Football has always been a violent sport, but as of late, the impact and severity of the collisions have skyrocketed, especially with the heavy emphasis placed on size, strength, and speed of players in an ultra-competitive environment.
Due to the long-term repercussions, the most dangerous forms of violent hits are the blows to the head, resulting in concussions on many occasions. In fact, victims are more frequently feeling the short-term effects as well. Prominent players on both the collegiate and professional levels are seeing more immediate consequences to their head injuries, with the most recent being David Ash of the Texas Longhorns and John Abraham of the Arizona Cardinals. Ash, previously a quarterback for the Longhorns, decided to call it quits to his college playing career after an accumulation of concussions. After a long hiatus from the football field in attempts to completely recover from prior sustained concussions, Ash finally made his return; however, it only lasted one game, as he experienced headaches for seven or eight days following the opening day victory against North Texas. His revelations disclosed something very unusual and concerning.
“At the core of my heart of hearts, I knew I shouldn’t be playing,” expressed Ash. “The real deal about the North Texas game is, I really didn’t get hit. I didn’t take a vicious blow.”
Abraham joins Ash as players missing significant time due to head injury, though at the moment, his doesn’t appear to be career-threatening. Abraham, 36, suffered a concussion and was unable to pass the protocol, leading the doctors to advise him to shut it down for at least a year; therefore, he was placed on the injured reserve, giving him enough time to eventually make a full recovery and to get back to being a productive veteran in the league.
Regardless of the new rules being implemented, players will continue to acquire head injuries–albeit less frequently. Therefore, additional measures can be employed to combat the devastating effects of concussions, one of which lies in the technological advancement of equipment. Vin Ferrata, a former Harvard University quarterback, founded Xenith, a company built with the mission to create helmets that decrease the amount of sustained concussions.
Technologies incorporated into Xenith exist with the sole purpose of ensuring proper fit, maximum comfort, and adequate protection. A combination of a shell geometry, with more ventilation and increased rigidity, a new liner design, which features next generation Aware Flow shock absorbers; and four varied shock heights that are placed throughout the liner allows for a more pragmatic claim of a 31 percent reduction to the risks of concussions. These shock absorbers are essentially air filled cells, as opposed to pads, that release air to assist in minimizing the sudden movement of the head during a violent contact. The specific type of shock absorber is called the Thermoplastic Elastomer and it allows the cells to snap back into their initial shape, so the player’s helmet is quickly good to go.
One particular feature that distinguishes the Xenith from other helmet brands is the consumer satisfaction from the players, to the parents, to the coaches.
Head football Coach John Papas for Buckingham Browne and Nichols says, “Our players were better protected with Xenith helmets, which provide optimal response for high and low energy hits, and linear and rotational forces.”
Virginia Sean, a parent, ecstatically stated: “My boys have been protected by Xenith for four years. Only helmet I ever want on their heads. Also, a big confidence booster for the boys.”
Even well-known star football player for the Philadelphia Eagles, LeSean McCoy, chipped in his take on the product.
“I never have to worry about adjusting my chin strap or my helmet coming off during the field of play with the technology,” noted McCoy.
These three examples reflect the absence of stress or worry by athletes wearing a Xenith helmet; something that usually provides optimism for the future of a product.
Though the Xenith helmets have a proven track record of success in reducing the amount and severity of concussions on all levels of football, they should be viewed as not something that completely eliminates, but more so alleviates the epidemic.
Xenith’s Chief Executive Officer, Chuck Huggins, put it best: “There is no such thing as a concussion-proof helmet.”