Put the armour on the girls and a good number on them will either stop playing, or never start. That is what my daughter believes. And she was a collegiate AA and played on USA. She is 5'6" and weighs about 125. She has no interest in hitting or being hit, and is convinced the level of contact will increase with helmets. She has also said the number of times someone's head makes contact with you when you play is fairly high, glancing you when going for ground balls or ducking a head while trying to drive past a defender. Things that aren't going to cause injury but there is contact nevertheless. She has zero interest in getting hit with a helmet every time those things occur.
Would be a different game with helmets and you are probably right some girls wouldn't start playing. I still think the game needs a foul system that penalizes players after multiple infractions but lets start by calling and carding the chopping. The rules are already written but they aren't being enforced.
It will start with a soft helmet, so the issue of going injured by getting hit by the helmet will be minimal. But once the helmet is on, soft or hard, the fear of getting your head hit will be lowered. No ball carriers will go at the cage harder, and the risk of ground caused concussions will increase.
I am all for foul counts, with a penalty for excessive numbers. I am also for more stringent enforcement of rules on the books. I also believe that at the youth level the best referees will take a ten seconds to explain to the player what they did wrong. I have seen it done, but not enough.
