “There was, like, a pulse in my head. It was like the strangest thing. There was a heartbeat in my head and I had no idea what it was and why it was there. I have never felt that before and I was just so confused,” she said.
Click here for more on concussion symptoms
After Allison had apparently healed from the concussion, she returned to soccer. She’d been a star player since she was six years old, working her way up to one of the top teams in Pennsylvania. She said that her identity had been wrapped up in the game and she felt pressure to please her coaches.
Allison said that she was nervous about heading the ball, but continued to do it.
“If you didn’t head the ball, you were like the weakest link,” Allison said.
When heading, players attempt to use their foreheads to direct the ball, often jumping with opposing players, a move that can lead to collisions between players, bumped heads and strained necks. Dr. Cantu says that the act of heading is one of the most dangerous parts of soccer because players often collide.
Allison suffered a third concussion in her final season of soccer and another two off the field, the latter because her spatial awareness had been impacted from her previous concussions and she hit her head on a table and other furniture, her mother said.
Her parents said that they knew about the danger of concussions in sports like football, but it wasn’t until Allison had her first serious head injury that they realized what a big problem concussions can be in soccer.
“I think that we were blind to what was going on around us because, yes, it was about the team. It was about the winning. It was about all the, it was almost like a routine of, like I said, an awful lot of practices and you just went through it and really your lives rolled by with soccer being the most important thing,” said Lex Kasacavage, Allison’s father.
Sports psychologist Richard Ginsburg says that enthusiasm for the game and the kids by parents and coaches, while well-meaning, might be making the concussion crisis worse.
“We get wrapped up,” said Ginsburg, the author of ‘Whose Game is it Anyway?’ “We want success for them and so sometimes we get, we lose perspective. It doesn’t make us terrible people. It just makes us human. “
NBC News
Kimmie Zeffert
In Allison’s town of Chester Springs, about 30 miles from downtown Philadelphia, she is not alone. She has bonded with at least five other 14 and 15-year-old girls who have suffered concussions while playing soccer.
“My main friends are actually people that have head injuries,” said one of the teens, Kimmie Zeffert, 14. “I’ve become so close with them because I can relate to them. They understand what I’m going through.”
Kimmie had her first concussion when she was 12.
“I took another head ball and then I don’t even remember,” she said. “The next thing is I got, apparently, got elbowed in the back of the head. But (when) the coach asked me if I wanted to come out, I was like, ‘No, I’m going, I’m going to stick it through.”
Those hits -- heading the ball and being elbowed by a player in the head -- ended her soccer career.
Kimmie’s teammate Jenna Rohr made the same choice to continue playing in her game after getting hit in the head.
“I didn’t want to quit,” she said. “I didn’t want to let my team down because, like, so many people already had concussions on the team.”
Both Jenna and Kimmie have been unable to make it through a full day of school for almost two years. They still suffer from intense headaches, dizziness, nausea and vision problems.
Along with their physical ailments, several of the girls NBC News spoke to have struggled with depression since leaving soccer. Some have taken anti-depressants. One teen soccer player, who is returning to the sport after suffering a concussion, said that she felt so terrible at one point that she even thought about suicide.
Despite their experiences, the teens still love soccer and say they don’t discourage their former teammates from the sport.
“I think like speaking for all of us, like we would do anything to just be able to play one more game,” Jenna said.
Should heading be banned from girls’ soccer?
Dr. Cantu has made the bold proposal that heading be eliminated from youth soccer under the age of 14. He said girls, because of their anatomy, may be especially vulnerable to concussions.
“Girls as a group have far weaker necks,” Cantu said. “The same force delivered to a girl’s head spins the head much more because of the weak neck than it does the guys.”
New research suggests some body types may be more at risk than others.
“We believe that individuals with very long, thin necks may be at greater risk,” Cantu said.
With this evidence, Cantu said, “I would hope it would not only make parents look at their daughters, but make every one of those parents insist their daughters are on a neck strengthening program if they’re playing a collision sport.”
