BLOOMINGTON – Indiana has taken an extra step in an effort to mitigate potential head injuries in football camp this spring.
Since fall camp began, IU players have been wearing an extra layer of protection above their helmets. Manufactured by the Atlanta-based sports company Guardian, the “Guardian Caps” are a soft-shell polyurethane foam covering. According to the company website, the caps can reduce the G-Force of a helmet-to-body or helmet-to-helmet collision by 33%.
“Those are basically for concussion prevention to help our guys,” Indiana coach Tom Allen said. “I do think in the future we could see that being mandated for practices. It’s not yet. It’s been discussed in the medical world.”
Repeated head blows in football and other sports can result in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive and fatal brain disease. It can begin with patients experiencing mood swings and erratic behavior and progress into dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later in life. Since the discovery of the disease and its link to football, professional and college leagues have made notable rules changes, such as ejecting players for helmet-to-helmet hits (targeting), in an effort to reduce head injuries.
The caps have been endorsed by the American Football Coaches Association.
“Guardian Caps effectively reduce the overall buildup of small blows that occur over the course of a season by allowing greater energy dissipation at the point of contact with a pliable material,” the AFCA says on its website. “The cap is attached to the outside of the helmet in such a way that it allows for shifting and movement independently of the helmet, which redirects some of the blow upon contact.”
Indiana head athletic trainer Kyle Blackman said the school discovered the caps through word of mouth from the rest of the Big Ten. The caps are relatively inexpensive, ranging in retail price from $55 to $60. To outfit a team of 100 to 120 scholarship players and walk-ons, the cost is less than $10,000.
“Across the Big Ten, there’s probably half the schools that are using them in some form or fashion,” Blackman said. “Some have got them on everybody, some have just got them on the o-line, d-line, I’d say it’s probably about 50% …
“So we looked into it, me and our equipment manager just kind of thinking what our best option was. We thought this was our best option if we were going to try it.”
Blackman said most of the feedback from players has been positive.
“They think there is not as much collision,” Blackman said. “The big hits feel a little dulled, a little softened. Negative, (it’s) hotter. It’s a little extra stuff on your head. That’s been probably the biggest negative feedback. They don’t really feel like it weighs that much. It’s not like it weighs on the head where they feel like it’s giving them the big bobblehead.”
Indiana sophomore offense lineman Matthew Bedford said he’s glad to have the extra layer of protection.
“I haven’t had any problems with them at all, quite frankly,” Bedford said. “I can’t speak for everybody else, but I know for me, I feel safe with it. During play, I’m not having it come off my head or anything. … I feel like it’s doing its job.”
Blackman said time will tell as to how much the caps will reduce the risk of head injuries.
“There’s obviously pros and cons on both sides,” Blackman said. “Some of their data has shown reduction in head injuries. You are never going to prevent them all. The way we were looking at it is if it’s going to stop us from having one, it’s worth it for us. If we lose a guy for two weeks, that could be a big deal.”
Allen said he’s not sure yet if he will require the players to wear the caps for the rest of the camp and beyond. But Allen could see requiring the offensive and defensive linemen to wear them, given the number of collisions involved in their respective positions.
“Anything we can do to help make it safer for our guys, and we’re researching other options as well, but this is something we’ve discussed and a lot of other schools have as well,” Allen said. “So, like I said, just doing everything we can to keep our guys healthy.”
