No More Headers: How U.S Soccer Is Trying To Make Youths Safer

by Ralph Cotran on November 11, 2015

No More Headers: How U.S Soccer Is Trying To Make Youths Safer

fter a 15 month litigation process, U.S Soccer announced that a brand new series of initiatives which were designed to reduce the number of concussions soccer players suffered. This new initiative basically limits and bans heading for players under the age of 13.

The new protocol entails that children of 10 and under will be barred from heading during any official game sessions or tournaments within the country. Questions have been lauded to the administering committee on how these initiatives would be enforced in the youth level which is a widespread community. Others have mentioned that banning headers would force players to become more comfortable with their feet at a young age, which may not be a bad thing. The general consensus is that we will be seeing the improvement of the quality of players coming through the system the next few years.

Time Magazine reports that the new safety rules and guidelines is aimed at players ages 10 and younger, and players from 11- 13 years will face restrictions. U.S Soccer’s chief Medical officer George Chiampas said “What we’re establishing is creating parameters and guidelines with regards to the amount of exposure to head injuries.” Other possible changes will involve substitution rules for players who are suspected of having or showing signs of a concussion. These new rules were also developed because of parental concerns about negligence after nearly 50,000 soccer players sustained concussions in 2010.

This new initiative comes at a very pivotal time in sports medicine and history. NBC Sports reports that former U.S national team and Major League Soccer Striker Taylor Twellman, who saw his profession cut short from a series of concussions and post-concussion symptoms was one of the first notable figures in U.S soccer history to speak out and voice his approval of the new initiative. Since these new initiatives will apply to the United States Soccer Federation and Youth National Club Teams, soccer fans are unsure of whether this will drain the country of talent or make players less competitive in the international space.

Will this new initiative help or hinder U.S Soccer? I don’t think so. Putting our youth in a safe place to enjoy sporting events will eventually change how we think of health in athletics. Though European clubs and Youth Teams do not have header rules, this change could take on a global scale.

To learn more about the new initiatives to deal with concussions which stem from header goals, visit these articles by Time Magazine and NBC Sports

Filed Under: Football, Ralph Cotran

by Ralph Cotran on October 14, 2015

The MLS As A Field of Retirement

We’ve seen numerous football stars hang their cleats up and call it day, diversifying their careers into coaching or business owning when their time on the field is over. Stars like David Beckham and Thierry Henry refused to do this. Instead of hanging their cleats, they transferred over to the MLS and began what it seems to be the second chapter of their soccer careers. The MLS is becoming the league for retirees to dip their feet in the water, even just one more time. Perhaps the league might not be as challenging as the English FA or Bundesliga, it still provides an avenue to generate income still doing what they love.

This article by DailyMail UK explains how Beckham who once played for LA Galaxy is close to realizing his dream of owning his own football club- the Miami MLS. He hopes to have the team running by 2018, and though the name has not been picked yet, it seems that he is closer than he has ever been in realizing this opportunity. It hasn’t been easy for Beckham, he has encountered many challenges in developing this project. Some of these challenges r Beckham has enjoyed a successful 21 year career as a soccer player. His career began at Manchester United,

As more soccer stars diversify their careers, the world focuses on Cristiano Ronaldo who has now turned down long terms rumors of his joining the MLS as part of his own retirement plan. The retirement plan rhetoric which has followed stars like Didier Drogba, Thierry Henry and the legendary Kanu Nwankwo doesn’t seem to apply to Ronaldo who was quoted last week saying-

“I’m 30 now and I’d like to keep playing for another five or six years. I know that it gets harder with age, but I believe it’s possible. As I’ve said several times before, my dream is to end my career at Real Madrid.”

Ronaldo’s decision or hopes of retiring in Real Madrid will most likely not be as challenging as David Beckham’s plan to build his own club and stadium. Ronaldo is still ranked as the number one player in the world right after Lionel Messi, and I doubt Real Madrid would want to do away with such a valuable asset. We just have to wait this out and see.

