Contest video earns Wash High 65 new NFL helmets
Washington’s Zack Swartz
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Washington’s Nick Welsh, right, and Zahmere Robinson look to silence Steel Valley and win a WPIAL title when the Prexies take on the Ironmen in the Class 2A championship at 6 p.m. tonight at Robert Morris University.
More information surrounding concussions have arisen since Pennsylvania became the 31st state to implement the Safety In Youth Sports Act, which eventually became a law in 2012.
The Washington School District, led by an effort from the Prexies’ football team, attempted to raise awareness of traumatic brain injuries when it recently entered a video contest, which was sponsored by Impacted Inc.
The video was selected as the contest winner. The prize for the first-place finish is 65 NFL Xenith helmets and Vane mouthguards for the Prexies’ football program.
The cost of the helmets, valued at more than $400 apiece, would have eclipsed $28,000.
“It’s really awesome. We are really excited about it,” said Washington athletic director and football coach Mike Bosnic. “Things are really changing and helmets are becoming really expensive. It’s a great expense when you have to work with a high school budget. I can’t even put into words what it does for our kids and program.”
Washington had a few Xenith helmets but were outfitted with helmets made by either Schutt and Riddell.
The idea to enter the video contest was brought to Bosnic by school board member Marsha Pleta. A pair of Washington alumni assisted with the production of the video. Tyler Bogden filmed the video and the audio was provided by WJPA Radio’s Bob Gregg.
Xenith is a Detroit-based football equipment provider and its helmets tested in the top-performing group of the NFL Players Association Laboratory testing in 2018. The results were based exclusively on the ability of the helmet to reduce head impact severity during laboratory testing.
Districts in Pennsylvania are required to do impact testing for each athlete prior to the particular sports season beginning. If an athlete is to believed to have suffered a concussion, then they are retested during that time to compare the results.
“It’s an amazing contribution,” Bosnic said. “It will allow us to provide our kids with the best technology and safest equipment available. It’s something we would have struggled to do with our budget.”
Head injuries have some states going as far as limiting contact in football throughout the week. The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association unanimously approved a proposal in February that would reduce in-season full practice contact from 90 minutes per week to a maximum of 15 minutes per week.
Local high school football teams like Canon-McMillan and South Fayette even wear additional padding on top of their helmets during practices.
“It’s changed so much,” Bosnic said of how his coaching is different with the new information on concussions.
“In today’s coaching world, you really have to be aware of the symptoms of a concussion. Everybody involved in the program needs to know the warning signs and be on the lookout for them. No helmet is concussion-proof but the Xeniths are one of the best.”