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  Lakewood Ranch football program invests in smart helmet technology

  Lakewood Ranch's football program is investing in Riddell’s InSite smart helmet technology that includes an Insite Training Tool. Riddell’s ITT technology is a web-based data center that builds player impact profiles, rich with information, that a coach may use to identify opportunities. These then can be used to proactively influence player behavior and reduce exposure to impacts through improved training techniques and practice plans.

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  Welcome to 21st century football. Manatee High adds technology to its playbook.

  Yusuf Shakir was still in Tallahassee when he first heard about football's game-changing technology. Shakir was the head football coach at Lincoln High when Erik Korem, who was Florida State University's speed and nutrition specialist at the time, helped usher a new way to evaluate players.

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  PREP FOOTBALL: Mustangs gain ‘InSite’ on player safety

  The Mustangs will be the newest team in the region using Riddell’s InSite system, which will fit inside new SpeedFlex helmets. According to Riddell, InSite is backed by millions of on-field impacts dating back to 2003. InSite-equipped smart helmets do not only monitor and alert the sideline to significant impacts, but also to collect, consolidate and analyze nearly every head impact to learn and track specific behaviors by player, unit or team.

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  The fall of one size fits all

  I'm sitting on a stool in the middle of an office, wearing a football helmet shell while a guy is pointing a gadget at me that looks a bit like an iPad with handles. "Keep looking straight ahead," he says as he circles around me, waving the gadget like a magic wand. "Try not to move too much." After about 30 seconds of this, I remove the helmet and replace it with a thick, uncomfortable hood, sort of like an industrial-strength ski mask, and the whole process repeats, with the guy once again circling around me with his gadget.

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  Iowa football helmets going custom-fit this fall

  Eighty Iowa football players this spring sat in a chair in the Hansen Performance Center and waited patiently to have the shape of their heads scanned. Everyone’s head is different, so, in a proactive move to stay at the forefront of player safety, the University of Iowa has moved to a custom-fit helmet from its longtime supplier Riddell. Over the last two seasons, 15 Hawkeyes have tried the new custom-fit helmet, according to Iowa equipment manager Greg Morris.

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  Cardinal gains InSite for football

  Cardinal High School football coach Landon Miller is ready to get out in front of head injuries before they become a problem. It's why the school is investing in technology that he hopes will make the game safer and promote athletes to compete. The school purchased the InSite technology for its players, consisting of a sensor inside the helmet that can gauge impact and monitor each player for any potential symptoms of a concussion or other head-related injury. A person on the sidelines will be able to track each player through a mobile device, and know precisely when enough is enough. Cardinal will begin using InSite this fall.

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  Rising concussion awareness leads one high school to invest in high-tech football helmets

  Hyatt believes he has found that better equipment: Riddell SpeedFlex helmets with InSite Training Tool, billed by the Illinois-based sports equipment company as state-of-the-art protection for football players. A five-zone sensor pad embedded in the interior of the helmets collects data from each practice and game, and that data is displayed on an online interactive platform, allowing coaches to view the severity of hits. Coaches will have impact monitors that alert them in real time if a hit could be considered dangerous.

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  Midd-West to receive NFL funds for football program

  After months of being in contact with the NFL about its funding program for high schools, Midd-West can officially say it’s receiving a grant from the league. Though the exact details of the loan still have to be worked out, the Mustangs can say they’re the first team to receive such help from the NFL. As part of the grant, Midd-West will be getting a lot of help from other name brands including Nike, Riddell and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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  Anonymous donors help Tigers tackle new helmets

  The generosity of some anonymous donors will help with the safety of Fremont High School football players starting this fall. Joe Sajevic, the executive director of the Fremont Public Schools Foundation, said the donors wanted the organization to facilitate the purchase of 130 Riddell SpeedFlex Helmets for the Tigers. The total cost is about $52,000. "These are top of the line helmets and it is a pretty neat deal for the kids," Sajevic said.

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  Super Bowl players' custom helmets start with a 3D scan

  At the Super Bowl on Sunday, 20 players will hit the field wearing Riddell Precision-Fit helmets. What's special about this gear is that they fit the contours of the athlete's head — down to the half-millimeter. Riddell, which has been making helmets and other protective sports gear since 1929, unveiled the technology behind its Precision Fit helmets in early 2017. This season, 150 NFL players wore the protective gear. The company starts by sending a technician to take multiple 3D light scans of a player's head. One scan is done of the player while they wear a tight neoprene hood. Another is performed with the player wearing a helmet at the exact angle they like to wear it during a game.