As we all know, concussions are a major issue for football players, whether they are young kids or in the NFL, and there has been a lot of talk about how we can potentially reduce these injuries. But what if one way was as simple as training without helmets?
The University of New Hampshire Wildcats are doing just that.
Erik Swartz, a University of New Hampshire professor of kinesiology, studies movement and says there has been very little discussion about getting to the root of the problem: technique. Instead of clashing helmet-first, as football players often do, the better approach is to keep the head up and tackle chest to chest, never leading with your helmet — or your face, neck or shoulders. Swartz says his idea to experiment with having players drill without helmets came from his own time playing rugby.
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The ongoing study that Swartz has put together separates the team into two groups of 25 – one is a control group that practices with helmets on like normal and the treatment group has helmets off.
Before practice, every player has a sensor placed behind the ear to gauge and relay the force and number of impacts to the head. Swartz and his team watch to see if and how that changes over the course of the season for each player.
“I’m responsible, and our coaches are responsible, for these kids’ safety,” says Wildcats head coach Sean McDonnell. “If we don’t take care of this, it could be the end of football.”
