Providing a safe environment so that our children are having fun and learning the sport is the top priority of the Board Members and coaches of the Shore Football program.  With that said, we wanted to bring to your attention and highlight some of the safety and training required by Pop Warner to make sure we are all compliant with the implementation of the ongoing safety regulations & precautions.

Shore Youth Football is a part of the Pop Warner program.  It is important to research the program associated with your child's team.  As an example, another football program in our area is AYF (American Youth Football).  The major difference of the two programs is that Pop Warner sets the mandate that kids compete with kids of similar age and size. Pop Warner is the ONLY youth football program (local, regional and national) that sets and enforces a strict age & weight matrix that reduces the risk and reality of injuries. 

Pop Warner mandates that all coaches go through the Heads Up Football: Safety in Action training & certification by USA Football. Heads Up Football is now used by more than 7,000 youth and high school programs, setting the highest standards in the sport and giving the football community one voice when it comes to safety.  Some of the key components of this program are:

·         Concussion Recognition & Response

·         Heat Preparedness & Hydration

·         Proper Equipment & Fitting

·         Shoulder Tackling

For more on the Heads Up Football: Safety in Action training & certification by USA Football, please visit:  
https://usafootball.com/programs/heads-up-football/

Another important safety feature we wanted to highlight was the helmet’s used by players of Shore Youth Football.  The helmet’s we use are from Xenith.  Xenith was founded in 2006 by Vin Ferrara, a former Harvard quarterback and Columbia University MD. Xenith approaches football helmets with the intention of challenging the status quo; introducing disruptive innovation, making football safer and changing the game. All Xenith football helmets feature Adaptive Head Protection® – a system of technologies designed to protect against both linear and rotational forces, and have been proven on the field and in the lab. 

Xenith is the only manufacturer to exclusively produce 5-Star helmets under the widely accepted Virginia Tech star system. Other companies have 5-Star helmets, but they also produce 4-Star, 3-Star and 2-Star products. The Xenith philosophy is that if a helmet does not excel under the most stringent testing available, it should not be on the field. That belief system inspires innovation and led to the Xenith EPIC being crowned as the top ranked helmet in the 2015 NFL Health & Safety Report

Xenith Company History: https://www.xenith.com/pages/about-us
Xenith Technology: https://www.xenith.com/pages/xenith-technology

Please feel free to contact a member of the Board or Coach if you have further questions or concerns.  Again, thank you for being a part of the Shore Youth Football family and tradition.  GO SHORE!