Manufacturers work on safer youth equipment

As the NFL seeks remedies for injuries caused by helmets by spending millions of dollars and hour upon hour on research into safer equipment, the same search goes on at other levels of football.

VICIS, which has the top-rated helmets for the pros, according to an NFL survey, is getting into the youth market. Riddell, which has a tie-in with USA Football, the governing body of the sport, is also devoting much time and funding to youngsters playing the game.

Chris Golic, whose husband Mike played eight seasons in the NFL and whose sons played through college, has been working with VICIS to educate parents on the strides being made in player protection. Many mothers and fathers have become familiar with the Heads Up Football program USA Football created to get the head out of the game when tackling, as well as with the organization’s requirements to approve coaches.

“The next step was looking at equipment,” says Golic, who serves on the Pop Warner board, and was the NFL’s consultant on youth football as well as a member of the Heads Up Football advisory committee. “So much had not changed in so long, it was the next piece to the puzzle.

“I heard how VICIS was highly rated (for the NFL) and how they were manufacturing their helmets and a youth helmet, and I was excited. For so long, parents complained there was just an adult helmet put on a kid, or whatever was around. I can speak for VICIS, who changed their approach and looked at how a helmet is supposed to fit and what is needed to make it safest.

“I talk to moms all the time and the most important thing is making sure equipment fits properly … helmet, shoulder pads. We want to keep the conversation going so they see we are not standing still.”

Equipment manufacturers are doing anything but standing still, as both the VICIS ZERO1 YOUTH, which will become available next year, and the Riddell InSite Training Tool show.

Traditional youth football helmets are adult helmets with lightweight shells. But ZERO1 YOUTH is engineered specifically for young players and the impacts they typically encounter on the field — impact velocities and locations. The exterior shell is redesigned for younger players’ anatomies, while the liner provides a custom fit for a wide range of youth head shapes and sizes.

“At its heart, VICIS is an engineering company born to innovate,” says Dave Marver, the company’s co-founder and CEO. “Our focus is sports protective equipment, particularly helmets. This is just our second year on the field and we’re pleased to have broadened our portfolio to include the ZERO1 YOUTH. One of our founders is a pediatric neurosurgeon and, though we started with NFL players, our passion has always been to protect kids. We will be introducing new products in football and several other categories in the next year.”