TO:  State Presidents, Executive Directors / CEOs, National Championships, National Presidents Cup and National League Committees, Regional Leagues, Regional Administrators, National Staff

CC: US Youth Soccer Board of Directors

Good afternoon,

In response to U.S. Soccer’s concussion lawsuit settlement, and the rollout of their player safety guidelines under “Recognize To Recover,” a handful of state associations have already taken a stance on heading the ball in practice and in games. Several of you have also forwarded us copies of the press releases issued by US Club Soccer and AYSO in recent days, which we’d already had advance knowledge of because both are members of our youth member technical workgroup.

After several discussions with the Federation at their AGM in San Antonio, US Youth Soccer will be proposing specific policy changes for the board of directors to consider and adopt. These may vary from what US Club and others have announced. Once the board has reviewed these recommendations on heading and other player safety measures, we’ll soon be communicating to the entire membership what we believe will be more definitive instructions and guidelines. We would have preferred disseminating this information before now, but were delayed waiting to see final moves by the Federation, and their subsequent responses to member inquiries.  

Feel free to reach out with any questions or comments. Thanks!

Chris Moore
US Youth Soccer