KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Over the last several years, preventing head injuries in football has been at the forefront of player safety.
Anderson County High School has started using technology this season that allows them to track data when it comes to their players getting hit in the head.
They began using the new helmets in the spring and have used them to track practices, scrimmages and their week one game against Powell.
Mavericks assistant coach Ryan Moog is the one tracking it through his phone. He checks it frequently to make sure the players wearing the helmets are okay and haven’t taken a hit that would put them in concussion protocol.
The helmets can track which player got hit in the head, where in the head they got hit and within 10 minutes what time it happened.
Riddell, the maker of the helmets, uses the technology that starts with custom-fitted helmets using a 360-degree scan of players’ heads.
Those 15 helmets cost around $15,000.
“We had some athletes get concussions last year and there again I want to know, I want that information,” Anderson County Athletic Director Gary Terry said. “That way when I talk to doctors, I talk to team trainers and those types of things we get the best kind of care for those kids, the quickest care that gets them back on the field as quickly and safely as we can.”
Hits are categorized from low, medium, high and then a more critical level impact level. Those critical level hits send a push alert to Moog’s phone in the game and show the exact time it happened.
So far since they’ve had the technology only one of those critical-level-type hits to the head has happened. It was in a scrimmage.
WBIR sat down with Moog to go over the data from game one.
There were 59 total hits to the head, 20 low-impact hits happened, 36 medium ones happened and three high-impact hits happened.
One player received all three high-level hits. Those are more concerning than the medium to low. The team looks at the film in those instances to see if it was unavoidable or if there could have been better techniques used to avoid future injury.
If a better technique could be used, that instruction then gets put into practice and measures can be taken for that player’s safety.
In this case with the player who had three high-level impact hits, they check on him.
“We should get this kid looked at to make sure everything is okay, make sure he is not experiencing anything," Moog said. "Like concussion-wise. On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday when we practice we are going to cut back his reps when we practice.”
It’s allowing Anderson County to be proactive and giving them data they’ve never had before to keep players safe.
The goal is to get more next season and eventually be able to supply a helmet for a full football roster.