Maintaining Football Helmets

By Dale Strauf

The protective equipment available to athletes today has never been better. Certification standards have been established for the individuals in the athletic department charged with maintaining protective equipment, and the educational emphasis toward protective equipment is at an all-time high. Furthermore, the areas of protection, proper technique, and conditioning are becoming better understood by all.

However, one area that does not often receive its share of attention is the maintenance of football helmets. The quality of the helmet cannot be assured unless proper maintenance is a priority, both during and after the season.

Maintenance actually begins with the purchase of the right helmets for your program. Keep in mind the following four areas of quality:

Protective: The manufacturer selected must meet all established safety standards. In 1973, the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) created a standard of performance for football helmets. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to produce helmets that meet or exceed this standard; all NOC-SAE-approved helmets are then stamped by the manufacturer with the NOCSAE seal on the back outside rim of the helmet. High school and college athletes participating in football must wear helmets that meet this standard.

Sizing: Being fitted properly with a football helmet is paramount to the safety of the athlete. Therefore, the brand of helmet selected must offer enough diversity in sizing to accommodate the program. If you are equipping a small fry team, the manufacturer must offer a helmet small enough to service this age group. College athletes would obviously need larger helmets, covering a greater range of sizes.

Appearance: The helmet color and decal possibilities are determined by established school tradition. The ideal situation is to select a manufacturer who offers a helmet in your school colors. An alternative is to buy helmets in a neutral color and add decals or have them painted.

Maintenance: The helmet selected should be assembled and designed in a manner that will facilitate routine maintenance. Performing daily maintenance will be extremely difficult if the product is too complicated.

After the purchasing agreement has been finalized, the helmet becomes the property of your school or institution. Every effort should be made to know the helmet inside and out. The mechanics of protection should be understood, and it is extremely important to become familiar with the construction and assembly of the helmet.

An instructional booklet comes with each helmet purchased, and you should have a complete understanding of its contents. For example, you should know how and when to replace old parts and which cleaning materials the manufacturer has approved to clean and shine the helmets.

Lawsuits involving football helmets have, unfortunately, created a sense of intimidation in this field, leading many individuals who are in charge of the protective equipment to become reluctant to maintain the helmet. However, as long as you understand the mechanics of the helmet, you should have no fear of liability when providing maintenance. In fact, you are potentially creating more liability concerns if the required maintenance on your football helmets is neglected.

The first step in routine maintenance of a football helmet occurs when it is being fitted to the player. You should express to the athlete the importance of examining the helmet each day. Tell the athlete to immediately report any change in the fit of the helmet or any signs of damage. If you impress on the athletes that this is standard operating procedure, they will usually cooperate.

This is also a good time to explain the warning label to the athletes. It is located on the outside back bottom portion of the helmet, opposite the NOCSAE certification stamp, and reads as follows:

• DANGER Helmets will not prevent all injuries. Severe head, neck, and brain injury, or death may occur to you or another player. You may become paralyzed.

• NEVER butt, ram, or spear. This is a dangerous rule violation.

• DO NOT duck or lower head. • AVOID hits to your helmet. • DO NOT play football after ANY head injury without doctor approval. Death may occur.

• BEFORE USE, READ fitting booklet.

Each football player should be instructed to read this warning and sign a statement indicating complete understanding.

The second step involves weekly maintenance. This entails inspecting helmets and repairing any defects, cleaning and polishing helmets, and replacing decals. Complete this task in preparation for game day, for every helmet used in the program.

If weekly maintenance procedures are delegated, the person selected to do the job should be well trained and extremely meticulous. He or she must also be given enough time to thoroughly complete the task. While this is undeniably a time-consuming procedure, in a collision-type sport such as football, the condition of the helmet can change quickly, and waiting too long to make repairs can cause problems. And, of course, on game day, nothing looks better than a nice, shiny helmet.

To facilitate the weekly inspections, an inventory of replacement parts such as tee-nuts, hangers, snaps, and screws should be purchased. These accessories should be of the best quality available. Helmet buffing and cleaning can be done by hand or with equipment designed specifically for that purpose. All replacement parts and cleaning materials should meet the helmet manufacturer’s specifications.

The final step in maintaining football helmets takes place at the conclusion of the season. At this time, all helmets must be reconditioned, and a decision must be made on who will perform this service.

If you wish to recondition the helmets in-house, your staff must be properly trained, and the schedule must allow the time needed to complete the project. Replacement parts, cleaning materials, tools, and machinery must be readily available.

In order to be properly reconditioned, every helmet must be completely torn down and the shell, all protective linings, and sizing pads inspected for defects. Helmet shells should be flexed and checked for cracks. Parts that inflate must be inflated and submerged in water to detect any leaks; any damaged items should be discarded and replaced. All tee-nuts, screws, and snaps should be replaced (add a drop of lubricant to the tee-nuts to help prevent rust caused by perspiration), and face masks and hangers should be replaced as needed. If there is any doubt as to the safety of any part of the helmet, the questionable item should be discarded and replaced.

The helmet also needs to be cleaned. Protective linings and sizing pads must be washed and the shell should be cleaned inside and out. After a thorough inspection and cleaning, the shell should be waxed and buffed and the decals should be replaced.

Not all programs, however, have the confidence, experience, and facilities that it takes to recondition in-house. These programs can use National Athletic Equipment Reconditioners Association (NAERA) professional reconditioners. At the conclusion of the season, the reconditioner is contracted to pick up and service the helmets.

Reconditioners usually will perform a thorough reconditioning service on the helmets, and, in most cases, the work performed is well documented. Defective parts that are replaced are usually returned to the customer for inspection. When helmets are rejected by a reconditioner, they are tagged with an explanation of the problem. Some reconditioners also supply unique tracking systems that provide a history of individual helmets. Reconditioners also offer painting services that have been designed for football helmets, since very few in-house reconditioning operations are equipped to paint helmets.

Whether your helmets are reconditioned in-house or by a reconditioner, they should be drop tested and re-certified, which only a reconditioner can perform. NOCSAE recommends “periodic” re-certification, but in my opinion, all helmets used during the season should be tested and re-certified at the end of each season.

When helmets have been re-certified, a sticker is placed on the inside of the helmet indicating the year, a statement that the procedure was conducted according to NOCSAE standards, the name of the reconditioner, and a statement confirming membership in NAERA. The sticker in each helmet should be examined when the helmets are returned.

One final step following reconditioning is to check the warning label—if it has become faded, torn, worn, or dis lodged, it should be replaced immediately. Maintenance of the warning label is an easy-to-overlook aspect of keeping a helmet in proper condition.

It takes a serious commitment to maintain football helmets that will protect players at all levels of competition. This commitment starts with the head coach, who should always insist on the best protection for his players, and ends with the athletes, who must be educated about their role in helmet care.

Dale Strauf was proud to serve as District 1 Director, Associate Executive Director and President in the AEMA during his time with the organization. He was the Head Equipment Manager at Cornell University and retired from Cornell after 28 years. He presently serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Tompkins Cortland Community College.