Football players at all Douglas County middle and high schools are safer during practices thanks to the purchase of innovative Guardian Caps by the Douglas County School System.
The Caps were purchased in April, making Douglas County the first school system in Georgia to introduce the Guardian Caps at both the middle and high school levels.
“The Board of Education and I share a responsibility to create the safest possible environment for our students,” Superintendent Trent North said. “In order to achieve this, we have introduced Guardian Caps in our school football programs. This initiative will not only enhance player safety but also serve as an example for other school systems to follow.”
North added: “The Douglas School System takes pride in leading the way by adopting this important safety measure. By adding an extra layer of protection to traditional helmets, we are demonstrating our commitment to the safety and well-being of our student athletes.
We believe by introducing this innovative sports equipment, the risk of head injuries on the field will be significantly reduced.”
Nationally, Guardian Caps are worn by more than 300,000 athletes at all levels of competition, including college and the NFL. The Caps go over a player’s regular helmet during practices.
According to Guardian, 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.
Chapel Hill High School Head Football Coach Brad Stephens said that even though he hasn’t had many players with concussions during his tenure, he still was a proponent of purchasing the Guardian Caps to make his players safer on the field.
“Guardian Caps are an important safety innovation in football, designed to enhance player protection by mitigating the impact of collisions,” Stephens said. “Worn over traditional helmets, these caps provide an additional layer of cushioning that helps absorb and dissipate the force of hits to the head. While they cannot entirely prevent concussions or other head injuries, they significantly reduce the severity of impacts, which is crucial given the frequency of collisions in the sport.”