We are entering the third year of a ground-breaking study between TGen, ASU, Barrow, AT Still University, and Riddell that correlates accelerometer data in football helmets with biomarkers in the blood, urine and saliva to objectively diagnose concussions.
Riddell invested in a technology called HITS or our sideline response system, which is an instrumented on-field helmet technology that can monitor the head impacts that players are seeing on the field and wirelessly report that information back to the sideline.
Now one district is implementing new technology to better protect players. The team outfitted about 50 helmets with a battery operated sensor system designed to measure the severity of impact. The sensors are then installed inside the helmet underneath protective padding.
For this upcoming season, the league plans to introduce 15 to 20 new helmets that will use Riddell InSite, a technology from the helmet-maker that allows for impacts to heads to be measured in real time using a sophisticated monitoring system.
When Madison-Grant's football team takes the field Monday for the first official IHSAA practice, nearly half of the players will wear the latest in football helmet technology. The Riddell SpeedFlex not only flexes to absorb head impact, the helmet also has a monitoring system that can alert coaches and trainers to potential concussions.
This year will be Coach Marty Martin’s first season as head football coach of the Maple Valley Lions. On the top of his list of priorities were to get the new helmets that not only fit better on the player’s head, but also have computers inside that will alert the coach if they take a hard hit. He settled on Riddell brand high tech helmets that have transmitters inside the actual helmet that alerts the coach of what player was hit and where.
He presented his position to the Doctors Medical Center (DMC) in an attempt to generate funds for state-of-the-art helmet sensors. The members at the DMC were impressed. So much so that the group awarded a grant of $10,000. Gregori used the money to purchase 36 InSite sensors for the 2014 season
The Pendleton Heights Arabians are one of a dozen Indiana high schools and universities now using a high-tech monitoring system to track athlete safety on every play. Each of the 40 helmets now holds Riddell’s InSite sensor technology, which alerts the team’s athletic trainer the moment a player takes a hit hard enough to cause a possible concussion.
Varsity football players at Traders Point Christian Academy are taking the field this fall with new, state-of-the-art football helmets that will alert trainers and coaches to hits that could pose a risk for concussion. The helmets were developed by Riddell, a company that makes helmets worn by players in the National Football League. “These are the best helmets money can buy,” said Traders Point Football Coach Kyle Johnson. “We are trying to make the sport as safe as possible.”
