JAY – Spruce Mountain High School soccer players will be using protective headgear this year, in a bid to reduce the number of concussions and improve safety.
The headgear is designed to lessen the force of contact between players as well as when heading the ball during play. Spruce Mountain is one of the first schools in the area to provide such protective equipment to its players.
The idea arose out of a discussion that Boys Soccer Coach Bill Arcetelli had with Athletic Director James Black at the close of last season. Both had concerns with the number of concussions and head injuries they were seeing in the soccer program.
Black budgeted for the gear and made them available for all players this season. The Jake Lord Play It Safe Foundation supplemented the cost of the headgear with a significant donation. Started by Jenna Lord, the foundation provides equipment to reduce the chance of concussions in young athletes, educates the public about the risks associated with concussions and advocates for policies to better protect athletes.
“We were again excited to work with Jenna Lord and her foundation to help support Spruce Mountain High School and the safety of our athletes,” Black said.
Working with his athletic trainer Jeremy Starbird, Black is hoping to track the number of head injuries from last year to this year to see if the new gear has had a positive impact on the safety of the players. He says that the small investment in head gear will pay dividends in the safety of the district’s student/athletes.
The coaches implemented the new headgear in preseason and have had positive feed back from most of the players.
“At first the gear feels a little awkward but as time passes they forget there wearing them,” said Acretelli.
Terrific work!
Thank you, Jake Lord Play It Safe Foundation and Lord family. Thrilled to see that the Phoenix players will have this extra protection. Go, Phoenix! :)
Glad that they selected the ‘rugby’ type helmet, which affords more protection than the fashion statement headband. Goalies have long needed this form of helmet, due to the game situations that a goalie may find themselves in.
I have more information on my site, if you are interested, regarding headgear:
http://www.yatahoy.com/sample-page/soccer-headgear/
Great job Spruce Mountain! I hope more schools follow your lead. Congratulations on putting the students’ safety first.
Where is the evidence that this type of head gear reduces number or severity of concussions? Would hope there is some research being done with this grant money to find out if this head gear really works or does it just create false sense of security for those wearing it and the parents of the athletes?