• The lower divisions of professional soccer can be an unforgiving place for owners. As Soc Takes has discussed before, owners constantly lose money in the pro leagues, and it doesn’t seem as though that will change anytime soon. Unfortunately, it is usually the players and staff who often face…

Zlatan Ibrahimovic rises for a header over Victor Ulloa in the LA Galaxy’s 2-0 win over FC Cincinnati on June 22. Photo credit: Jamie Smed/Soc Takes

A new article in the New England Journal of Medicine by Daniel F. Mackay et al. raises the question of whether soccer follows the trend of “contact” sports in terms of increased risk of neurodegenerative disease for athletes. My article attempts to (1) summarize the key findings of the article with limited use of scientific jargon, and (2) place it in the larger context of where the beautiful game currently stands in its understanding of head injuries.

What did the study show?

The study showed that a subset (more on this later) of professional soccer players exhibited an increased risk of dying due to neurodegenerative disease than non-soccer players did. It also showed that professional soccer players — aside from the neurodegenerative disease part — seemed to be less likely to die from traditional killers such as heart disease and cancers such as lung cancer.

Which neurodegenerative diseases did they look at?

1. Alzheimer’s disease – The most common form of dementia. Risk factors include age and a history of brain injuries.
2. Parkinson’s disease – A primarily motor disease affecting a specific part of your brain.
3. Motor neuron disease – This is a type of neurodegeneration that affects the nerves controlling your movement. A common example is Lou Gehrig’s disease (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
4. Non-Alzheimer’s dementias – Dementia is a catch-all term for change in cognitive function. Non-Alzheimer’s dementias are diseases that have some overlapping symptoms as Alzheimer’s, but involve different symptoms as well. These differences are due to brain regions affected, particularly during early stages of the disease. An example is frontotemporal dementia.
5. Dementia NOS – All dementias (Thank you Dr. Stewart for this correction).

It is important to note that this study did not measure rates of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) directly. This was due to limitations in how the authors were able to procure the data (not their fault, by the way).

The sampling question

Something that is being missed in the analysis is that it was a study of male professional soccer players. This unavoidable bias is due to the fact that pro soccer players in Scotland are men. Therefore, the controls were required to be age and sex-matched, and hence all of this data comes from male soccer players and male controls. Whether this is applicable to women soccer players is an unanswered question. This is an important consideration as some data suggests that the rates of head injury in women’s soccer exceed those in the male version of the game.

Additionally, is this a Scotland-only effect? I ask this because there was a study that showed increased Lou Gehrig’s disease in a sample of Italian soccer players. To the best of my knowledge, this result had not been shown in soccer players from a different geographic region. This would suggest a synergistic effect of genetics (Italian for ALS or Scottish for soccer) and sport. To put it simply, this data may not be applicable to the soccer population at large. (It should be noted that this article shows an increased rate of motoneuron disease generally, but not ALS specifically.)

A particular strength of this study is that it mitigates a prevalent problem in the field of brain injury research — the self-selection bias of “bad brains.” The idea is that when someone is experiencing symptoms of neurodegeneration, they are more likely to donate their brain to science. Therefore, the percentages we get are skewed. In this study, the authors examined data to basically ascertain how it was that a person died. Therefore, they eliminate the “bad brains” bias, and their data can be interpreted as representative of — at the very least — the male soccer-playing population of Scotland.

Other takeaways

1. No soccer position-specific effect on neurodegeneration, but existing one on prescription for dementia.
2. Increased rate of dementia-related prescription in soccer players versus controls (reason unknown and the authors don’t speculate, but it could be due to increased awareness or socioeconomic status.)

Where is the sport with head injuries?

The sport is dragging its feet. FIFA needs to mandate harsher penalties on high-impact contact to the head, regardless of intention/getting the ball. Recently, the USL explored temporary substitutions for head injury diagnoses, which deserves applause. MLS, on the other hand, has failed to update its concussion protocol in spite of telling Four Four Two and the Associated Press that it would. It’s been over three years.

The overarching question about the risk of heading resulting in CTE remains unanswered in the literature. Previous work suggests that technically proficient headers of the ball are unlikely to be concussed due to ball to head impact. However, the hand-wavy question of subconcussive injuries (due to an impact on the brain that causes minor, externally unnoticeable changes in the brain) remains under-explored. Given that we have a case report of CTE in a soccer player who had no history of concussion, the subconcussive question is an interesting one. (The TL;DR version is that it’s just too early to say anything about heading the ball and CTE. I previously explored the question of heading in youth soccer.)

Overall thoughts

This is a well-powered and important study — the first of its kind for soccer — that shows that professional soccer players are likely to have an increased risk for neurodegeneration later in life. This is in agreement with data from other more traditional “contact” sports such as MMA and American football. Future work will need to expand this data set to include women soccer players, amateur soccer players and soccer players from different geographic/genetic backgrounds.

