A RESPONSE TO THE NY TIMES ARTICLE ON YOUTH FOOTBALL
Dear AYF Members and Families:
We hope that your 2010 season has been inspiring and injury free. AYF wants to thank you for all of the tremendous work you do to enable our youth to play and cheer. We would like to comment on the extensive article on helmet safety that appeared in The New York Times recently. The article expresses concern about the measures taken in youth football to prevent concussions. At AYF, we believe in educating our community to keep our kids safe and we strongly believe in our partnership with Riddell, the most trusted helmet manufacturing company.
In conjunction with Riddell, AYF has been able to provide both financial and service support to enable our teams to purchase Riddell helmets some of the best helmets on the market today. AYF and Riddell have also made it easy and convenient for our leagues to recondition their helmets on a recommended ( annual) basis by authorized Riddell reconditioners. Together, AYF and Riddell provide significant educational support for our members, provide our leagues with the opportunity to outfit young players in the best product available, and and provide a full service quality reconditioning solution.
As the article in The New York Times makes clear, and we know from on-the-field experience, it is knowledge on how to care for your equipment, as well as knowledgeable coaches that keep our children safe.
AYF has spent significant time developing educational material for our members how to make football as safe as possible.
WE focus on FIT. At the beginning of each season, coaches and players are encouraged to watch a video from Riddell which demonstrates how to properly fit a helmet on youth athletes. These videos are posted on all of AYF’s social media platforms to reach our coaches, parents, and youth and are available on demand.
AYF and ASEP have designed customized courses specifically for youth football and cheer coaches. AYF strongly recommends that all coaches complete the coaching education program. Through our Coaches training course, we educate our coaches to dedicate time ensuring each player's helmet is adjusted to their head, and continually monitored throughout the season for growing players. After all, we expect their feet and bodies to grow and to adjust their apparel accordingly, so why wouldn't we do the same for their helmets? AYF also illustrates the need for an inspection of each player's helmet to make sure there has been no damage to the outer shell or the interior padding.
During this post-season, Riddell will be setting up informational areas at several AYF Regional Championships across the nation. They will provide materials to demonstrate to the AYF community what proper equipment looks like, and how to use it correctly.
The NFL, the public and our parents are concerned and AYF is taking action. The success of our helmet and coaches training strategy is well demonstrated by our injury record at the National Championships: the 2009 event brought together nearly 6,000 football players and in the 7 year history of the national tournament, AYF has never had a serious concussion occur on the field. AYF is investing our time and energy in the best way to protect our AYF players, that is through education and training; recognizing the importance or providing equipment that is in top condition and that fits ensures maximum safety.
