Shedding Assumptions About Fitting Your Kids’ Athletic Equipment Properly
August 19th, 2019
“I’ve been fitting my kids’ equipment for years and I know what I am doing.” For the safety of football players across the country, we wish this assumption was true, but the unfortunate truth is that we continue to see athletes wearing equipment not properly fitted. Assuming too much when it comes to fitting your kids’ athletic equipment properly can have negative consequences.
Where do these assumptions come from?
The assumption usually stems from football programs not having enough time to issue equipment and ensure its proper fit. Since football programs are allotted a limited number of practices, they are not able to give up instruction time to fit equipment. We understand and respect this.
Since there are so many things that go into starting a new season, adding one more thing, like fitting your kids’ athletic equipment properly, simply does not happen. Instead, programs issue equipment solely based on what athletes have worn in the past, assign an untrained student manager/volunteer to hand out equipment or let the athletes go grab what they want.
What are the assumptions?
Several assumptions are made when programs issue equipment this way. They assume the athlete’s equipment fit before, the athlete’s body and/or hair style hasn’t changed, the person/people in charge of fitting the athlete’s equipment in the past already checked for proper fit, and the athlete knows the difference between comfort and proper fit.
Programs cannot risk an athlete’s safety based on assumption. If an athlete gets hurt, the last thing he/she, a parent or an attorney wants to hear is “we assumed the equipment fit.” Instead, they want to hear that the football program did everything in its power to optimize its athletes’ safety, which included football equipment fitting certification for its coaches. That’s why fitting your kids’ athletic equipment properly is so important.
Another assumption that leads to improper fit is when parents and football programs assume sales representatives know what is best for their athletes. We get it. Time and money are precious commodities and the market is loaded with quality products. It’s easier to buy what the sales representatives recommend or from the manufacturer that is offering a great deal.
However, ease is not what is in the best interest of athlete safety. Equipment manufacturers are in business to make and sell products specific to them and their sales representatives are highly trained and paid to sell those specific products to football programs.
One size (or manufacturer) does not fit all when it comes to football equipment. Parents and football programs best serve their athletes by learning how to properly fit equipment before committing to a purchase, so they know which equipment best fits their athletes.
Summary
Every manufacturer and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that equipment needs to properly fit in order to properly protect. It’s time to optimize athlete safety through education instead of assumptions. Get your athletes fit to play at www.helmetfitting.com.