Brandi Chastain, the Olympian who helped the United States win a World Cup, strongly disagrees with Cantu’s proposal to eliminate heading from girls’ soccer.
“It’s a part of the game and I think it’s an important part and I think it’s a beautiful part of the game, to be honest with you,” she said. “I would never want to see that go away, but there’s a right way to do it. There’s a protective way to do it.”
Chastain said that girls need to be taught to create protective space around their bodies. She says heading isn’t dangerous if it’s done correctly.
“I circle back to education and preparation and I put that on parents and coaches because the kids don’t know any better,” Chastain added. “You know, they just want to go out there and play, but if we can educate them in a fun environment that’s safe, that teaches them the skill and gives them the confidence to try it and then they can put it into practice in the game.”
Back in Pennsylvania, the girls and their families are trying to educate people based on their own experiences. Despite their concussions, though, they say they don’t want to discourage girls from playing soccer.
“Please don’t go and not play soccer because it’s such a great opportunity for the girls to just prove themselves and challenge themselves and make friends and travel,” said Wendy Zeffert, mother of Kimmie. “But be aware.”
Leave a Comment:
The problem is most girls were never taught the right way to head a ball. If you just let the ball drop on your head that is the biggest mistake. Meet the ball with your forehead and a solid face.That means with a closed mouth. Keep a straight neck, put your head forward when meeting the ball.An old pro.
Absolutely agree!
So, so correct. My daughter uses proper technique and always has. I see way too many girls just putting their head down and letting the ball hit it. Right after that they go, "ow". Well no kidding you headed it wrong. Coach and learn proper technique.
"Proper technique" does nothing to protect against the banging of two heads together.
I hate to chime in with the "insensitive" comment here but men and women are not equal. A man's body is built to endure much greater trauma than a woman's.
Maybe some of you who are opposed to changing rules to protect these kids should take a look at what's happening to many pro football players today after years of getting pounded. Same thing is going to happen to these girls and kids in general who play sports that put them in the ER repeatedly. I can't imagine any parent would want to keep specific elements of the game in place that would cause early onset dementia or alzheimer's disease. Such a tough dilemma, but so easy at the same time. Safety comes first.
Getting into sports is a bit "overplayed" (no pun intended). The main reason sports is pushed upon is is simply MONEY!! If there were not big bucks to make in sports, it would be as popular as a walk in the park. Sports equipment manufacturers are making mega-millions supplying all phases of sports, from Pee-Wee up to the Pros. When it comes to contact sports, there ARE inherent dangers involved. If one chooses that kind of sports for their children, beware that it could be their child that winds up paralyzed. There are many other physical sports activities that a child or grown-up can participate in without getting your brains bashed in. We all make choices....and have to live with the consequences.....as for me, in High School, I chose music & have not regretted it. I wound up playing in a 21 piece dance band after High School Every time we have a class reunion, I heep hearing how bad this one is with knee injuries, back injuries...etc..etc..from playing football. Baseball..no problem.... contact sports....problems. Oh sure...one can break a leg sliding into 2nd base...but that is very rare...even running into an outfield wall...at that point, you can't fix stupid! Track & field can give a person a much "character" building as football or hockey without the ultimate consequences. We all makes our choices,,, and we all pays da price!!
FOOLS!!! Anything for glory. Fifteen years from now when this girl is on permanent disability and can't hold a job or maintain a relationship because of ailments directly related to her concussions, do you think she would give anything to play another game of soccer? I'm not saying stop the game, but restricting heading is NOT necessarily a bad idea. Or make them wear helmets like in lacrosse. I personally don't like to see young children heading the ball either.
I think part of the problem with concussions for all young athletes is the lack of knowledge on coaches/parents in knowing when it is safe to return to play. This year my son's school had a reality check when they hired a full time trainer and when a student got a concussion there were strict procedures as to when and how they should return to play -- something we had never had in the past. Players that suffered a concussion could not return to practice until they had been cleared by a doctor and then it was a week long process to gradually return them to full activity. I still see in youth sports a kid have concussion symptoms, never see a doctor and then be back on the field a few days later.
