Editorial: 'Puffy' helmets an idea worth pursuing
Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of St. Edward Central Catholic High School Mike Rolando.
It's like a scene out of the old Seinfeld comedy series. But this time we're talking puffy helmets, not puffy shirts. And it's no joke.
As Daily Herald staff writer Madhu Krishnamurthy reported last week, St. Edward Central Catholic High School in Elgin has taken the extra cautionary step during practices of requiring its football players to wear a padded covering over their helmets. And the results are encouraging.
Coach Mike Rolando said the school is now seeing just one concussion per season during practice as opposed to five to seven in previous years.
“We're ahead of the curve,” Rolando said. “We've always tried to maintain the absolute most up-to-date helmet protection for our players.”
We're sure other coaches and schools feel the same way. And we encourage them to talk with Rolando so they too can reduce concussions during practice.
But it shouldn't stop there. Concussions have become a major focal point for professional, college, high school and younger leagues. All levels have instituted protocols to limit when athletes can return to the playing field after suffering head trauma.
In Illinois, specifically, it's to the state Legislature's credit and Gov. Bruce Rauner's that a law was passed and signed requiring all high schools and middle schools to administer concussion screening and to develop standard procedures that ensure athletes safely resume both their sports and classroom activities.
Schools also must form a concussion oversight team and provide concussion management training to that team.
These are all good signs that schools and the athletic organizations that govern sports in Illinois are taking a much more serious approach to this issue.
“We're going to see a better understanding by all coaches and teachers on what steps a student needs to follow following a concussion,” said Kurt Gibson, the Illinois High School Association's associate executive director. “(Athletes) might be ready for full resumption of activity in the classroom before they return to play athletically because we know so much more about concussion now that we did five years ago.”
And that education should continue. The puffy coverings St. Edward's players wear on their helmets during practice are not allowed during games because of IHSA rules forbidding any modifications to helmets.
That rule and these protective coverings need to be examined and a specific decision should be made statewide. If it can be proven, as the St. Edward's test suggests, that these types of helmet coverings — called Guardian Caps — can reduce concussions, it's clear to us that they should be allowed. The long-term health of our children is at stake.