Follow Nipun on Twitter: @NipunChopra7.

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• The lower divisions of professional soccer can be an unforgiving place for owners. As Soc Takes has discussed before, owners constantly lose money in the pro leagues, and it doesn’t seem as though that will change anytime soon. Unfortunately, it is usually the players and staff who often face…

• The lower divisions of professional soccer can be an unforgiving place for owners. As Soc Takes has discussed before, owners constantly lose money in the pro leagues, and it doesn’t seem as though that will change anytime soon. Unfortunately, it is usually the players and staff who often face…
• INDIANAPOLIS — Saturday was the first home game of the season for the Indy Eleven, playing against the Hartford Athletic. Although a rainy day, it wasn’t enough to deter the record-breaking crowd that attended the match. A total of 20,251 tickets were sold for the game, the most in…

• The lower divisions of professional soccer can be an unforgiving place for owners. As Soc Takes has discussed before, owners constantly lose money in the pro leagues, and it doesn’t seem as though that will change anytime soon. Unfortunately, it is usually the players and staff who often face…

Photo credit: Travis Isaacs

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — In the postseason, all bets are off. A team that dominated another one just a couple weeks before turns into a team struggling for control. It happens. It’s what makes the game of college soccer so fun. But it’s frustrating for the players, the coaches and the fans.

Sunday afternoon, the Indiana men’s soccer team hosted the Ohio State Buckeyes in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal match. The two teams just met Oct. 29. IU wasted no time taking control, scoring thee goals in the first 30 minutes in an eventual 5-1 win.

This time, Ohio State flipped the script. The Buckeyes took four shots in the first 13 minutes before the Hoosiers even had a shot on target. Spencer Glass recorded the first shot for the Hoosiers in the 31st minute. Eleven minutes later, IU jumped in front when Joshua Penn sent a high ball into the net, beating OSU goalkeeper Parker Siegfried for the 1-0 lead. IU managed to take one more shot before the end of the half.

“I just wanted to keep it on net,” Penn said. “I knew the goalie wouldn’t have a good look at it.”

IU head coach Todd Yeagley said that first goal was a much-needed one. “It was a huge goal. Going into halftime without a goal, we knew Ohio State would come out even stronger. That goal kind of simmered down the game a little bit.”

The story of the first half was not the shots or lack of attempts. It was the fouls. Ohio State committed nine fouls, while earning two yellow cards. IU committed five fouls in the same stretch, with one yellow. It was obvious that it was a physical match. IU, the Big Ten regular-season champion, was pushing to make it to the semifinals. Ohio State was too, only without a win their season was most likely over.

“They’re a gritty team,” Glass said. “At this point in the season, every team is going to battle like it’s their last game. In a game like that, we’re up and we don’t want something silly to happen. There were little reminders all game that yeah it’s an intense moment — but it’s not worth it.”

In the second half, the physicality continued. Just 26 seconds in OSU’s Devyn Etling received a yellow card. And in the 51st minute, Etling threw an elbow and was shown red. Down a man and a goal, Ohio State didn’t give up without a fight. But a young Hoosier squad kept itself composed, staying focused on the prize.

In the 85th minute, Glass made a run toward goal. Glass sent the ball to A.J. Palazzolo, who slotted into the lower right corner of the net for a 2-0 lead. The Hoosiers held on for the 2-0 win.

“We were a little slow in the first half,” Glass said. “The second half we found our rhythm. We were able to hold things down and come out with a shutout.”

Yeagley said he was proud of the team’s performance. “We knew today would be very tight,” Yeagley said. “The game was very physical from the start. Our guys handled it well. We tried to keep them cool and composed. Our guys stepped up in key moments.”  

IF ANYONE KNOWS IU SOCCER…

Ohio State head coach Brian Maisonneuve is no stranger to the Hoosier way of play. Maisonneuve spent his college years at IU, tallying 44 goals and 22 assists while helping IU earn a 73-15-7 record. He did that alongside Todd Yeagley. In 1994, the duo dominated the national awards. Maisonneuve was named the Hermann Trophy winner, while Yeagley earned the Missouri Athletic Club National Player of the Year award. The duo then played together for the Columbus Crew. When Yeagley was named head coach of the Hoosiers, he recruited Maisonneuve to be his assistant. One of the top assistants in the country, Maisonneuve moved on in 2018, taking over the reigns of Ohio State. It’s fair to say few have better knowledge of the Hoosier way.

