Virginia Tech released its inaugural youth football helmet safety ratings on Wednesday. Coming out on top was the VICIS Zero1 youth helmet, which received the best score ever achieved for a football helmet since the university began testing helmets in 2011.
The VT Helmet Lab measured the risk of concussion associated with 17 different youth football helmets. The process involves hitting the helmets with a weight swung on a pendulum arm in the attempt to copy the trajectory and severity of an in-game impact. Sensors placed on dummies’ heads record linear and rotational impacts to produce an overall star rating. VICIS’s youth helmet scored a maximum five-star rating, outperforming all other manufacturers tested including youth helmets from Xenith, Schutt, and Riddell. (The full ranking list is available on the lab’s webpage.)
“The traditional ‘shrink it’ approach to youth helmet design is not sufficient to protect young athletes,” said Dr. Sam Browd, VICIS’s Chief Medical Officer, in a press release. “This top ranking reinforces our commitment to harvest the latest insights from medical research and technology to give players, parents, and coaches the best protection possible.”
According to lab tests conducted by VT researchers, the average youth football player (aged between 10 and 14 years old) experiences 214 head impacts per season. VICIS released its Zero1 youth helmet in November at a retail price of $495. The company also announced a $28.5 million Series B fundraising round the same month, which included investment from Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
SportTechie Takeaway
VICIS will provide its Zero1 youth helmets to youth football players in California as part of a three-year deal the company signed with the South Country Trojans earlier this month.
The high school and collegiate football version of the VICIS Zero1 helmet also received Virginia Tech’s top ranking in 2018. That helmet also ranked as the safest helmet option according to NFL/NFLPA laboratory tests conducted in both 2017 and 2018.
SportTechie recently collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution to produce IMPACT: The Evolution of Football Helmets. The video feature includes interviews with executives from both VICIS and Riddell, as well as professors and engineers from helmet research labs at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia.