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Safety Tips 

To help your child avoid injury while playing soccer, follow these safety tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and other sports health organizations. (Note: Adults should heed this safety guidance, too.)

• Before your child starts a training program or enters a competition, take him or her to the doctor for a physical exam. The doctor can help assess any special injury risks your child may have.
• Make sure your child wears all the required safety gear every time he or she plays and practices. Your child should wear shin guards during every game and every practice. Shoes with molded cleats or ribbed soles are recommended.
• Insist that your child warm up and stretch before playing. Don't allow your child to shoot goals before warming up.
• Teach your child not to play through pain. If your child gets injured, see your doctor. Follow all the doctor's orders for recovery, and get the doctor's OK before your child returns to play.
• Make sure first aid is available at all games and practices.
• Insist that your child follow and that coaches and referees enforce all the rules of the game. For example, most leagues prohibit sliding tackles from behind, which can result in serious injury to players.
• Talk to and watch your child's coach. Coaches should enforce all the rules of the game, encourage safe play, and understand the special injury risks that young players face.
• Ask your child's doctor and coach whether it's safe for your child to "head" the ball and, if so, make sure your child knows how to head the ball correctly to avoid head and neck injury.
• Don't let your child climb on the goal posts or hang or swing from the crossbar.
• Above all, keep soccer fun. Putting too much focus on winning can make your child push too hard and risk injury.

Make sure the field and equipment are safe. Work with coaches, city officials, and other parents to improve safety.

• Encourage your child's league to use waterproof, synthetic balls instead of leather ones. Leather balls can become waterlogged and very heavy, making them dangerous for play.
• Make sure movable soccer goals are anchored to the ground at all times, not just during play. Goals have been known to tip over in strong winds or when climbed on, causing severe injuries.

If the goal posts on your field(s) don't have padding, talk to school or park authorities about adding pads. Studies have shown that padding on goal posts greatly reduces the risk of serious injury caused by a player's head hitting the post.

Who Is Affected?

With about 40 million amateur players, soccer is the most popular sport worldwide. It is also a sport associated with a fairly high rate of injury. In the U.S., more than 200,000 young people each year are injured badly enough to seek medical treatment.

For players under 12 years old, the injury rate in soccer is very low–less than 1 percent–but the injury rate rises with age. Nearly 8 percent of high school soccer players are injured in a season, and among community leagues, nearly 9 percent of players 19 years old and younger sustain injuries. Older participants sustain more frequent and severe injuries than young players, and girls are injured more often than boys. Most injuries are caused by illegal plays, poor field conditions, or heading the ball incorrectly.

Injuries in soccer are usually mild–sprains, strains, and contusions (bruises)–and mostly affect the lower extremities. The most common site of injury is the ankle, followed closely by the knee. Acute head injuries are rare, accounting for about 5 percent of injuries. Many of the most severe injuries are related to soccer goal posts. Goal posts have been responsible for at least 22 deaths in the last 20 years, and hospital emergency departments treat about 90 goal-related injuries each year. Most of these deaths and injuries have been caused by hitting one's head on the goal post or being hit or crushed by a falling goal post.

Injuries can be prevented if players wear shin guards, warm up before play, and follow the rules of the game. Changes in equipment can also greatly enhance injury prevention efforts. Most notably, the addition of padding to goal posts can reduce the number and severity of head injuries. Laboratory testing has shown that padding reduces the force of hitting the post by 31 to 63 percent. Anchoring movable goal posts to the ground at all times, even when not in use, can also greatly reduce some of the most serious injuries. The National Federation of State High School Associations' Soccer Rules Committee now requires that soccer goals be anchored. The international soccer association (FIFA) is also considering making this change to its rules.

Safety Resources 

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Through the public information link on the AAOS home page (www.aaos.org/), you can access fact sheets on injury prevention tips for many popular sports, including soccer. You can call AAOS at 1-800-346-2267.

Brain Injury Association

BIA's fact sheet about sports and concussion safety (http://www.biausa.org/Prevfacts.htm) provides data on brain injuries for several sports, including soccer. Call BIA at 1-800-444-6443.

National Athletic Trainers Association

At www.nata.org, you'll find a link to injury information, including statistics and prevention tips. NATA's phone number is 214-637-6282.

National Youth Sports Safety Foundation

NYSSF (www.nyssf.org) has a variety of fact sheets on sports safety available for purchase. Call NYSSF at 617-277-1171.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Safety standards (www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml99/99106.html) set by the CPSC and the soccer goal industry can reduce the risk of soccer goal tip-overs and associated injuries. CPSC's toll-free number is 1-800-638-2772.

References 

Data and safety tips in this fact sheet were obtained from the following sources:

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Public information on soccer. Available at www.aaos.org/wordhtml/pat_educ/soccer.htm. Accessed July 1999.

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Seminar (Sullivan J, Grana W, editors). The Pediatric Athlete. Park Ridge, IL: The Academy, 1990:141.

American Academy of Pediatrics. Sports Medicine: Health care for young athletes. Elk Grove Village, IL: The Academy, 1991:154-155.

Bir C, Cassatta S, Janda D. An analysis and comparison of soccer shin guards (abstract). The Institute for Preventative Sports Medicine web site. Available at www.ipsm.org. Accessed July 1999.

Caine D, Caine C, Lindner K, editors. Epidemiology of Sports Injuries. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1996:387-398.

CDC. Injuries associated with soccer goalposts–United States, 1979-1993. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1994;43(9):153-155.

Janda D, Bir C, Wild B, Olson S, Hensinger R. A laboratory and field testing analysis of a preventive intervention (abstract). The Institute for Preventative Sports Medicine web site. Available at www.ipsm.org.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. New standard for soccer goals helps prevent tip-over deaths linked to unanchored goals. News release, May 4, 1999.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC warns consumers: anchor soccer goals to prevent tip-over. News release, March 29, 1996.