Football Equipment Guide

I’m Vince and on behalf of expert village and we’re going to talk about cleats.
Cleats are important. It’s definitely something that you wanna take care and you wanna have precaution to match your cleat to the conditions that you’ll be playing on.
The condition that we’re on right now is an astro-turf type field and Chris has a molded cleat which is exceptional for these conditions.
The only thing with these is once they start breaking off on the bottom as the shoe gets older, you run the risk of turning an ankle or doing something on an uneven surface. So, this is good but you really wanna be careful what you’re doing.
These, on the other hand, are screw-ins and these are replaceable, so the shoe the doesn’t necessarily have to go once the bottom does. And they screw out easily and in and out. The other thing that you really need to be careful with is the cleat length.
You wanna make that in extremely bad conditions, extremely sloppy and bad footing, you go to a longer cleat. Anytime you go to a longer cleat, you do run the risk of catching your ankle, catching a knee, having bad injuries due to your foot not being able to free itself – whether you’re running and cutting or just being tackled. So make sure you’re careful when you’re selecting your cleat for the conditions of the game.

“Adam: Today we’re here with a friend of the show and club house gas gear guru; Craig Brooks. Buddy, thanks for joining us.
Craig: Thanks Adam.
Adam: Alright, so we’re talking about football helmets. Now, when it gets into any kind of sports equipment, football gear can get kind of complicated, especially for parents who’ve never played but maybe even for dad’s who played football all their lives that don’t really understand how to make sure their kids safe and fitted properly. Most youth league football players have their gear provided for them by the department they play for so, when your kid comes home with a helmet, how do you make sure they’re in the right helmet?
Craig: Well, the biggest thing on helmets of any type of football gear whatsoever is tight. You want everything to fit as tight as it can possibly fit. Um, you know any kind of play in the helmet whatsoever is what’s going to cause concussions. If you’ve got shake in the helmet and you make contact with another player, the helmet is what’s actually hurting your son as opposed to protecting him.
Adam: So when a kid takes his helmet off and you see like, red dots on his head where it was squeezing, that’s a good thing?
Craig: That’s probably a good thing. You know, if he’s coming back with headaches from it just being ya know, so so tight than you know, it can definitely be too tight, but you know, if there are some marks in the hair or something like that, it’s not a bad thing at all.
Adam: Alright, well, why don’t you show us what it is you can do to check. When a kid comes home and puts his helmet on, how can you, as a parent, help check it.
Craig: Well, the first thing I would do is actually make sure the helmet fits properly without jaw-pads. The jaw-pads or often times called ear-pads, are gonna keep the helmet from rocking side to side. I would probably take the jaw-pads out of the helmet, put the helmet on the child and than I’d look for any shake forwards and backwards. Basically what you would wanna do is as soon as your child puts the helmet on, is I would probably, I would look, to make sure that the helmet wrinkles up in his forehead as he does his head up. I would hold the facemask like this. As his head comes up I would make sure that you see some sort of wrinkles as, as like the helmets almost sticking to his head. And then, as he comes up, slowly release. The same going the other direction. I would probably put the helmet on his head. As his face comes downward, you probably wanna see his eyebrows kinda pull up and then release. Now, if he puts it on and he goes up and all it does is wrinkle and never release or the other way around, it never, it can never go down and release out of the helmet, than it’s too tight in the forehead. Most helmets are going to have some kind of sizing mechanisms, take Schutt for instance. This is the helmet we carry. Obviously there’s a ton of brands of helmets to buy out there. But we’re very satisfied with this brand. They have a front sizer. This helmet, where you have a small, medium, and a large and an extra large helmet, you actually have three sizes of front sizers. So this can be changed. The helmet comes standard with a 7/8’s, so basically like a medium, so you can make it tight, bigger, or skinnier depending on the fit of the helmet.
Adam: Alright, what about the fit of the air portion there. The air tube lookin’ thing.
