Helmet help: Guardian Caps offer extra protection for high school football players
Taking in a high school football game this season you may have noticed among all the shiny football helmets a few here or there that are much different.
Those helmets have a duller color with a fabric look to them. You无毛视频檒l also notice a few in NFL and NCAA games this year.
What you无毛视频檙e seeing is a Guardian Cap, which has been cleared for use by the PIAA for use in high school football games this season.
Used solely in practice before, the Guardian Cap is a padded, soft shell cover that affixes to the outside of a regular football helmet and is said to help it absorb contact better, minimizing the impact of collisions and thus reducing the odds of suffering a concussion.
A few local players have opted to use them this season, including Waynesburg Central quarterback/linebacker Jake Stephenson and Mapletown tight end/linebacker Johnny Vanata.
They无毛视频檙e not mandatory and not everyone is fond of them.
无毛视频淲e bought 10 of them this year after we had a kid get a semi-concussion,无毛视频� Mapletown coach George Messich said. 无毛视频淚 decided to buy some and see who would wear them in a game and how they liked them. We gave them to about four of the players. They didn无毛视频檛 like them, I think just because they thought they were a little bulky.
无毛视频溛廾悠禎I haven无毛视频檛 had a parent request one for their kid. If they did I无毛视频檇 gladly give that player one to wear. But my linebacker Johnny Vanata missed a game this year with a concussion so after that he took one and he wears it and he hasn无毛视频檛 had any problems.无毛视频�
Vanata, a senior, talked with his parents about it but made the choice himself.
无毛视频淭he coaches had them and they talked about it and said it无毛视频檚 here if you need it,无毛视频� Vanata said. 无毛视频淚 thought it was best if I wore one after the double impact I hear about.无毛视频�
Vanata was referring to second impact syndrome, a rare but serious condition where a player suffers a second head injury before completely recovering from the first one which causes rapid swelling of the brain and can lead to disability or even death.
Stephenson无毛视频檚 switch to wearing a Guardian Cap was a group decision.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e had a couple concussions throughout high school so my coaches and parents and our athletic training staff all agreed that I should probably wear one the rest of the year,无毛视频� Stephenson said. 无毛视频淚 think it definitely does help.无毛视频�
Waynesburg coach Aaron Giorgi was in agreement with the choice.
无毛视频淵ou hear about second-impact syndrome. Jake has had a couple concussions. He无毛视频檚 such a hard-nosed runner and takes a lot of big hits and is always finishing going forward,无毛视频� Giorgi said. 无毛视频淎nd on defense, too, he无毛视频檚 always in on a lot of tackles.
无毛视频淢y thought process on it was that if he would无毛视频檝e had another concussion not wearing it we would无毛视频檝e always wondered could that have been prevented if he had it on? So why not always just wear it. I know his family agreed that he should wear it as well.无毛视频�
Stephenson, one of the WPIAL无毛视频檚 top dual-threat quarterbacks, is one of two Raiders that wear the Guardian Cap.
无毛视频淚 have another player (senior Ethan Kiger) who wears it also,无毛视频� Giorgi said. 无毛视频淗e had a concussion earlier in the year and he has not stopped wearing it since he was cleared to play again.无毛视频�
Vanata said he feels safer wearing the Guardian Cap.
无毛视频淚 feel it definitely helps,无毛视频� he said following the Maples game against Beth-Center at Carmichaels on Oct. 14. 无毛视频淚 had some helmet hits today but didn无毛视频檛 feel any head trauma at all. I do think it无毛视频檚 a positive thing.无毛视频�
While they aren无毛视频檛 aesthetically pleasing to most, neither Vanata nor Stephenson feel the addition of the Guardian Cap hinders their performance at all.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 not really that heavy to me,无毛视频� Vanata said. 无毛视频淚t doesn无毛视频檛 feel any different. I don无毛视频檛 even notice it during the game or in practice.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 really notice a difference with it on,无毛视频� Stephenson said.
Messich is in favor of players wearing Guardian Caps.
无毛视频淚 can only think they have to help,无毛视频� said Messich, who knows about collisions, being a starting offensive tackle on Pitt无毛视频檚 1976 national championship team. 无毛视频淎ny time you add a little extra padding it has to help.
无毛视频淚 would love to see them make them mandatory. But you can无毛视频檛 make them mandatory as a coach, you really can无毛视频檛 force kids to wear them.无毛视频