Attica’s football players look a little different out on the gridiron this season. That’s because this past summer, before the start of the 2024 season, the district purchased 100 Guardian Caps - enough for every single one of its modified, junior varsity and varsity football players.
A soft-shelled covering that pulls down over and attaches to a standard football helmet, Guardian Caps were created in 2010 by Erin and Lee Hanson, founders of Guardian Innovations in Peachtree Corners, Ga. The caps are designed to reduce the risk of concussions in football players by lessening the severity of hits to the head.
“It’s squishy, but not super squishy where you can push your finger deep into it,” said Logan Albano, a senior running back who also plays defensive back, returns kicks and does a bit of quarterbacking for the Blue Devils. “It’s kind of like a hard squish.”
According to the NFL, which began requiring players in certain position groups to wear Guardian Caps during practice starting in 2022, the caps can reduce the impact of hits to the heads by “at least 10%.” Guardian goes a step further, claiming on its website that caps can reduce impacts by “up to 33%.”
Longtime Attica Football Coach Jeff Cusmano said he’d been familiar with the caps for a couple years but began thinking seriously about acquiring them for his players when he and his staff attended a Frank Glazier football clinic in Detroit this past summer.
“I talked to the Guardian rep when we were up at the clinic, then I came back and spoke with our athletic director, Lisa Young, about the possibility of purchasing them for our players,” said Cusmano. “Lisa was immediately on board so we went to Meaghan Matuszak, our Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations, and she was able to secure funding and we were able to purchase them.”
Matuszak called the decision “a no brainer.”
“The health and wellness of our student athletes is obviously our first priority so when Jeff and Lisa came to me with this idea it was a no-brainer to find the money and make it happen,” said Matuszak. “I’m glad first off that this product exists and is out there to reduce the risk of injury and that our athletic staff had the wherewithal and inclination to go out, track it down and bring it here to Attica because our students are going to be the better for it.”
The caps arrived in Attica this past summer. Cusmano requires all his players to wear the caps in practice and has given them the option to wear them during games as well.
“There’s a few kids out there I’ve seen through watching scout videos that wear them in games,” Cusmano said. “I’ve offered the kids the opportunity to wear them in games too but it’s their call if they want to. So far, none of our guys have said they want to wear it in a game yet.”
When he first saw the caps, Attica sophomore Chase Woodrow thought they’d weigh down his helmet and make it harder to play.
“But it’s actually not that bad,” said Chase, a two-way lineman for Attica. “I can’t really even tell when it’s on.”
Nor has the cap had much of an effect on how Chase and his teammates play.
“I suppose some people might think they can do more with their head now because it’s padded more but it really hasn’t affected me too much,” said Logan. “You’re not taught to tackle with your head, you’re taught to tackle with your shoulder pad, but your head may get hit sometimes just because it’s right there when you’re making a tackle, so I think it’s a good thing to have, a bit of extra padding just in case.”
While he and his teammates have the option to wear a cap in games, Logan’s so far chosen not to because it covers the Blue Devils trident logo on his helmet.
Chase hasn’t worn a cap during a game yet either, though he said he’d consider doing so if he got another concussion like the one he suffered last season.
It happened when Chase was breaking down, preparing to tackle an opposing player, and one of his teammates swooped in “and speared me right in the side of the head.”
“My symptoms were pretty immediate. I stood up and was really dizzy. It was hard focusing in school the next day and it hurt to look at the light. I had to write a report in English and it really hurt to look at the screen,” recalled Chase, who said it took about a week for him to recover. “So I appreciate the school trying to look out for our health not just now but for the future because of all the CTE stuff.”
A 2023 study conducted by Stanford University in laboratory settings found Guardian Caps yielded a “significant reduction of angular head accelerations, DAMAGE, and HARM,” two key head injury metrics.
However, that same study as well as other research centered on how the caps perform in live game or practice settings have yielded less conclusive results.
While the caps may not be the silver bullet to football-related head injuries, Cusmano said he sees them as “a move in the right direction in terms of player safety” and thinks they may even help boost participation rates.
While Attica’s football participation has remained steady - “I’ve been here 34 years and we’ve always had somewhere between 22 and 28 kids on the team, no matter how big the class sizes are,” he said - several other local programs have been forced to merge in recent years as a result of falling participation.
“You’ve got Le Roy and Caledonia that are now merged that were bitter rivals for 100 years so teams are starting to merge because they just don't have the numbers,” said Cusmano. “With parents concerned about head injuries and rightfully so, I feel if coaches can get these caps and convince a couple parents to let their kids come over and play football with a bit more head protection, put mom and dad’s minds at ease a bit, why wouldn’t you do that?”
Logan was of a like mind.
“Some kids want to play football but don't because of their parents,” he said. “With the caps and the extra protection, it might convince some parents to let their kids play, so I think they’re definitely a smart purchase.”
A football and a Guardian Cap-covered helmet are pictured on the turf of Attica’s Alumni Field during a Sept. 19 practice.
Above, Attica senior Logan Albano plays a few reps at running back during a Sept. 19 practice at Alumni Field.
Attica sophomore Chase Woodrow, above, listens to instructions from Head Coach Jeff Cusmano during a Sept. 19 practice at Alumni Field.
Attica sophomore Chase Woodrow, above, plays a special teams rep during a Sept. 19 practice at Alumni Field.