Craig: The air bladder in this particular helmet is called the youth advantage. This helmet you would want to have absolutely zero air in the helmet whatsoever. Fit the helmet to the child. Once it fits his head properly, then you would put air into the helmet only to fill the negative space. You would basically, if this helmet, if this helmets fit right, you could basically knife through or razorblade through this bladder and he would still be safe. The air bladder, again, is just a precautionary more safety and you know, again it’s just filling the empty space, the negative space inside of the helmet.
Adam: Alright, so once you got that fit front to back, then how do you do it side to side?
Craig: Front. Once the front to backs right, then you wanna put the jaw-pads in the helmet. Most jaw pads are universal jaw pads, by that I mean theirs no left and rights. They should snap into the helmet pretty easily, normally three snaps like so and so once you get these on, this is actually what’s going to make the helmet difficult to take on and off for a young child. The bad news is the older people; the adults, the college kids, the high school kids, they’ve hit puberty, their jaws have formed, they’ve got these big fat jaws, so they could put really really skinny jaw pads in their helmet and it still fits good. The bad news is; little guys are skinny in the face, so their heads are actually bigger than their jaws are. So, the jaw pads tend to be very, very thick. Putting it on, you’re going to see tears lots of times, you’re gonna see, I mean, it’s really gonna be a struggle putting on and taking off the helmet. But, once you got the helmet on with the jaw pads, basically wanna look (and I don’t even know if this is gonna fit me). Alright, you basically wanna look, you wanna hold the face mask in the front, let them turn their helmets side to side. If he turns his head to the right, back to the left and you don’t get any space between the jaw and the jaw pad, than it fits fine.
Craig: Now do you wanna hold the face mask while they’re turning their head?
Adam: Hold the face mask and let ‘em turn their head. Kinda turn into that pad and as space shows, you probably wanna go thicker in a jaw pad. Again, most helmets come with one inch jaw pads, ten to at least say the ten and under child usually needs a thicker jaw pad than that. I tend to put the inch and a quarter size pad and that’s gonna make it fit a lot better.
Craig: Alright, talk to me about the differences in chin straps. You have two different types of chin straps here.
Adam: Alright, most helmets are gonna standard with a cloth or leather chin strap. This is a leather chin strap. Offers basically the minimal protection. It’s gonna hold the helmet from going up and down, back and forth anything like that. But again, you’re fairly exposed to any damage, any hand or elbow or anything like… Then there is the hard cup style chin straps, which basically the same fit and functionality as far as holding the helmet onto the child’s head, but what it does offer is just a little bit of padding. And it keeps any fist that comes in here or any elbow or even knee for that matter that comes flying up. Keeps his chin protected.
Adam: Alright, is there a difference in using the high snap or the low snap?
Craig: Their is a difference in that. A lot of times, especially (for) the older guys, it becomes a matter of personal preference. A lot of quarterbacks, a lot of guys that are constantly messing with their chin strap, often times it’s easier for them to take it off on the two lower snaps. However, for the young guys, I do recommend to use the high snap chin strap. Both of these happen to be high. The proper way to fit this is…the chin strap actually goes on the inside of the face mask. Lots of times you’ll see people coming out through the eye-hole here and snapping it. It should go through the inside, and the upper snap will stay snapped. Once it’s properly adjusted the upper snap will stay snapped all the time and the lower back snap will be the only one the child takes off. So, he’ll take this on and off and let the chin strap hang in front of his face when he takes the helmet on and or off. Basically, the reason why I like this for the younger guys is again going back to the puberty conversation. The child’s chin hasn’t really formed yet so often times their chin doesn’t even stick out past the bottom of the helmet. The high chin strap tends to go up into the helmet better than the low chin strap goes, often times the low chin strap pulls tight at the very edge of the helmet and doesn’t get up in there and so often times he has space in between his chin and the chin strap.
Adam: Cause it has to go over the lip…
Craig: Right. Because it has to go over this lip where this is coming in here and around the backside.
Adam: That makes a lot of sense. I never thought about that. You stump me on football, you’ve done something Mr. Brooks.
Alright, well, that’s a lot of great information, any questions…leave ‘em for Craig and we’ll do everything that we can do to get them answered. Thank so much.
Craig: Thank you, sir.
Adam: That’s gonna do it for us today. We look forward to seeing you right back here next time for another great addition of ClubHouseGAS

