Ecology of player-to-player contact in boys' youth soccer play

doi:10.1016/j.jsr.2006.08.002

Journal of Safety Research

Volume 37, Issue 5, 2006, Pages 507-510

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2006.08.002 Get rights and content

Abstract

Introduction

Youth soccer (football) injuries occur for a wide range of reasons, but the most frequent cause of injury is via player-to-player contact. This study was designed to study the ecology of collisions between players during youth soccer play.

Method

Six teams of 11- and 12-year-old male players were followed over the course of a full season. Games were videotaped and reviewed to address three primary questions: how frequently do player-to-player collisions occur; when and where on the field do those collisions occur; and what is the rate of falls and injuries as a result of player-to-player contact.

Results

A total of 1,279 player-to-player collisions was observed, or an average of 65.59 collisions per game. Nearly half of the observed collisions resulted in one or both players falling to the ground, and about one-tenth resulted in the referee calling a foul, but very few of the collisions (less than 1%) resulted in an injury. Collisions occurred relatively consistently throughout the games, no matter what the score was. They occurred most frequently in the midfield area, when the ball was on or near the ground, and when players were attempting to retrieve a loose, uncontrolled ball.

Conclusions

Results are discussed with respect to implications for injury prevention.

Introduction

Soccer (also called football) is, according to most reports, the world's most-played sport (Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness, 2000, Kakavelakis et al., 2003, Metzl and Micheli, 1998). Although figures are somewhat imprecise, reputable administrative bodies such as the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association (SGMA) estimate that over 200 million individuals worldwide, including about 13 million American children, play soccer on a regular basis (Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness, 2000, May, 1998, Metzl and Micheli, 1998).

Participation in organized youth soccer leagues is generally deemed to be physically and psychologically healthy, but the rate of unintentional injury among youth playing soccer remains disturbingly high. Estimates vary widely, depending on factors such as how an injury is defined; whether injuries incurred during practices (a less dangerous time) are included; and the age, gender, and skill level of players assessed; but most estimates suggest the rate of unintentional injury during youth soccer play is somewhere between 0.6 and 35.0 per 1,000 hours played (Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness, 2000, Junge and Dvorak, 2004, Radelet et al., 2002).

Youth soccer injuries occur for a wide range of reasons – including overuse of muscles, overextension of limbs, and, occasionally but most seriously, contact with goalposts – but the most frequent cause of injury, and the present focus, is through player-to-player contact. Recent estimates suggest that about half of injuries incurred during youth soccer play occur as a result of player-to-player contact (Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness, 2000, Emery et al., 2005).

Even though it is well-established that player-to-player contact is a leading cause of youth soccer injury, very little is known about the ecology and epidemiology of player-to-player contact during youth soccer play. A wide body of literature examines the ecology and epidemiology of youth soccer injury more broadly (see Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness, 2000, Junge and Dvorak, 2004; for reviews), but research on contact and collisions during play remains sparse. This study sought to examine that particular injury risk in detail.

We followed six teams of 11- and 12-year-old male players in the same inter-community soccer league over the course of a full season. All inter-team games were videotaped and then reviewed by independent coders. We asked three primary questions: (a) how frequently do player-to-player collisions occur; (b) when and where on the field do those collisions occur; and (c) what is the rate of falls and injuries as a result of player-to-player contact.

Section snippets

Participants

All six teams in a local inter-community soccer league were recruited to participate in the study. Teams were comprised of male players, ages 11 and 12. The league coordinator and all 6 coaches consented to participation in the research.

Demographic information was available from a substantial subset (approximately 65%) of players on the teams. Among that subset, players were a mean of 12.02 years old (SD = 0.36) and most (94%) were Caucasian. The teams were based in various suburban areas south

Results

A total of 1,279 player-to-player collisions was observed in the 19.5 games, or an average of 65.59 collisions/game and 1.09 collisions/minute. This rate is arguably very high: it is equivalent to a rate of over 3,000 collisions per 1,000 hours played, for each individual player on the field.

As shown in Fig. 1, nearly half (46.1%) of the collisions resulted in one or both players falling to the ground. Just 10.3% of the collisions resulted in the referee on the field calling a foul; our own

Discussion

Results suggest that youth soccer players collide with their opponents very frequently during their competition: the average player experienced just over 3 collisions with an opponent over the course of a 1-hour game. Further, nearly half of those collisions involved one or both players falling to the ground, and about a tenth of them involved illegal play.

Despite the high rate of player-to-player contact we observed, injuries were infrequent. Thus, although epidemiological data suggests that

Acknowledgement

Thanks to Rob Walker, League Coordinator, and to the coaches, managers, parents, and players of the teams for participating in this study. Thanks to Allyson Busby, Joanna Gaines, Alana Jordan, Angela Matthews, and Rachel Tarver for help with data collection and coding. This study was funded by the UAB School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Department of Psychology. Communication should be directed to David C. Schwebel, Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1300

David C. Schwebel earned his B.A. from Yale University in 1994 and his M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from University of Iowa in 1996 and 2000, respectively. He is currently Associate Professor and Vice Chair in the Psychology Department at University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Schwebel has published widely on psychological aspects of understanding and preventing children's unintentional injuries.

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J.D. Metzl et al.
Youth soccer: An epidemiologic perspective
Clinics in Sports Medicine
(1998)
Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness
Injuries in youth soccer: A subject review
Pediatrics
(2000)
C.A. Emery et al.
Evaluation of risk factors for injury in adolescent soccer: Implementation and validation of an injury surveillance system
American Journal of Sports Medicine
(2005)
C.W. Fuller et al.
Consensus statement on injury definitions and data collection procedures in studies of football (soccer) injuries
British Journal of Sports Medicine
(2006)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

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Mark M. Banaszek graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) with a BS in Psychology. He is currently completing his Masters' degree in Counseling at UAB. His interests primarily involve children with behavioral problems and family conflict. He is currently employed as a co-therapist with JBS Mental Health Authority, working with children and their families.

McCall McDaniel graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a bachelor's degree in biology. She is currently attending Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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Research noteEcology of player-to-player contact in boys' youth soccer play

Abstract

Introduction

Method

Results

Conclusions

Introduction

Section snippets

Participants

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgement

Clinics in Sports Medicine

Injuries in youth soccer: A subject review

Pediatrics

Evaluation of risk factors for injury in adolescent soccer: Implementation and validation of an injury surveillance system

American Journal of Sports Medicine

Consensus statement on injury definitions and data collection procedures in studies of football (soccer) injuries

British Journal of Sports Medicine

Research note
Ecology of player-to-player contact in boys' youth soccer play