Also, how about that own goal from Van Persie this weekend? Completely heartbreaking

Filed Under: Football, Ralph Cotran, Ralph Cotran - Soccer Tagged With: Ralph Cotran, soccer

by Ralph Cotran on August 7, 2015

The End of a Soccer Rivalry

The Syracuse Silver Knights may no longer find a rival in the Rochester Lancers. Why? Because the team will soon cease to exist.

Lancer’s owner Salvatore “Soccer Sam” Fantauzzo explained the reasoning for the soccer teams disbanding on their official website, citing a hefty worker’s compensation bill as a major factor. According to Fantauzzo, the Lancer’s premium rose from $20,000 to a completely unaffordable $277,000.

In a letter to the Professional Arena Soccer League, the owner divulged the of Lancer’s abusing the system and granting special privileges to players, such as allowing players who were actively competing to receive disability payments. Apparently, the state neither informed the Lancers of those claims nor fought the awards granted.

“There’s no going back,” said Fantauzzo.

The Lancers nearly disbanded last summer, but new management revived the franchise just before last season began. Unfortunately, it’s doubtful they will be granted the same fate.

“I think in order to be saved, they have to be moved,” said Silver Knights coach Tommy Tanner, also a friend of Fantauzzo. Indeed, many of the players will be looking for new teams for this upcoming season.

As for the fate of the Silver Knights, they aren’t in jeopardy anytime soon. Tanner reaffirmed the four-year old team will come back this upcoming season, and that it’s premiums are nowhere near that of the Lancers.

They will have to find a new rivalry, however. An average of 150 fans would travel between Rochester and Syracuse to see the two teams face off, and replacing a quick trip to Rochester a few times a season with more distant journeys will likely add about $15,000 to the Silver Knight’s travel budget.

There are rumors that a new team in Connecticut is slotted to replace the Rochester Lancers in the Syracuse Silver Knights division. Many fans will definitely mourn the loss of the great rivalry between the two upstate New York soccer teams, with Tanner commenting “…that was a great one that we had.”

There is chance that the Syracuse coach may pursue a few Rochester players, but didn’t name any names.

To read the original article, click here.

Filed Under: Football, Soccer, Sports, Syracuse, Uncategorized

by Ralph Cotran on May 7, 2015

The Origins of Soccer

This presentation focusses on the origin of soccer and its rise in popularity throughout the last decades. Soccer is extremely popular among European countries and Latin America, however, its popularity in the US is slowly increasing. This is the Newest soccer presentation via Prezi.

Filed Under: Football, Ralph Cotran, Ralph Cotran - Soccer, Soccer Tagged With: History, Presentations, Prezi, soccer, Sports

by Ralph Cotran on May 6, 2015

Syracuse Football Having Success in the Recruiting Game

Syracuse University Football

Syracuse University football offensive coordinator George McDonald and director of recruiting Eric White have been delivering to their Twitter fans. Exclamations such as “BOOM!” and “#BeBold” have been used to announce the a new a new verbal commitment from a prospect to play football at SU, the Post-Standard reports.

These exclamation are not unwarranted apparently. So far, Syracuse has earned itself commitments from 25 recruits – the highest at this point in the recruiting cycle since the statistic started being tracking 2002. The 2015 Syracuse recruiting class is ranked 28th currently by Rivals.com and 43rd by Scout. McDonald has roots in Florida and has had a great deal of success so far with securing commitments from that area, with seven players thus far. The high school football programs in that state have been shown to be strong recruiting grounds and having success there could prove invaluable for SU this season.

This influx of recruits so early in the cycle should allow the SU coaching staff to start looking ahead at 2016 and developing a long game.

The coaching staff, under the direction of McDonald, has made targeting players that fit the team’s philosophy and approach to play a top priority, and this could explain much of this early success in in recruiting.

“I think having a lot of guys on board shows the commitment that we’ve made to recruiting and recruiting the right players, but it also shows from a university standpoint that we’re doing something right and we have a lot of excitement across the country,” McDonald said.

McDonald’s excitement here is also not unwarranted. By any fair metric, Syracuse’s 7-6 finish in 2013 was quite an accomplishment for the team’s first season in the ACC combined with the fact that they were being led by a first-year coaching staff. Head coach Scott Schaffer has said that he aims to win 8 this season, a number that would certainly validate the new recruits and give credence to McDonald’s strategies.