Quoting Duma“Eliminating kickoffs and punts make a lot of sense, because those are times where players are typically running faster, and could potentially hit each other with more force. If you take away the energy and speed, you reduce the impacts.”
The Virginia Tech study includes suggestions on how to change the structure of youth football practices to reduce players’ exposure to serious head impacts. This was the first study examining which activities at youth football practices are associated with the highest risk of head impacts, part of a five-year project funded by the National Institutes of Health to track head impact exposure in children, the largest study yet on head impacts in youth football. Read more in this Virginia Tech News release.
Stefan Duma backgroundStefan Duma’s work on the biomechanics of head injury in football has led to new regulations and technology that reduce players’ risk for concussion and other brain injuries. In 2003, as part of his research program, the Virginia Tech football team became the first collegiate team in the country to play wearing helmets fitted with accelerometers that measure impacts. Data from hundreds of thousands of hits has yielded insights about what puts players at risk, and led to the creation of the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings, a five-star system that ranks football helmets on how well they reduce concussion risk. Duma’s research has been covered in national outlets including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, PBS, and ESPN.
About the Virginia Tech Helmet RatingsSince 2011, Virginia Tech researchers have been providing unbiased helmet ratings on a five-star scale, giving gives athletes, coaches, and parents the information they need to choose helmets that best reduce concussion risk.
Previous coverageVirginia Tech to lead national, five-year study on head impacts in youth football
Media asset B-roll video of Virginia Tech's Helmet research lab
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