Okay, I am going to get into some trouble here, but here goes, I think the Headlock gets a bum rap. It isn't that it is such a bad move, it is how and when to use it. The same could be said for a number of other moves. I can give examples of 3 kids, right off the bat, who has done very well with the headlock and they all started using it in kids.

#1 Tristen DeShazer, The kid can hit one from anyplace
#2 Atticus Disney, I don't care what anyone says, you see it coming, you know it is there, and you still can't stop it.
#3 a new comer, Dylan Penka. I have heard people tell this kid to quit throwing it, yet he still wins matches with it. Frankly with the results he is getting, I think he will do fine.

The key is to have another tool in the box, don't rely just on the headlock, just as you don't rely on any single move. Well then again, maybe someone should have told Cael Sanderson there is a takedown other than the ankle pick. Which leads me to this thought, learn a few moves, from various positions and in varying situations, and learn them well.