JAY — The athletic staff at Spruce Mountain believe they made a smart investment when they supplied protective headgear to all members of the Phoenix’s soccer teams this season.

Athletic director James Black and his crew took it one step further and made it mandatory that all players must wear the protective bands at practice and in games — and that goes for the junior varsity teams as well.

Kudos to concerned parents, the Spruce Mountain athletic department and the Jake Lord Play it Safe Foundation for using their heads when it comes to protecting athletes’ noggins.

High school soccer teams across the state might be wise to get in on the ground floor when it comes protective headgear. Like the Phoenix, high school soccer programs are desperately looking for ways curb head injuries.

Football, ice hockey and field hockey players wear helmets to prevent or limit head injuries. When athletes suffer head trauma, they loose valuable time in the classroom and suffer agonizing side effects.

NASCAR drivers don a helmet when they race around an oval at speeds that make us all gaze with wonder.

So will the Maine Principals’ Association follow Spruce’s lead and make it mandatory that all high school soccer players to suit up with protective gear?

“I know that we are not,” MPA executive director Dick Durost said. “Both our soccer committee as well as their sports medicine committee have looked at this issue from time to time.

“We depend upon information from the NFSH (National Federation of State High School Associations), which is the national association that oversees and advises all of the 50 states athletic associations, and to our knowledge, there has never been any research that has proven that the type of headgear that’s used, has any impact in terms of preventing concussions or head injuries.

“Frankly, a piece of it would be until there is data that suggest that it does prevent (head injuries), we hesitate to put financial costs on either schools or families, if there is not sufficient data to show that it works.”

Spruce Mountain coaches understand there are no guarantees that headgear will prevent concussions. They are hoping headgear will minimize serious injuries — or at least slow them down.

An article, which cited numerous resources, was published on pediatricsconsultant360.com in 2013 and goes on to say:

“No headband or headgear can prevent another concussion in this young athlete. Although some headgear products may decrease the force of the impact during a hit, they cannot eliminate the possibility of concussion.

“Known as a sport associated with intricate footwork, speed, and well-timed passes, soccer also is classified as a high- to moderate-intensity contact/collision sport, with rates of head injury and concussion similar to those seen in football, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rugby.1,2 While the benefits of helmets and other head protection are more obvious in the latter sports, the role of headgear in soccer has been and still is unclear.

“Nevertheless, research suggests that although peak force of impact and peak acceleration at impact are diminished when wearing headgear, the results are significant only when the speed and force of the impact are high.5,14,15 When simulating the purposeful heading of a ball (associated with lower speed and force), little significant reduction in the interaction between the ball and the player’s head has been shown, suggesting that headgear may be more suited to reducing the impact from forceful blows during player-to-player or player-to-hard object contact as opposed to purposeful heading.5,”

Spruce Mountain boys’ soccer coach Bill Acritelli put it all in perspective last week after his players showed off their headgear.

“What I am trying to teach here is obviously safety,” Acritelli said. “The classroom is more important than this field. With the kids getting concussions and susceptible in whatever sport it is, this doesn’t put them in the cocoon and make them safe, but it does help.”

There are many studies and medical journals written about soccer headgear, but for now, schools will have to decide what is right for them.

That is why the Phoenix will have to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the benefits of headgear.

Only time will tell.

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