Rock Center
Brandi Chastain, the star soccer player who helped the United States win a World Cup, is on a mission to get out a message to young girls playing soccer: the best way to avoid concussions is to sharpen their skills.
A growing number of girls are getting injured from concussions on the soccer field. Some experts have questioned whether the act of heading – when players attempt to use their foreheads to direct the ball – should be removed from youth soccer. Chastain strongly objects to that idea.
“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 told Rock Center's Kate Snow. “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 along with learning how to properly head a ball, girls need to learn how to create a protective space around their bodies when they play soccer. In this online exclusive, Chastain demonstrates techniques that can keep young girls safe on the field.
Click here for more of Kate Snow's reporting on the growing concussion crisis in girls' soccer.
