As youth helmet standard goes into effect, leagues face challenges to update their fleet
There is no national board or governing body for youth football to enforce or spread the word about the new standards (Photo: Holden Robinson)
AKRON, Oh. (SOA) — New helmets are on the way that promise to better protect children who play football. Groundbreaking standards were just approved, calling for this crucial equipment to be ready to wear in less than two years. But getting these helmets on the heads of America's children as quickly as possible will be a challenge.
On a field in northeast Ohio, it's hit after hit at a full-contact practice for the Akron Armor youth football organization.
Last year, Akron Armor teamed up with a group of kids in Cleveland and won the national championship in the 12-year-and-under category, with cheering fans and high-octane competition.
Akron Armor's director, Dr. Brandon Roberts, knows a thing or two about winning. In the early 2000s, he was an elite linebacker at Washington University in St. Louis, receiving the academic Heisman, the nation's top honor for a scholar-athlete, and in 2016, he was inducted into the University's hall of fame, scoring him a shiny ring.
Just as brilliant, he said, are the values taught in youth football, as Roberts said he views the 100 kids in the Akron Armor organization as his "distant sons."
He told Spotlight on America that the goal is to build better young men, and he thinks football is one of the best ways to do that.
"I think football teaches you so much about yourself, teaches you how to be successful, how to be a good teammate," he said. "It's a beautiful game."
But the beautiful game has an ugly side. For years, we've reported about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, a deadly brain disease caused by head impacts and concussions that's claimed the lives of former NFL stars and amateur athletes.
Research reveals that young players with bigger head-to-body ratios are at a much higher risk of brain injuries and concussions.
We met with a group of moms outside the practice in Akron, and all of them told us they worry about the risk of concussions in their children.
Dr. Roberts, who is also a pediatric anesthesiologist, worries too, but told us the right protection can prevent injuries and concussions.
"The reality is, I think proper form, proper equipment can probably hold off the vast majority of serious complications on the field," he said. " The last thing you ever want to see is someone have a career or life-changing injury on the field."
We visited Virginia Tech's helmet lab, where football helmets are rated for how well they perform, based on extensive simulations and drop tests.
There, the helmet lab director, Dr. Steve Rowson, discovered a disturbing weakness with young players.
"They have a bigger head and weaker neck," he explained. "So your body hits the ground and then your head follows through."
Rowson collected data from sensors inside helmets, revealing how bigger heads and weaker necks couldn't support heavy helmets, which was contributing to concussions in ground impacts.
Rowson's research helped pave the way for the nation's first youth helmet standards, which include a critical weight limit. Right now, youth helmets can weigh up to 4.5 pounds. Under the new standards, which take effect in September of 2027, youth helmets must weigh no more than 3.5 pounds.
Dr. Robert Cantu, a world-famous neurosurgeon and architect of the new standards, said he'd like to see the new helmets on every child's head as soon as possible.
"If I had my druthers, it'd be there the day the regulations go into effect," Dr. Cantu told Spotlight on America.
While the price tag of new, lighter helmets isn't clear, everyone agrees they will be expensive.
And Dr. Roberts, who has to outfit 120 young players, said that could cost his organization tens of thousands of dollars if he has to buy them all at once.
There is no national board or governing body for youth football to enforce or spread the word about the new standards (Photo: Holden Robinson)
"Hopefully it won't be a total phase out of the old and in with the new, because that's going to be a crazy expense for us," he said, adding it may take grants and sponsors to fill the gaps.
There is no national board or governing body for youth football to enforce or spread the word about the new standards.
Ultimately, the responsibility of getting the new, lighter helmets as soon as possible might rest with parents who demand better protection.
While the current helmets are safe, the new, lighter ones will be better, but cost could prevent players from getting them as soon as possible.
"We're dealing with a practicality problem that is money," said Dr. Cantu. "The majority of those football players don't pay for their own helmets. If they did, then I would say mom and dad go buy a new helmet certified to the new standard ASAP."
The football moms we spoke to said the standards are "fantastic" and will help them feel more "secure" as they cheer on their young men in a sport they love, though the real impact won't be clear until all kids are wearing the new helmets.
Dr. Roberts is hopeful and will be watching it closely.
"We'll have to see when this is on heads in real time, if it actually does the trick, and hopefully it does," he said.
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To read more about the new standards, click here.
