Protecting The Heads Of Young Football Players

Mike Pacheco and Mark Wallace are two serious Stonington Youth Football League coaches who’ve put their heads together to protect the heads of their young aspiring football players.  

Wallace, the league president and Pacheco are working with helmet innovations provided by the Xenith helmet company of Lowell, Massachusetts. Their goal is insuring the safety of the children ages five to 14 that are members of the Stonington Youth Football League.

“After several concussions this past season, we became proactive,” Pacheco said. 

The owner of Xenith, Vin Ferarro, is a Columbia University trained physician, but made the decision to not practice medicine, and instead take the route of a health care entrepreneur.

As a former varsity Harvard University quarterback, Ferarro experienced firsthand, concussions and other football related injuries. Now as the father of a first year youth football player his commitment to helmet safety hits closer to home.

“While no helmet is concussion proof, the goal is to work towards risk reduction and commitment to education,” Ferarro said.

According to  Ferraro, in most existing football helmets, traditional padding materials are too dense and stiff and can’t adapt to impact energy. This causes the head to move suddenly during impact, which increases the risk of a concussive episode.

In contrast the Xenith website states their helmets are “designed to reduce the sudden movement of the head by adapting to different energy levels.”

Pacheco said he feels taking the step to buy the helmets for the league gives another line of safety for the young football players.

Under the guidance of coaches Wallace and Pacheco, the Stonington Youth Football League purchased the Xenith X2 Helmets for all players. A very successful fish dinner fundraiser in Stonington Village during summer helped defray the cost of the helmets and another fall fundraiser is in the planning stages.

And the Xenith company has local connections as the chairman of their board resides in Stonington and provides the wire for certain aspects of the helmets.

Ferraro said that through his association with youth football leagues he is, “Pleased to see the way the leagues are running their practices with a focus on safety, proper technique and the awareness of the need for a cultural change in football.”

According to Pacheco, the typical practice is three times a week for two hours each session. In addition to the X2 Helmets, mouth guards are mandatory.

With all things in place to encourage a safe and successful 2011 football season, the league kicks off their first game on September 4.