It would seen like a no-brainer, pun intended, that field hockey players should wear goggles to prevent injuries. But actually, whether goggles work as a safety measure is the topic of debate. Some believe that goggles can lead to concussions.
The Star-Ledger of Newark published a story Wednesday about the impact of a national safety rule that now mandates that field hockey players wear eye protection while on the field. “When It Comes To Goggles, Field Hockey Experts Don’t See Eye To Eye” was the headline.
The first paragraph of the story is about woman who has played field hockey for at least two decades, and says that she has never seen an injury that would have been avoided if the player had been wearing goggles. And according to The Ledger, many veteran coaches in New Jersey are taking issue with the goggle requirement, which was instituted by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
What the beef with goggles?
Not only coaches, but USA Field Hockey has voiced its objection to the mandatory goggle rule. It contends that more concussions take place when players wear goggles. The contention is that if a ball or stick hits the goggles, this hard plastic safety gear itself will injure a player’s head and brain.
USA Field Hockey told the The Ledger that it is doing research on goggles and concussions, and hopefully that will shed light on the matter. In the interim, this season 62,000 high school field hockey players in America will be wearing the goggles, according to The Ledger.