I do think this is relevant...not in that girls shouldn't play soccer, or even that heading needs to banned.
I know several parents who force their kids to play soccer--and play aggressively--because they want it for their college applications. Kids who don't even want to be there are exposed to risk of permanent brain injury, and the people who should be working with them to mitigate those risks make it worse by pushing them to play more aggressively so they can rack up wins or make varsity.
Many of these parents wouldn't dream of letting their kids play football because it is "too dangerous."
Parents and coaches need to be cognizant of the risks in the game and be responsible enough to put the kids' long-term well-being ahead of chalking up another win to brag about.
For a lot of players, soccer has become an intentional collision sport. Teaching proper technique to head the ball, trap, and ball control is a huge part of the game.
Soccer players simply do not have the protective gear required in other sports. I wonder if she was wearing a mouthguard. Mouthguards are often cited as protective gear to help prevent concussion.
Take heading out of the game? Are you crazy or just stupid? It would no longer be soccer. The we might as well call it kickball, mommy ball... or pansy ball.
Coaches and referees need to teach and enforce rules of the game. Proper technique would probably be the best preventive measure against the rash of concussions in the sport. Players intentionally and viciously colliding with other players should be penalized accordingly.
If a player gets a concussion in the course of play game after game, then there are likely other concerns that maybe the kid should not be playing this sport. Lets not soften the game. Lets to a better job of teaching techniques and rules, and enforement.
I am thrilled to see Concussions being talked about. But it is not just soccer. I had a huge aha moment this morning listening to the lead in for this story. My daughter will be 20 this year and graduating from community college. She has played soccer, softball and basketball for years. Basketball thru this year. She had several concussions - from slipping on a wet garage floor, getting kicked in the head during log rolls in soccer practice but more during basketball - either hitting the hard wood floor or even bleachers. She complains of blurry vision, headaches, and difficulty concentrating to this day, but never associated it with the concussions, especially since she has not had any in a few years. I know want to do more research and perhaps get her in to see a neurologist for help. But coaches need to take these injuries seriously. If a player hits there head hard during a game, they should be pulled out of the game and not allowed to return that day. It should not be the players decision - because all good players will never want to be pulled - that's what makes them good - they have a passion for the game and give it everything they have. It is the coaches and parents responsibility to protect these kids. Not over protect; don't prevent participation due to risk necessarily, but be aware and knowledgable of the risks and what to do when something happens. Thank you for doing this story NBC.
3 solutions:
"Shock" absorbing head bands
Mouth guards
Nerf soccer balls
She has had 5 (1-2-3-4-5) concussions - excuse me are her parents brain dead.
I have coached girls soccer for over 12 years and have two daughters that play. Proper technique is key and teaching them earlier is safer start out with light weight training balls it is a five step process that takes about a two years to teach properly before encouraging them to head the ball in a game. As to the increase in injury reporting, girls typically play with the pain and think they can play through it. They are encouraged to be tough and to shake it off from an early age. Since they are playing more sports and playing the same sport for most of the year we will continue to have more injuries due to repeptitive training. Cross training is what we need for all our young athletes, girls or boys to develop the entire body and reduce the risks.
I played girls soccer for many years, and one girl on my team eventually had four concussions by our senior year of high school. It was recommended by her doctor that she stop playing soccer, because each additional concussion increased her risk of injuries. It does come down to being trained properly, and listening when you're advised not to continue doing something like heading.
I coached girls' soccer and had three teams win citywide championships, and in all that time not one instance of a girl heading the ball. I discouraged it and taught them to play the ball on the ground. And those long kicks from the goalie? LET THEM DROP! Corner kicks? Play them with your feet. Sure it's a minor disadvantage from a playing point of view, but the game doesn't suffer: it can still be great soccer when not a single player ever touches the ball with their head. So yes BAN touching the ball with the head. WHISTLE the play DEAD when a ball touches a player's head, like a hand ball. And it'll still be a great game.
