The Effect of Modified Soccer Headgear on the force of a Soccer Ball during Soccer Heading
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Engineering
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
Soccer is the most played sport in the world, with over 256 million people actively playing “The Beautiful Game.” Soccer is also the only sport where the players intentionally use their head to clear, pass, and score the ball. An estimated 300, 000 sport-related brain injuries occur every year in the United States, and 8.9% of high school injuries and 5.8% of college injuries are concussions (Gessel et. al, 2007). In response to multiple studies showing the dangers of heading, soccer headgear was created. Its purpose is to reduce forces on the brain caused by contact to the head, whether it be via ball, player, or ground. These headgears wrap around the head and are made of foam and other force-absorbing materials. The purpose of the experiment was to determine the best material for force reduction for soccer headgear. It was hypothesized that the modified headgear, specifically expanded polyethylene, would significantly decrease impact force of the ball on the head. A force sensitive resistor was used to track the force of three groups, expanded polypropylene, expanded polystyrene, and the control. The speed was controlled as well. The statistics showed that the polypropylene was statistically better at reducing force than the control and polystyrene. Polystyrene was not an effective material for force resistance. The success of the polypropylene is possibly due to the hexagonal shape, in comparison to the circular shape of polystyrene and the control headgear.
Recommended Citation
White, Tyler, "The Effect of Modified Soccer Headgear on the force of a Soccer Ball during Soccer Heading" (2018). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 155.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2018/all/155
Location
Lassiter 118
Start Date
4-14-2018 9:15 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
The Effect of Modified Soccer Headgear on the force of a Soccer Ball during Soccer Heading
Lassiter 118
Soccer is the most played sport in the world, with over 256 million people actively playing “The Beautiful Game.” Soccer is also the only sport where the players intentionally use their head to clear, pass, and score the ball. An estimated 300, 000 sport-related brain injuries occur every year in the United States, and 8.9% of high school injuries and 5.8% of college injuries are concussions (Gessel et. al, 2007). In response to multiple studies showing the dangers of heading, soccer headgear was created. Its purpose is to reduce forces on the brain caused by contact to the head, whether it be via ball, player, or ground. These headgears wrap around the head and are made of foam and other force-absorbing materials. The purpose of the experiment was to determine the best material for force reduction for soccer headgear. It was hypothesized that the modified headgear, specifically expanded polyethylene, would significantly decrease impact force of the ball on the head. A force sensitive resistor was used to track the force of three groups, expanded polypropylene, expanded polystyrene, and the control. The speed was controlled as well. The statistics showed that the polypropylene was statistically better at reducing force than the control and polystyrene. Polystyrene was not an effective material for force resistance. The success of the polypropylene is possibly due to the hexagonal shape, in comparison to the circular shape of polystyrene and the control headgear.