“Hi, my name is Otis St. Clare and I’m here today to talk to you about how to choose football cleats.
Now, with the number of different shoe companies out there like Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Under Armour; you’ve got a lot of different choices on how to pick your football cleats.
Now also one thing that’s going to go into your choice is the type of turf you’re playing on.
You have a synthetic turf, and than you have natural turf. It also depends on the type of weather conditions that you have.
This type of turf right here obviously is a Nike and it’s called a molded cleat which you can use on synthetic turf or natural turf.
It’s better used in dry conditions, uh you know, if it’s muddy out you don’t wanna wear this cleat because the grip or your traction is not that good.
The second type of cleat that we’ll be looking at is what’s called a screw-in cleat.
These can be changed once they wear too low like these are. You can change the length and size of the cleat so that you get better traction in bad conditions.
So, those are basically the two types of cleats that you can have to choose from.
A screw-in cleat or a molded cleat. I prefer Nike. Some prefer Adidas, some prefer Reebok.
That’s just Otis. That’s who I am and that’s how you choose your football cleats.”

“Lighter shoes, tougher helmets, stickier gloves, and slicker uniforms; when it comes to football gear, nearly everything has changed with the times. Everything that is, except for shoulder pads.
In their early days of football, athletes didn’t even bother wearing shoulder pads, however, when the pads finally did make their first appearance, initial versions were merely made up of sewn together pieces of leather. By the time the 60’s rolled around, foam and hard plastic replaced the leather.
The good news was these pads finally began addressing shoulder and rib injuries. The bad news; the foam was the same material used to pad furniture. It was discovered it actually sped up the process of overheating the athlete. Decades later, a study by the National Trainers Association addressed the rise of heat related illnesses, finding that four highschool students died due to the heat while thirteen other highschool students were reported as injured due to heat issues.
This, in turn, led to the first innovations in shoulder pad design in thirty years, incorporating everything from air conditioners to astronauts.
In 2002, impact pads actually started using synthetic fibers designed for NASA to make new shoulder pads breathable and lighter.
The old furniture foam was replaced with a gel like material and covered with mesh fabric to allow moisture to be taken away from the body and therefore keeping the athletes cooler.
A second major innovation was introduced by Douglas, who in conjunction with scientists from the University of Florida, created the Temperature Management System which actually added an air conditioner to the shoulder pads.
While on the bench, players can be hooked up to an air pump that sends cold, dry air into the pads where air channels are built in.
Any number of players can be hooked up to the system, which uses a hose to force cool air throughout the pads, keeping body temperature down by stopping the radiating heat before it starts.
It may have taken thirty years but shoulder pads are starting to catch up to the ever changing world of gear designed to protect the players.
While the issue of heat injuries isn’t going away, protection will always be the key factor behind the next generation of shoulder pads.
Let’s just hope it doesn’t take another thirty years.”

“Research published in the February 2006 issue of Neurosurgery reveals that players wearing the Riddell Revolution were 31% less likely to suffer a concussion than those wearing a traditional football helmet. The study; conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, evaluated more than 2,000 high school football players over a 3 year period to determine the rate of concussions for players wearing Riddells new Revolution helmet versus traditional helmets.

