Giving up soccer for good.

[Anonymous]

Oldest son gave up soccer after the 3rd concussion at the age of 16. He is 18 years old now and is still not over it. Daughter also gave up soccer at the age of 15 after two concussions and two knee surgeries. Son #2 also gave up soccer at the age of 15 after the 3rd concussion in two years.

We have a 10 years old and he is very much into soccer. DH and I are afraid that history will repeat itself a few years from now. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Tennis anyone? If three of my kids got concussions and had to quit I would be steering the fourth away from the sport.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear that. Were the concussions due to collisions with other players, or from headers?

I look back on my youth playing American football and, while I don't think I've ever suffered a concussion, it probably wasn't a good thing.

And I've known kids who never played sports but did something like fall off a skateboard or fall down the stairs and get a concussion . . .

I guess there's a risk in any sport or even any rigorous (and not so rigorous) activity. My inclination is to say let him play if he really LOVES soccer, but given your past experience I think it's understandable if you say no. I just feel bad for him though -- his siblings got to play, after all.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear that. Question, did any of the prior children wear protective headbands to protect against concussions? Just trying to see if those things work or not. Head injuries are no joke.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. If he loves soccer, have him play. In our experience the last 3-5 years the coaches, parents etc are all very focused on concussion protocols. With that said, the majority of people I know - adults or kids that have had concussion received them by walking into things, tripping and falling - nothing they were doing was "dangerous" or even sport related. One was on the side lines of a game, slipped and hit their head. I'm not trying to downplay your experience with your kids, but I think there are so many ways to receive a concussion that we can't stop everything we enjoy out of concern.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear that OP. It sounds like your family have been very unlucky, OP. Nobody can say it won’t happen again. Anecdotal I know but I played soccer from when I could walk until mid-30s, at a decent level, and never had one concussion or any injury that required surgery.

[Anonymous]

I would probably have your youngest stop soccer, as much as I hate to say it. There is research suggesting a genetic component to susceptibility to concussion, and the number of concussions your other two children have had would give me pause about a potential genetic predisposition.

[Anonymous]

Good decision though

[Anonymous]

Have the siblings talk. It will be good for all of them. See if your 10-year old has a thoughtful approach to this. If not, guide them to what you think the right answer may be. I would do the same even if my kid wanted to take up boxing. Ultimately, they need to learn to make these decisions on their own. This is not inherently dangerous activity. Just potentially dangerous. Like riding your bicycle, skateboarding, and even fortniting.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t let my youngest continue to play after the multiple concussions of all of the older ones.

[Anonymous]

What does your doctor say about the concussions? Flukes, or might there be a genetic pre-disposition toward having concussions? If the latter then it's pretty clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t let my youngest continue to play after the multiple concussions of all of the older ones.

Fair enough. But it’s not likely to result from genetics.

[Anonymous]

Have him play multiple sports so if he has to stop playing soccer it won’t be so disheartening.

[Anonymous]

Try futsal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oldest son gave up soccer after the 3rd concussion at the age of 16. He is 18 years old now and is still not over it. Daughter also gave up soccer at the age of 15 after two concussions and two knee surgeries. Son #2 also gave up soccer at the age of 15 after the 3rd concussion in two years.

We have a 10 years old and he is very much into soccer. DH and I are afraid that history will repeat itself a few years from now. Thoughts?

You either have unbelievably bad luck, or your family has some genetic trait which makes concussion more likely. e.g. see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21079443/. I think you can now get tested for this gene if you want to (personally I'd probably rather not know, but that's just me).

Even if your son is susceptible, I might still let him play. Sport is an important part of life for kids, especially boys and life is more than just safety first.