Implementation guidelines for U.S. Soccer's Player Safety Campaign
Concussion initiatives & heading for youth players
- The
Federation is recommending, US Club Soccer, NJYS and MNJYSA is
requiring immediately, new rules as it relates to heading, as follows:
-
Players in U-11 programs and younger shall not engage in heading, either in practices or in games.
- Limited heading in practice for players in U-12 and U-13 programs.
More specifically, these players shall be limited to a maximum of 30
minutes of heading training per week, with no more than 15-20 headers
per player, per week.
- Clubs should be aware of circumstances in which individual consideration is needed. For example:
- A 10 year old playing at U-12 or older should not head the ball at all.
- An 11 or 12 year old playing at U-14 or older should abide by the heading restrictions in practice.
- Referees should enforce these restrictions by age group according to the specified rules. Referees will not be assessing the age of individual players on the field; they will enforce the rules for the age group.
- Leagues and organizations are free to set their own standards, as long as the minimum requirements outlined above are met.
- In adherence to these new requirements, referees have been instructed by U.S. Soccer of the following rule addition: When
a player deliberately heads the ball in a game, an indirect free kick
(IFK) should be awarded to the opposing team from the spot of the
offense. If the deliberate header occurs within the goal area, the
indirect free kick should be taken on the goal area line parallel to the
goal line at the point nearest to where the infringement occurred.
- Modified substitution rules also took effect Jan. 1, 2016, as follows:
Any player suspected of suffering a head injury may be substituted for
evaluation without the substitution counting against the team's total
number of allowed substitutions during the game.
- US Club Soccer strongly recommends that all coaches, staff members, parents and players watch U.S. Soccer's concussions in soccer overview video.
RESOURCES:
As previously communicated, other player safety guidelines and
mandates have been implemented by U.S. Soccer, such as guidelines
regarding the number of healthcare professionals at major tournaments.
For more details, please review the resources linked below.