The helmet design was based on extensive research funded by NFL charities. Since the launch of the Revolution, over 3/4 of a million football players have made the switch.
Now the best just got better.
Introducing the Riddell Revolution IQ helmet which combines advanced fitting and a quick-release face guard attachment.
The ideal fit liner system provides unsurpassed comfort and stability by a specially engineered inflation system that when inflated, pivots the true curve back-pad and cradling the rear of the head.
Combined with true curve front padding technology, ideal fit delivers the comfort and security that players demand.
In addition, the Revolution IQ offers a patented quick-release face-guard attachment system. This allows for rapid and easy player access by simply releasing 2 pins.
The combination of these 2 new technologies is the latest offering in state of the art football head protection pioneered by Riddell.
In 2005, Riddell introduced the head impact telemetry system, or H.I.T.S. as part of the revolutionary sideline response system.
The HITS equipped helmet uses on-board sensors and computing power to capture, record, and measure head impact acceleration.
Using wireless technology and special software, data is then transmitted real-time to a sideline computer, giving certified athletic trainers and team doctors extra eyes on the field.
Leading universities, including Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Dartmouth, and many more are using the side line response system for the 2007 college football season.
Now Riddell is offering the same technology previously available as part of the integrated side line response system in an individual helmet.
Introducing, the Revolution IQ HITS. The first individual helmet that has all of the benefits of the Riddell Revolution IQ, plus it monitors and records every significant incident of head impact sustained during a football game or practice.
The system measures the location, magnitude, duration, and direction of head acceleration.
The Revolution IQ HITS brings the field to the training room or home.
Impact data, stored by the helmet, is easy to upload to your P.C.
A simple, interactive web-based application analyzes the data, identifies suspect impacts and then provides a clear call-to action.
Since 1929, Riddells proud history has been built on our passionate quest to improve athlete protection and out drive to advance state of the art technologies in athletic equipment.
This tradition continues with the new Revolution IQ.”

“In a game of tackles and tumbles; the helmet is essential equipment.
To make one, plastic pellets are suctioned into a machine that melts and molds them into a dome shape.
This fist-like device shapes the inside of the shell which hardens in just a matter of seconds.
A robot then collects it and tranfers it to a conveyor.
It’s quite a line-up.
The shells move into position for a trimming and the extra plastic from the molding is clipped off.
Next, a robot drills up to nine holes in the shell.
The holes will be used to attach a liner, face-guard, and various pieces of hardware.
This robot works far more quickly than a human can…performing all the drilling in just 30 seconds!
This is the ultimate in computerized precision.
A worker collects the drilled shell and moves a new one into position for the robot.
The outside of the helmet shell is roughed up with an orbital sander.
This preps it for priming and painting.
This factory uses a high grade brand of automotive paint and it takes three coats to make sure this paint job is rugged enough to survive a go on the gridiron.
The helmets cure in the open-air for up to eighteen hours.
During this time, a chemical reaction hardens the paint to a glossy finish.
Not every helmet is painted. Some teams prefer tinted plastic.
It all depends on the look the team is going for.
Labels are attached, including safety information, trademark logos, and the date of production.
This padding is made of vinyl and foam. Workers snap it in place in the crown of the helmet.
The padding for the side and back is made from the same material.
The back is reinforced with a plastic bumper.
A helmet from each production run undergoes an impact test.
It’s fitted on a head shaped form equipped with sensors which are carefully calibrated.
The technician presses a button and the helmeted head falls.
This mimics the effects of a players head hitting the ground during a tackle.
The computer then measures the force of the impact on the head.
Once the production run gets the okay, the face-guard is attached.
It’s made of plastic coated steel and has been custom produced at a different factory.
There are dozens of face-guard styles for the player to choose from.
This helmet is now looking pretty fierce, but it’s not ready for action yet.
It needs a chin strap and cup.
This machine uses heat to transfer a foil logo onto the polyester chin straps.
It also cuts them to the correct length.
Once a chin cup has been sewn to the strap; the assembly is loosely fastened to the helmet.
Later, it will be precisely fitted to the players head.
This helmet is now almost ready for kick-off.
Theirs a final inspection and then they wrap it up, complete with a manual and fitting instructions.
It’s taken less than a day to manufacture a football helmet that can withstand thousands of blows because in the game of football, protection against
head injury is a victory in itself.