So what evidence is there for it being safe or not?

It appears to me that there is evidence that repeatedly heading the ball causes brain damage.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/heading-soccer-ball-harms-women-more-men-study-finds-n896236

and from the JAMA study quoted in the NBC article:

"Conclusions and Relevance: Although heading is the most common activity associated with concussions, the most frequent mechanism was athlete-athlete contact. Such information is needed to drive evidence-based, targeted prevention efforts to effectively reduce soccer-related concussions. Although banning heading from youth soccer would likely prevent some concussions, reducing athlete-athlete contact across all phases of play would likely be a more effective way to prevent concussions as well as other injuries."

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2375128

So, basically, yes heading can cause concussions and damage brain tissue, but it is more likely your kid will get injured from running into another kid on the field.

Best way to keep them from getting hurt playing is to keep them from playing.

I will say, if kids repeatedly “head butt”, then there may be damage to both participants. Don’t think that is actually a thing in soccer however.

If you are that paranoid, do us all a favor and pick a different sport.

You should be concerned with full contact sports like Hockey and Football. Heading a ball versus hitting a 300lb lineman are 2 very different things. Perhaps stick with Fortnite if you are that concerned!

Learn to head correctly and you will be fine.

Anonymous wrote:No need to be so rude. Heading is not allowed at certain ages. Heading is allowed in all leagues. It is part of the game and learning to do it safely is also part of the game. When done properly, there is almost no risk of concussion because your head moves through the ball at impact and the brain keeps moving in one direction. Injury happens with bad form, like when the ball bounces off the top of the head or when the ball hits the head and causes the head and neck to snap back in response. There is no such thing as "head butting" the ball.

Yeah right, nobody knows if it is safe. Everyone thought football was safe for decades. And proper form sounds great, but doing it in practice and doing it correctly in a game is another matter.

fighting is allowed in hockey, so why not?

https://youtu.be/S4ppp1-9Dto