You are on the right track.
I propose that anyone who kicks the soccer ball above 'waist" level...get a yellow card.
Anyone who kicks the ball over 8 feet hign in the air should draw a red card.
Duglarri can I ask how you protect your goalie? May I be so bold as to propose your goalie "shy" away from any ball that is kicked to hard.
After reading all of this informed chatter it is clear what we need most of all is a fast track legal system that injured players can sue the coach, school, clubs, other players, parents, et al, on a fast track. Mandate payment within 6 months of injury. Include payment for lost career opportunity for the honey's.
Yet another "crisis". Everyone, on three, wring your hands.
1 , 2, 3 - wring.
If it were your child you might not be so flippant.
Simply poking fun at our penchant for the "crisis du jour".
This is not a crisis, wear a helmet.
When you think about it, hitting a ball with your head is kinda wacky, and just asking for trouble. I suspect we're ingenious enough to figure out a less injurious way of propelling the ball. Because something has always been done doesn't mean it always should be done.
Ranger..I think they "head" the ball in Europe and American players emulated that style of play.... it can and should be stopped.
Its not a 'style of play', heading the ball is a strategy to move the ball wheer you want before the other guy has a chance to put it where they want. Its as useful to a good player as catching the ball and throwing it would be to many.
Why is it news that girls get more of them? They're not genetically as strong as males and they lack the innate athletic ability of males. As small childrenmales learn how to deliver strength, blows and how to deflect another's strength/blows as we play amongst ourselves. That neurological process, teaching our muscles how to work, pays dividends in the future for sports that require athletic ability.
I'm sure that some will find that as misogynistic, but it is true. There is a reason why sports are separated by gender.
yeah misogynistic for sure - I've watched my daughter hold her own and even guys dropping out of pick up basketball games because of her ability - 5' 8" (blond hair blue eyes - probably should have gone for modeling instead...)
Soccer is dangerous. I did physicals for young adults and it got to the point if they played soccer, I could almost guess the knee injuries and repairs (ACLs, etc.). I was surprised at the number of those injuries. Now add concussions to the list.
Give them the option to wear a scrum cap, problem solved.
And thats OPTION, not a requirement. Teach them how to head the ball right instead of changing all the rules.
Could this be proof that women's heads are soft? LOL.
Give me a break, you guys are such morons. It's soccer a non-contact sport. The goal has a better chance to get hit in the head than anyone on the field. If you get hurt during a soccer game, it's your fault not the game. Just like cutting yourself while peeling potatoes.
If there were any more nonsense in this comment, it would probably self-implode from sheer audacity!
I think parents need to really think about the potential risks of soccer. This is not a simple and safe game of hopscotch!
Equality- The female cry...in sports, the men/boys have basketball, volleyball, soccer, baseball...(say in whining voice) we want to play to. Who cares that only the parents go watch. The only sports girls/woman play that even come close to men is Golf and Tennis...Now they want concussion's.
Soccer not a contact sport. I guess I will tell my daughter with a broken arm from soccer that you can't contact anyone. Every sport is a contact sport. When will these people stop. Oh when our kids are all a bunch of FAT nasty slobs that sit on their ass playing video games 18 hours a day eating junk food and pissing in empty monster energy drink cans. Good lord. How did we ever survive? I crashed bikes, motorcycles, cars, tractors, ATV's all with out a helmet. I play football got my bell rung a few times. I think it is all a bunch of horse crap myself.
Yes lets switch to sissy soccer and ban football, baseball, hockey, and any other sport that can hurt you.
Maybe parents should stop with the "You have to get a scholarship to college". I coach a U12 team and hear parents talking about their 11 year old getting a college scholarship. 11 years old on a REC league that doesn't keep score or post wins and loses.
"Getting your bell rung" - in tough guy talk - is a rather silly euphemism for getting a concussion. But then, that might explain the perspicacity of your post.