Friday, February 1, 2008
Mouth guards for High School soccer - are you kidding?
From the “You have got to be kidding me” department, this is just shocking. Will the ignorance to our game by sports administrators ever come to an end? The Virginia Beach schools Superintendent thinks all soccer players should wear mouth guards.
If you don’t want there to be precedent for this, I hope you’ll join the fight against it and voice your opinion to the school ASAP – there’s even a petition.
The need to clearly communicate to teammates on the field at all times is essential to playing the game properly. So much so, that not being able to yell “Man On” is probably more dangerous to players than any risk of mouth injury. If you’ve ever been tackled from behind unexpectedly, then you know what I’m talking about. I’d rather get a bloody lip than a broken ankle!
To me, this requirement is the equivalent of asking football players not to tackle, or telling basketball players they’re not allowed to jump – communicating on a soccer field is that important.
In 30 years of playing 2-3 times per week, I’ve NEVER had a mouth injury, or seen anyone on either team with one. I’ve broken a leg, sprained ankles, suffered hip flexors, pulled muscles, and had stitches on eyebrows four times as the result of head collisions. I rarely play an outdoor game without bleeding from the knee from sliding, or on the shins or ankles from being kicked.
In my book, introducing mouth guards for safety would have get in line behind having to wear full head gear, hip pads, knee pads, and never allowing anyone to slide tackle. It’s that silly of an idea when weighed against how it would inhibit the fundamentals of how the game is played.
If government officials really cared about safety, they’d take better care of fields and not expect us to play with rocks and 3-inch grass clumps. They’d also force home teams caught without anchored goals to forfeit. I hope you’ll get on the web, phone, and snail male and let this guy know you feel the same.Labels: high school, injuries, mouth guards
If you don’t want there to be precedent for this, I hope you’ll join the fight against it and voice your opinion to the school ASAP – there’s even a petition.
The need to clearly communicate to teammates on the field at all times is essential to playing the game properly. So much so, that not being able to yell “Man On” is probably more dangerous to players than any risk of mouth injury. If you’ve ever been tackled from behind unexpectedly, then you know what I’m talking about. I’d rather get a bloody lip than a broken ankle!
To me, this requirement is the equivalent of asking football players not to tackle, or telling basketball players they’re not allowed to jump – communicating on a soccer field is that important.
In 30 years of playing 2-3 times per week, I’ve NEVER had a mouth injury, or seen anyone on either team with one. I’ve broken a leg, sprained ankles, suffered hip flexors, pulled muscles, and had stitches on eyebrows four times as the result of head collisions. I rarely play an outdoor game without bleeding from the knee from sliding, or on the shins or ankles from being kicked.
In my book, introducing mouth guards for safety would have get in line behind having to wear full head gear, hip pads, knee pads, and never allowing anyone to slide tackle. It’s that silly of an idea when weighed against how it would inhibit the fundamentals of how the game is played.
If government officials really cared about safety, they’d take better care of fields and not expect us to play with rocks and 3-inch grass clumps. They’d also force home teams caught without anchored goals to forfeit. I hope you’ll get on the web, phone, and snail male and let this guy know you feel the same.
Labels: high school, injuries, mouth guards
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