UP NEXT…

IU (13-2-3) heads to Maryland for the Big Ten semifinals. The Hoosiers will face the Maryland Terrapins in Friday’s first semifinal (4 p.m. ET). The last time the two clubs met, Maryland handed IU a 3-0 loss. Since that match, IU has dominated opponents, outscoring them 16-2, while posting three shutouts. The time before that, IU lost 2-0 to Maryland in the NCAA Tournament semifinal. So it’s fair to say the Hoosiers will be fired up. And if Sunday’s match was any indication, they’re ready.

Follow Kathryn on Twitter: @Katknapp99.

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INDIANAPOLIS — The Indy Eleven edged the visiting Swope Park Rangers 2-1 on Wednesday night at Lucas Oil Stadium to secure at least one home match in the USL Championship playoffs. A second goal from Dane Kelly un-leveled matters late and the hosts held on to lock up — after New York Red Bulls II fell later in the evening — the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Eleven will return to their former home pitch, Carroll Stadium, to host their postseason home game(s).

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Follow Robbie on Twitter: @SoCalledRobbie.

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Click the image above to request the league code. Image credit: Fantasy Premier League

It’s that time again. Yes, Indy Saints FC‘s Fantasy Premier League returns for the 2019-20 season.

Compete with other Premier League supporters all season long for bragging rights. It’s free to play.

Interested participants are to fill out this form, after which you’ll be sent the league code to join. If you don’t receive the league code or have any issues registering, please email [email protected] or [email protected] for assistance.

Register, invite your friends, set your lineup and get ready for the kickoff of the 2019-20 Premier League season this weekend. Liverpool and Norwich get things started Friday, Aug. 9, with the remaining clubs all taking the pitch Saturday and Sunday.

Best of luck to all participants!

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Photo credit: DeKalb County United

As DeKalb, Ill.-based DeKalb County United prepares for 2020, their third season in competition, we caught up with club president John Hall to find out what’s new with the “Green & Black.”

Kevin Johnston: How did 2019 turn out for DeKalb County United on the pitch and what was the highlight of the season?

John Hall: This past season was good for us. We moved from a fifth-place finish in our division in 2018 to second place in 2019 (although the teams changed from one year to the next). It seemed that we found our feet a bit with our roster and brought a lot of guys back. So with a year of experience together and at this level there was good progress. We not only identified a few key players through our open tryouts, but we saw some local guys make huge strides and get some solid minutes in our second season. There wasn’t really a big highlight moment on the field but a lot of small victories throughout the season. From the “front office” perspective we were very happy with the progress we made in year two.

KJ: How would you describe your club’s overall experience in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)?

JH: When we were looking to start the club in 2017, our ambition was to join the Premier League of America (PLA) and be in a regional situation. Shortly after we launched publicly, the clubs of the PLA voted to all join the UPSL as the new Midwest Conference. We didn’t really have an option, but the UPSL seemed to be a reasonable situation and it worked out fine. I think there’s a lot of great things happening with the UPSL and certainly the strength in numbers alone gives them a lot of influence with sponsors and business partners. But for us, some of the decisions the league made didn’t make sense and had direct impacts on our club’s business. The reality is we didn’t know what to expect two years ago. We didn’t know the questions to ask and we didn’t know what our own priorities were. (We don’t know today what we will know in a few years either… we’re always learning!) But now that we’ve got a better feel for things we understand that the biggest challenge to any club at this level is long-term sustainability. Our focus within the club top to bottom is finding solutions to ensure our own existence as a club. That means every decision we make is evaluated on its ability to drive us to that eventual goal, including league affiliation.

KJ: What factors led to DeKalb County choosing to join the Midwest Premier League (MWPL)?

JH: I was a part of discussions before last season with other clubs that were unhappy with their/our current situation. But through some conversations we all decided to give the UPSL an opportunity to get a foothold in the Midwest and see how things played out because it wasn’t fair to judge the league after just one season. As it turned out, the appeal of a more regional league makes more sense and after the conclusion of this past season, the talks got more serious. As mentioned, we wanted a regional league to begin with. For me, and our club, the priority is long-term sustainability, community impact and involvement, and providing our players with strong opponents in a semi-professional environment. As one of the first clubs into the MWPL, we’re literally creating the rule book from scratch. We’re taking ideas that work in other local and regional leagues throughout the country and putting a Midwest twist on them. The basic fact is that we have control, as a group, to make our own minimum standards and hold each other accountable. Equally important from a league perspective is the fact that we will have an open-book policy on costs, fees, playoff structure, expansion and all with a goal I refer to as “no club left behind” so that everyone has their best chance for success long term. If a club can no longer exist for financial or other reasons, then that’s a loss for us all. Our interaction throughout the year will help us all learn from each other, share best practices and grow the game in our region. Those are the reasons why we decided to join the MWPL.

KJ: What is the geographical footprint of the MWPL and how is the league structured?

JH: The MWPL is currently made up of just four teams in Iowa and Illinois. We’ve had interest from clubs in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and a few others I believe so we’re planning to grow a bit more before 2020. The geography will be limited only as new clubs need to have a reasonable travel schedule through participation. If travel (and costs) get extreme then we’ve put that one club at risk for failure out of the gate. We’d rather keep it small and manageable to increase the chance of success. We aren’t concerned with how many teams, but the quality of those that join us. Currently, we have voted Cliff Conrad as the league’s president and I expect we’ll fill a few more positions on a board or leadership group of some kind in the coming months. Right now the four of us clubs are talking almost every day which has been very productive.

KJ: As far as franchise fees and operating costs, what are some of the
differences between the UPSL and MWPL?

JH: The UPSL offers one of the lowest fees in the country, especially for a national league. That’s what makes it so appealing to so many new clubs and they really are providing a great platform for teams to start up and I think for some the UPSL is perfect.

MWPL fees have not been set yet, as I said we’re literally walking through every detail of rules, fees, as we speak. But with an open book, we can identify our own costs of managing the league and break it down between member clubs. Everyone will know where their fees are going, how the money is spent, and how reserve funds may be allocated. There won’t be hidden travel fund costs, registration costs or any extras. We’ll build all of that into one fee, or at least that’s our intent. We don’t have a projection yet as to what the fees will be, but none of us chose a new adventure planning to pay more for league fees. Plus, with a schedule that makes sense to the climate of the Midwest and playoff structure that will maximize meaningful games for our clubs, there is reduced “dead time” at the end of the year due to a long playoff structure. We also won’t have significant costs associated with winning… what I mean is if you do well, you may have to travel for one game for a final. But you won’t be at risk for a cross-country trip that most clubs can’t afford anyway. We don’t have all the answers yet but we’re working together and that keeps things moving in a positive direction.

It should also be noted that our separation from the UPSL was as professional as it could be. We notified the league in writing of our decision not to return. Our decision had to do with our own internal priorities and nothing more. We wish the UPSL and all of the Midwest clubs the best in 2020. We will probably still play some friendlies with them from time to time.

KJ: How did the club do financially in 2019 and what is the budget looking like for 2020?

JH: DKCU is a nonprofit club and we’re managed by volunteers. Everyone at the club understands that we represent a community and we owe them our best. One reason for that is because our club exists because of the community. All of our operational expenses come from ticket sales, merchandise sales, sponsorships from businesses and youth camps/tournaments we host throughout the year. So while I’d like to tell you that we’re doing great, there’s still much work to do to raise the funds necessary to continue. We are in a great spot, don’t get me wrong, and I think many clubs would be thrilled to be where we are on the financial side of it. But we don’t take things for granted and we don’t get excessive with our planning. We don’t have the luxury of an owner with deep pockets willing to throw money in if we run short… there’s no safety net.

But 2020 looks good so far as a number of our sponsors are committing already. We’re looking at some new ideas for ticket packages and gameday events to make that experience even better for our supporters. We can’t wait to get the lads back on the field!

KJ: What do you think the future holds, both short and long term, for DeKalb County United?

JH: Obviously we’re looking forward to our third season, and first with the Midwest Premier League. We are hoping to have a good portion of our roster back to keep building on the field and hopefully with a high-profile friendly or two we can get the guys some exposure to bigger clubs as well. Short term, we are focused on meeting the challenges in front of us. We launched a men’s U23 squad this past summer and we’re adding a women’s U23 in 2020 so we’re thrilled about that opportunity. With it comes some more coordination and work on the back end, but we’ve got awesome people in place to handle those tasks. We are continuing to connect with new people because as big time as we think we are, there are many in our backyard who’ve never heard of us much less understand who/what we are. Long term, our goals are much more ambitious. We’d love to develop our own facility with lighted turf fields, club house, locker rooms, storage, offices, meeting rooms, indoor training space, etc. But that’d take a bit more investment than where we are currently. My personal goal is to have this club in a position where it can go on without relying on one or two individuals, and fortunately we’re on our way to that. So many organizations fizzle out when key personnel depart, so developing a stronger structure that can carry through eventual change in leadership is important.

And DeKalb County United will continue to offer advice to potential club starters across the country. So many great people answered the phone/emails for me when we were starting out and I’m happy to pay it forward and share what I can with others as well. “United Through Soccer.”

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

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CHICAGO — The U.S. women’s national team wrapped up its 2019 Victory Tour with a Sept. 6 draw against Korea Republic at Soldier Field. The 1-1 result marked the final time that decorated manager Jill Ellis roamed the touchline as the USWNT boss. Ji So-Yun put the visitors on top in the first half, but the Americans equalized moments later on a Megan Rapinoe corner kick that connected with the head of Carli Lloyd at the back post.

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Follow Jamie on Twitter: @JamieSmed.

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