Flyers football team using special ‘Caps’ to protect helmets

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

They’re called Guardian Caps.
No, not hats for Cleveland’s baseball team, but cutting-edge, soft-shell padding that is designed to better withstand the impact on a football helmet in an effort to protect players’ heads.
You may have seen the product recently as the Lake Flyers are wearing them this season.
The motto for the caps is “Reducing impact for athletes, one hit at a time.”
The coach of the team, Lane Bishop, talked about crossing paths with a local sales representative from Guardian Sports at a coaching clinic.
“We had seen some local teams wearing them at practice, and (knew about) the popularity in the NFL, which mandated the players to wear them at practice,” said Bishop. “A rep for Guardian Sports, Eric Rutherford, and I ran into each other at a coaching clinic, and that’s what planted the seed.”
Rutherford is the son of Eastwood legend Jerry Rutherford and previously worked as a science teacher and an assistant football coach at the school with his father and his brother, Craig, who succeeded Jerry as the head coach for six years before moving on.
“There’s peace of mind in that we’re doing something to help them,” said Bishop. “There’s a sense where they can play a little more loose and aggressive, and with less nervousness.”
Other programs like Anthony Wayne, Bowling Green and St. John's have the equipment in their locker rooms. The majority of players only wear them during practice, but a few prefer to wear them in games.
Jake Hanson, the COO of the company, talked about the product and the time it’s taken to become part of the mainstream discussion with respect to player safety, though more needs to be done to help the public better understand and appreciate what the caps do.
“We started 14 years ago. We’ve been at this for a long time,” Hanson said. “It’s pretty astounding. Would I have expected it to be worn in the NFL by now? I wouldn’t have thought that. People were initially reluctant to go from a leather helmet to a hard helmet, and they were reluctant to go with a facemask, too.”
“It’s super lightweight, one size fits all. It can fit any helmet, and the weight is less than seven ounces. We’re seeing the ability to help a lot of athletes.”
The caps are currently being used by more than 500 colleges, 5,000 high schools, 1,000 youth programs as well as all 32 NFL teams and all nine CFL teams. It is mandated by the NFL to be used in contact practices. Nationwide, over 500,000 athletes wear the caps.
The cost of the caps run on average to roughly $54 per pad, which lasts three to four years.
Only a few players in the NFL wear the caps during games, among them Cleveland linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.
The NFL has cited studies that the severity of player impact is reduced by 10% with a Guardian Cap, and the severity is reduced by at least 20% if two players wearing the caps collide.
Jeff Miller, an NFL executive, said during the offseason that Guardian Caps played a role in a nearly 50% reduction in concussions for the position groups using the coverings.
According to the website, “the physics say that an outer ‘soft’ material of the proper density, stiffness and energy-absorbing properties reduces the initial severity of the impact. The hard shell then has lower forces transmitted to it, and in turn conveys lower forces to the interior soft helmet padding and then lower forces to the head.”
The website further states that NASCAR tracks have employed soft-wall tracks to protect drivers and soft bumpers that are now required for automobiles.
The company, whose website is guardiansports.com, is located in Peachtree Corners in Georgia, 23 miles northeast of Atlanta.