Yael Averbuch

“Thinking about concussions and head trauma in soccer specifically, I think we have gained an awareness since I was a young player about the detriments and the need to be really aware of bad concussions. But, there’s still a lot of question marks surrounding regular and repetitive heading of the soccer ball. I think about in my career heading driven balls repetitively to work on clearances and working on winning headers off of punts and long balls and the effect of what these things are. In looking forward, it is so important just to have all the information.”

Yael is a lifelong soccer player, joining her first soccer team at the age of seven and dreaming of playing professionally by the age of nine. In 2005, she began her college career at The University of North Carolina where she won two championships and set several school and national records. In 2007, Yael began playing for the U.S. Women’s National Team and in 2009, she was drafted to Sky Blue FC in the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), winning the championship that year. Yael also founded the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Players Association in 2017 and developed the soccer training app, Techne Futbol. She is currently the General Manager of NWSL’s NJ/NY Gotham FC.