We're all concerned about the safety of our children, whether they are riding in cars or taking hits on the football field. The usual protective measures are taken, such as continuously reminding kids to ‘wear your seatbelt' or ‘look both ways before crossing the street.'.However, when our kids step out onto the football field, they are there to play a sport and win at all costs - including potentially suffering an injury.
In an effort to reduce the risks of injury, football organizations are taking additional precautions, such as teaching heads-up tackling. At Mayfield Athletics, a Michigan based company, a new product has been developed which it claims reduces the g-force impact of one helmet to another called the S.A.F.E.Clip and it simply replaces the plastic facemask clip which comes standard with a helmet.
Question: What is S.A.F.E. Clip?
Answer: S.A.F.E. Clip is an impact absorbing facemask clip for football helmets. The standard clip that comes on a football helmet has one job, to secure the facemask to the helmet. While that is a very important job we saw a way to help make the game safer.
Question: How does S.A.F.E. Clip work?
Answer: S.A.F.E. Clip works by absorbing some of the impact from a hit. Part of the clip is made from a visco-elastic polymer called Sorbathane. Sorbathane is used in many industries, including by NASA and the US military, to absorb vibration. Sorbathane reacts like a liquid under pressure, absorbing the force and then releasing that energy through convection. By absorbing some of the force from a hit, S.A.F.E. Clip reduces the force delivered to the helmet and ultimately the players head and neck.
Question: So S.A.F.E. Clip absorbs the force of a hit, do you know by how much?
Answer: We tested S.A.F.E. Clip at a leading national biomechanics lab. That testing showed up to a 28% reduction in force with S.A.F.E. Clip compared to the standard facemask clip. We have gotten feedback from players wearing S.A.F.E. Clip this season that they can feel a difference when a hit occurs.
source: Popular Mechanics 2009
Question: These clips seem quite specialized, are they made for a certain type of football helmet
Answer: We designed S.A.F.E. Clip without any specific helmet in mind. Players wear a variety of helmets and our goal is to keep as many players as possible safer. S.A.F.E. Clip fits on nearly every helmet and facemask configuration on the market.
Question: You mentioned players are wearing S.A.F.E. Clip right now, how long has S.A.F.E. Clip been available?
Answer: We have had S.A.F.E. Clip on the market for about a year. We started by approaching local youth and high school teams, parents, and coaches. We have received fantastic feedback from everyone we were able to spend time with talking about S.A.F.E. Clip. Some teams have made S.A.F.E. Clip their standard for all helmets and some parents decided to purchase a set of S.A.F.E. Clips for their player. Our goal is to make the game safer for everyone so we are working with as many leagues and teams as possible.
Question: You mentioned parents buying S.A.F.E. Clip directly for their player. Who installs S.A.F.E. Clip?
Answer: S.A.F.E. Clip comes fully assembled. We send some simple instructions for installation. It only takes a few minutes to install a set of S.A.F.E. Clips.
Question: If a parent is interested in S.A.F.E. Clip, how can the find more information?
Answer: The best way to get more information is on our website www.getsafeclip.com we have a lot of information on S.A.F.E. Clip. You can also contact us through the website should you have a specific question in mind.
Question: Is there anything else you would like to add? Any last words?
Answer: We appreciate the opportunity to work with an organization which does so much good raising safety awareness as Moms Team. Everyone on our team has children and we approach football safety for your athletes with the same intensity we do our own. To us, this is not "business", it is needed. Our mission is to make a difference, pure and simple. We stand behind our product and cherish the opportunity to keep your athletes safer while they do what they love. Thank you for the opportunity to get our message of S.A.F.E. Clip out to as many people as possible.
