A pair of soccer dads from St. Paul believe they have seen the sport's future, and it looks kind of funny. They have devised a protective headband designed both to keep their sons from ever receiving another concussion and to calm parents' fears that constantly heading a soccer ball causes chronic brain injury. Long, an attorney, and Halvorson, CEO of HealthPartners, got the idea after each had a son suffer a head injury during a game. Soccer advocates disagree about the significance of the studies. One study compared 53 active pro Dutch players against 27 elite noncontact sport athletes, another tested 32 players, most of them college players at New York State University-Brockport, for reaction time against swimmers.
More comprehensive studies are in progress.
I don't see the logic behind it. I don't see how this is going to take any force away from the ball whatsoever. Long and Halvorson claim a North Dakota State researcher they hired has determined Headers can, depending upon the severity of impact, lessen strain on the brain by 50 percent. The headband also is supposed to help protect players from collisions with other players' heads, elbows and feet. Both he and Lagos consider the product more of a training instrument than protection.