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Army, Navy to brandish military gear
By The Associated Press
LITCHFIELD, IL — With one
of college football's most storied rivalries as the backdrop, a new
helmet will be unveiled Saturday, bringing technology from the
battlefield to the gridiron.
The helmets to be worn in the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia borrow the
shock-absorbing technology used to protect Army paratroopers from head
injuries.
The helmet is the latest in a new generation of equipment inspired by
NFL- and NCAA-sponsored studies into concussions, the brain-rattling
blows to the head that helped end the careers of quarterbacks Troy
Aikman of the Dallas Cowboys and Steve Young of the San Francisco 49ers,
among others.
The helmets were quietly tested this fall by players at Army, Navy and
more than 30 other college and high school teams across the country, but
Schutt Sports is using Saturday's game to publicly announce the new
model.
Schutt Sports will begin selling the helmet in January, and its two main
competitors have already introduced new models, the first major helmet
changes in two decades.
David Halstead, technical adviser to the National Operating Committee
for Standards on Athletic Equipment, compared the advances to continuing
safety improvements in the auto industry.
"Thirty years ago a 30 mph barrier collision was a death sentence. Now
it's a broken ankle and air bag burns," he said. "We just have to figure
out how to get rid of the broken ankle and air bag burns."
Two studies published last month found that football players who suffer
concussions are left prone to another one, especially if they return to
action too soon, and become slower to recover from such blows.
Athletic equipment makers have been following the studies and creating
new models that could soften the blow.
The financial stakes are big for helmet makers. They are competing in a
market of about 2 million U.S. players, many of whom wear the same
helmet for years.
Litchfield-based Schutt has high hopes for its new DNA helmet, which
replaces traditional foam cushioning with shock-absorbing pads also used
in paratrooper helmets and on decks of military boats to soften the blow
of riding at high speeds in rough water.
A few players with both Army and Navy have worn the new model in a
season-long test.
The DNA's SKYDEX pads absorb shock using rows of twin hemispheres that
are similar to two halves of a ball being squeezed together, said Larry
Maddux, Schutt's research director. He said the pads absorb shock better
than a much thicker layer of foam, leaving room for traditional padding
to make the helmet comfortable.
Industry leader Riddell Sports, a Chicago company that gets most of the
NFL's business through an official licensing agreement, introduced its
new Revolution helmet last summer. It has an expanded shell that adds
thickness and expands the area of protection toward the jaw.
Cookeville, Tenn.-based Adams USA, the industry's No. 3 seller, launched
a lighter helmet, which the company says might reduce the risk of
certain injuries because players will not be as inclined to drop their
heads when they get tired.
Schutt president Julie Nimmons said the DNA helmet offers the best
protection the company could develop, but added that no helmet is
concussion-proof.
"If we could make a helmet to prevent concussions from happening, don't
you think we would? And shout it from the mountaintops? Absolutely,"
Nimmons said.
Several University of Illinois players wore the new Riddell helmet this
year, and one tested Schutt's DNA. The new helmets got good reviews and
none of the players suffered head injuries, said Trent Chestnut, the
team's equipment manager.
"I think they're making strides, but it will take a few years to see how
well they protect against concussions," Chestnut said.
02/23/2007 11:02 AM
Copyright 2003 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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