Danielle Konig, 13, heads a new #4.5 ball in Toronto, Ontario on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015. Her grandfather, Jacques Konig, the vice-president of the Toronto Soccer Association, would like to see the new, smaller, #4.5 soccer ball used instead of the #5 ball, after the age of 12. Advocates say the smaller ball "fits" the younger players' body better, and is softer, which helps to prevent concussions.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail
A smaller ball, which proponents claim will help lessen concussions and other injuries in youth soccer, will be getting a second test run this coming outdoor season by the Toronto Soccer Association.
The TSA, one of Canada's largest soccer organizations with 24 clubs and upward of 24,000 players, says a trial run in an under-13 girls' league this past summer has convinced them that the smaller ball appears to help protect the health and welfare of the younger players while maintaining the integrity of the game.
"Our observational trial and the responses to our survey seems to confirm that the girls playing with the EIR ball suffered less injuries than would be statistically expected from such a large group playing competitive soccer over a full outdoor season," said Alan Gould, executive director of the TSA.
The trial covered approximately 426 girls playing for 25 teams in just more than 200 games using the so-called EIR (pronounced air) ball, a slightly smaller and lighter ball than the traditional full-sized No. 5 "adult" ball, which soccer-playing youths in Canada usually graduate to when they turn 13.
An informal survey conducted by the TSA of players and coaches, at the conclusion of the season, indicated that none of the participants in the pilot project reported any concussions, ankle or knee injuries as a result of using the new ball.
Jacques Konig, vice-president of the TSA, said there are no hard data from previous seasons in which to compare the findings with.
However, Konig, citing past research studies, said that the average female soccer player, between the ages of 14 to 19, suffers at least one injury per season, with many players reporting ankle and knee injuries believed to have been caused from kicking the larger ball. Others reported being concussed as a result of headers.
"Of course we are not saying this is a miracle and this is the solution to everything," Konig said. "All we're saying is, it seems like the girls playing with the ball this past season suffered fewer injuries than statistically would have been expected."
As a result, Konig said the TSA – with the continued blessing of the Ontario Soccer Association, the provincial body that oversees the game in the province – has decided to continue with the pilot project in 2016 with the new crop of under 13-girls and continue to gather data on playing with the new ball.
The EIR ball was developed a few years ago by Majken Gilmartin, a Danish soccer enthusiast who became concerned after studies found that girls who play competitive youth soccer suffer more serious knee injuries and have a higher rate of concussions than boys do.
The evidence suggested that playing with the larger and heavier adult ball, which is typically introduced in youth leagues starting when players are as young as 12, is the primary culprit.
While the use of the EIR ball in youth leagues is widespread in Denmark, the ball has not yet made large in-roads elsewhere. Its use this past year by the TSA marked the first time the ball has been used in competition by any league in North America.
The TSA survey found that most of the players enjoyed playing with the new ball because of the ease of heading and the fact that long passes, corners and free kicks did not strain their knees and ankles as much.
While the majority of players responded that they would like to continue to play with the ball, the survey showed that coaches were not as sold on the new ball's merits.
Some of the concern, Konig suggested, stemmed from the fact that the TSA teams went back to using the larger balls when competing in outside tournaments and the coaches were nervous this put them at a disadvantage having played in-league only with the EIR ball.
William Buckingham is president of the Toronto High Park FC, with 4,800 members the second biggest soccer club in the TSA. His daughter was one of the players who used the EIR ball over the summer and he said he liked what he saw.
"In terms of the style of play, going into U-13 is a transition, not only to a bigger ball but to a full-size field," Buckingham said.
"And a regular Size 5 ball on a full pitch for a 13-year-old girl is very hard to move.
"Games with the EIR ball were a little bit more open. They were able to move it quicker and longer. And what that allowed them to do is open the play up. So rather than the game being very small and short, they were able to make quicker short passes and quicker long passes."
Buckingham said the only downside he noticed was that some of the bigger, stronger players quickly discovered that they could now shoot the ball on goal from midfield "so they were shooting a little earlier than what you would want to."