How Riddell Is Changing the Game With New Football Helmet Technology

Football and well-documented head injuries have steadily been going hand in hand as medical science catches up with the game. Thankfully, this is at the forefront of Riddell’s thinking as the company continues to move its helmet technology forward.

Riddell is a premier designer and developer of protective sports equipment and an official helmet supplier of the NFL. Earlier this year, the company released its InSite Training Tool, which is a web-based data center that collects and analyzes on-field head impacts.

Sensors placed within Riddell helmets can track the severity and frequency of blows to the head that players receive during a game or practice and send that information directly to coaches. This way, coaches can easily recognize if a player has improper tackling/blocking form, needs medical attention, or if a specific practice drill is inflicting an unnecessary amount of force onto the head.

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“This is a tool that we think has the potential to change the game because coaches now can have access to this impact data live,” said Kameron Block of Burson Cohn & Wolfe on behalf of Riddell. “If Riddell can show a coach exactly how often and where his players are being hit, then he’ll be able to take the necessary steps to change these drills and change practices to keep them safe.”

Football coaches adopting the tool are already seeing its benefits.

“The InSite Training Tool revolutionizes how we view practice and paves the way for coaches and players to create a smarter, more intelligent game,” said Dan Hunt, Colgate University’s head football coach. “The capability to influence how our athletes train and the ability to systematically assess our performance is a clear advantage over other programs. It adds more depth and substance to our player protection and evaluation processes.”

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To spread the word about this innovative tool, Riddell recently launched what will be a five-part video series featuring Devin Hamrick, director of sales strategy for Riddell, and Brand Ambassador/Strategic Advisor Peyton Manning.

Part 1/5 of “Inside ITT w/Peyton Manning” we go into how coaches get on-field data & use #ITT for #SmarterFootball pic.twitter.com/StUHMss01z

— Devin Hamrick (@DH_Hamrick) December 4, 2018

In this format, the show is reminiscent of what fans would see in a film room leading up to the NFL Draft. In terms of content, however, Manning and Hamrick talk at length about the InSite Training Tool’s capabilities and how it can continue to make the game safer.

“Peyton is someone who cares so deeply about this sport,” Block said. “He actually donated to Riddell’s Smarter Football campaign, where we usually give $10,000 worth of gear for 10 football programs. Thanks to Peyton’s donation this year, we were able to bring that up to 18 teams. Devin sitting down with him and showing everyone out there what this tool can do is such a great and interesting way to do it.”

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The first two episodes of the show across Riddell’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube pages, have received more than 37,000 views. The other three episodes will be released throughout the month of December.

Not only has Riddell developed a tool that will hopefully play a part in preventing future cases of CTE and other brain injuries, but the company is presenting it in an interesting way that could pay off in terms of increasing its digital following.

“We’re just trying to give information that’s never been properly understood before and never been so readily accessible before. We hope that through this information and through our innovation with our new helmets, we can help keep the game and the kids who play it safer than in years past.”