Lancaster Catholic has partnered up with Defend Your Head in cooperation with the Emerald Foundation to help make football safer in 2020. Thanks to funding from the Besecker family, the Crusaders will have Defend Your Head's innovative ProTech helmet covers for the upcoming season, giving each student-athlete better head protection that reduces collision force by as much as 72 percent.
Joe '75 and Martha Besecker made a connection with John Zeglinski, Defend Your Head's Sr. Vice President of National Business Development, to bring the ProTech technology to Lancaster County.
ProTech’s patented technology has been proven to absorb and dissipate energy for the reduction of injury due to blunt force trauma. A three-year independent study by Penn State University concluded that Defend Your Head’s technology was the primary factor in reducing traumatic head impacts to Nittany Lion players. In addition to Penn State, more than 10,000 football players are wearing ProTechs, including student-athletes at Penn, Temple, Alabama, and Baylor.
“We are thrilled to partner with Defend Your Head on this important safety initiative,” said Besecker, Founder, President and CEO of the Emerald Foundation. “Helping make student-athletes at Lancaster Catholic safer playing football is perfectly aligned with our focus on education, youth, health and safety awareness.”
“As athletic directors and coaches, we want the safest playing environment possible for our student-athletes. ProTech has been proven to make football safer”, said Rich Hinnenkamp, Lancaster Catholic’s Athletic Director. We are very grateful to Beseckers and look forward to the benefits of this outstanding initiative.”
Lancaster Catholic High School will be the first school in the Lancaster-Lebanon League to use the new technology. Partner this innovation with the EDGE system from Reflexion, a company started by alums Matt Campagna '15 & Matt Roda '15, that every student uses in physical education courses, LCHS is at the forefront of technology when it comes to student-athlete safety.
About Defend Your Head
Based in Chester County, PA, Defend Your Head has been working to advance football helmet technology since 1986. Their ProTech model uses a patented soft-shell that complements existing helmets and has been tested at the highest levels to absorb and dissipate energy, reduce linear and rotational acceleration, and redirect collision force by as much as 72%. ProTech's are labeled ‘SAFR’ – Scientifically Advanced Force Reduction. More than 250 colleges, high schools and youth programs are SAFR by wearing ProTechs. For more information, visit defendyourhead.com.