(Gray News) – With the recent deaths of three teenage football players, there’s a new push to make Guardian Caps, the protective soft-shell helmet coverings used by players in the NFL, mandatory for kids.
Each season also brings concerns — for families and players — about the dangers that come with it.
There’s been a recent uptick in efforts to make the game safer.
Ryan Craddock, the father of Cohen Craddock, who died after sustaining an injury during football practice, told CNN he wants young people to start wearing the additional protection.
“I believe if my son would have been wearing something like this, this would have made a totally different outcome,” Craddock said. “You’re not modifying the helmets. It’s just something that attaches directly on. So why not just have that extra layer of protection?”
But do they work?
Guardian Sports, a Georgia-based company, aims to reduce damage that can be caused to the brain by the sudden stopping, or rotation, of the head.
The NFL’s research led them to make these caps mandatory for all players during practices, aside from kickers and quarterbacks, who are off limits for contact.
Players can also choose to wear the caps during the games.
Jeff Miller, NFL executive vice president, said the statistics show the caps increase safety.
“As a result of the last two seasons, we saw about a 50% decrease in concussions in the positions that were mandated to wear them,” Miller said. “So of course, we said, OK, all positions will now wear them in this preseason.”
NFL rule changes and advancements in the helmets themselves could also be leading to a decrease in concussions.
The company said that more than 3,000 high schools and more than 750 youth programs currently use the caps.
One question is, if the NFL is making them mandatory for the pros, why aren’t they mandatory for kids?
One potential drawback could be cost.
Each one of these runs about $70, $56 when bought in bulk for a team. Many schools are already struggling with funding.
And the National Athletic Trainers Association has said that such products come with little to no independent scientific evidence showing they actually work.
“The helmet and head protection is really the last line of defense,” said Steve Rowson of Virginia Tech Helmet Lab. “The first thing to do is minimize the number of head impacts that kids and other athletes are experiencing.”
According to the lab’s research, which hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet, helmet shell add-ons are helpful because they “have been shown to decrease linear and rotational acceleration, thereby helping to reduce risk. However, there are notable differences between various add-ons, so the specific model used is important to consider.”
One other potential drawback for football players is the way the helmet feels. Several NFL players say that it makes them feel top-heavy at times.
Another issue some NFL players have raised with the cap is that they say it doesn’t make them look “cool.”
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