by Steve in News
Tim Brown’s Oakland Raiders had tied their game with the Miami Dolphins and were headed into overtime. Brown, the Raider captain and star wide receiver, had left the game, suffering from heat exhaustion, only to return in time to make his way to mid-field for the OT coin toss. “I felt so bad walking out for the coin toss to see who would get the ball, I was hoping they won the toss to give me more time to recoup,” Brown recalled. The heat had so sapped Brown that when the game was over doctors pumped three bags of fluid into his veins. “They said it was the most they had ever given a player my size,” Brown said.
How hot was Brown during that mid-1990s game? To what temperature did his body rise? No one, not even Brown, has any clue.
According to USA Football, more than 21 million Americans - from pee wee to the NFL - will play football this year. Overheating, especially among programs in the South, is an area of long-time concern for coaches, parents, certified athletic trainers and administration. Heat-related injuries have caused the deaths of 25 athletes since 2000. Until now, team officials have never been able to accurately monitor the true temperature of an athlete on the field.
Brown, who will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this year, was in San Antonio for the National Athletic Trainers Association convention today to share details of one of the greatest breakthroughs in player protection to come to football in years.
Schutt and HotHead Technologies have developed the first-ever helmet fitted with a temperature sensing device that can identify athletes who are overheating before they require three bags of fluid - and before the heat does irreparable damage to their bodies. A dime-sized sensor in the forehead pad of the helmet relays accurate body temperature readings of every player on the field to a personal digital assistant (PDA) on the sidelines that is monitored by a certified athletic trainer. The H.O.T. SystemTM will act as an early warning detection system for heat stroke and other heat-related injuries, giving certified athletic trainers, coaches and doctors a distinct advantage in their battle with heat.
“I never could have imagined my helmet could have let me and the trainers know I was overheating,” Brown said. “I believe this product will be life-saving. Here in Texas, we hear of players suffering from heat strokes or heat-related injuries all summer. This product will give the player confidence to know they can push themselves knowing their body temperature is being monitored. This is great for athletes because pushing ourselves to no end is what sports is all about in our minds. Now we have a product to stop us before we get to the ‘no end’ stage.”
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by Steve in News
Schutt Sports Announces New Multi-Year Partnership with Pop Warner, Football’s Premier Youth Organization
Schutt Sports announced today that it has reached an exclusive multi-year partnership agreement with Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc., the nation’s largest and oldest youth football, cheer and dance organization with over 400,000 participants. The partnership will make Schutt the Official Helmet and Official Equipment Reconditioner of Pop Warner. Schutt also retains the option to extend the agreement through 2014.
As part of the partnership, Schutt will offer the following to Pop Warner:
- Exclusive preferred helmet pricing packages and reconditioning programs
- An annual product grant to help provide needy Pop Warner programs with Schutt helmet packages
- An annual scholarship donation to benefit Pop Warner football players
- A DVD highlighting proper helmet fitting and concussion awareness in conjunction with Pop Warner
- A national Pop Warner Helmet Reconditioning/Recertification Policy ensuring that all Pop Warner participants are playing with safe equipment.
Schutt will activate at Pop Warner events including The Pop Warner Super Bowl, which features many of the nation’s top youth football teams.
“We couldn’t be more excited about joining forces with the world’s foremost youth football organization,” says Dave Rossi, Vice President of Marketing for Schutt Sports. “Pop Warner is where NFL stars like Emmitt Smith, Donovan McNabb, Matt Ryan and Eli Manning learned the game of football. When people think of youth football - they think of Pop Warner. It’s important that kids not only learn the game the right way but that they have the best protection possible. The great coaches and staff of Pop Warner will take care of the first part and we’ll now take care of the second part with our great Schutt gear, including the best youth helmets in football.”
“Pop Warner is pleased to offer our coaches and administrators access to the most technologically advanced helmet equipment. Schutt’s commitment to product advancement and to developing a reconditioning and recertification program for our teams will ensure that our participants are playing with the safest equipment.” said Sam Mutz, Pop Warner Football Commissioner.
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by Steve in News
If you had the chance to go to your recent Regional Pop Warner meetings, you know that Pop Warner Football has chosen Schutt Sports to be their Official Helmet and Reconditioner.
Why? Football Helmets made by Schutt Sports are the best performance helmets in the game. Schutt is the only football helmet maker to move beyond the traditional foam padding used by other manufacturers. We now have state-of-the-art TPU cushioning in our helmets. We offer the largest selection of faceguards and our new role with Pop Warner will give you access to exclusive reconditioning deals made available ONLY to Pop Warner teams.
We’ve been chosen to be the Official Helmet and Reconditioner of Pop Warner Football. Take a look below and you’ll see why.
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