Guardian Caps are soft-shelled pads worn over regular football helmets to prevent risks of head injuries. According to the National Football League research, the Guardian Cap can reduce the force from head contact by 10%. Guardian Caps have been around since 2015, but in 2022 the Guardian Caps were mandated during the NFL training camp.
This year, for the first time, NFL players have the choice to wear Guardian Caps, specifically the Guardian NXT, during season games. Following the NFL rules, the National Federation of High School Associations also allowed teams to wear the Guardian Cap in games, although Aragon has not worn them during games.
Aragon High School implemented Guardian Caps this summer, with a mandate for contact athletes every practice which includes linemen, tight ends and running backs. Despite being additional equipment to an already equipment-heavy sport, Guardian Caps have been well received by players and coaches alike.
“I watched [Guardian Caps] in college, [so] I heard about it [already,]” said junior wide receiver Daniel Castillo. “It looks really safe, and the material looks helpful for contacts with other helmets.”
Guardian Caps are used Monday through Wednesday, with Thursday being a walkthrough practice. Specific situations in which Guardian Caps are used include any game situation and one-on-one practice for skill players.
“[Guardian Caps are] good to have during practice,” said head coach Ash Parham. “[Because] that’s when more contact happens.”
From a player perspective, some believe that the use of Guardian Caps should be universal.
“It definitely should be implemented into games because players [are] prone to concussions,” Castillo said. “The Guardian Cap reduces the chance, and it’s also safer for them.”
Because of the Guardian Caps’ design and light-weight feature, it is essentially floating on top of the helmet. This allows the Guardian Caps to redirect the impact, acting as moving plates, around the helmet instead of directly towards the head. Although the concept of taking extra precautions to prevent injuries is enticing, some drawbacks come along with it.
“I heard that it is a little bit uncomfortable in hot weather, wearing the Guardian caps,” Castillo said. “Because it is on top [of the helmet,] the ventilation [gets covered] and you sweat more.”
Even with Guardian Caps, Aragon’s football team experienced a high number of injuries this season.
“Ironically, we did have a few [more] concussions throughout the season [compared to] the previous few years,” Parham said.
However, although unfortunate, Parham seems to be unsurprised about this fact.
“The Guardian caps prevent long-term [damage],” Parham said. “Obviously they prevent concussions at the time, but it’s more about the hits over time getting dampened.”
Regarding the long term effect, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a major disease that is caused by repeated impact to the brain. CTE can lead to memory issues, and abnormal motor skills. Other than acute injuries like a concussion, Guardian Caps can help reduce accumulated impact of collisions to the head.
The NFL Vice President Jeff Miller said to CNN that in the last two seasons, there was about a 50% decrease in concussions in the positions that were mandated to wear them. However, the NFL has not released the data behind its claims, leading to some skepticism.
Data from multiple researchers have led to different conclusions. A recent study by researchers at Stanford found that Guardian Caps reduce impact on players when tested in the lab, however, there was no significant difference in impact when measuring in-game impacts.
Despite the costs and lack of substantial data to back up their effect, some believe that Guardian Caps are worth the price.
“I know it’s around 30 bucks, but it can be expensive,” Castillo said. “[But Guardian Caps are] good quality, good material and it’s really great padding, so very effective.”
Guardian Caps are a step towards protecting football players from the effects of concussions, and researchers will continue learning more about the impact of these new helmets.
