Concussion Prevention: Simple Ideas + Good Marketing = Smart Results

The ongoing issue of concussion-related injuries and its effects has dominated the news media for several years now, and came to a head (no pun intended). The NFL has come to a settlement with its former players in a $765 million settlement in the end of August, ending a class action lawsuit from a large amount of former players who suffered some form of head trauma during their days on the gridiron. There were many who saw the settlement as an escape from litigation by the league, while other legal experts felt the settlement, given the complexities of the case, was a fair payout. The debate still rages, and likely won’t be settled any time soon.

One of the key arguments made in settling was the issue of pre-existing head trauma that occurred well in advance of an NFL career. Years of tacking and blunt force blows in college, high school, even youth football also lead, in part, to the injuries and issues many former NFL players have and did suffer. Those pre-existing injuries, however, could be both hard to prove and could also have been devastating to the players case. It is an issue that continues to grow as we learn more about the effects of blows to the head in many contact sports, but in football especially, where less trained and regimented coaching at the youth level could be the precursor to even the most safeguarded football players in higher levels later in life.

With the emphasis on youth comes a whole series of new brands and innovations, including one just to market by some entrepreneurial New Jerseyites. Enter the HITRIGHT Sensor.

This product was developed by Jerome Tomlin, a standout player at Boston University and former Arena Football League member of the Albany Firebirds, who had seen the devastating effects of head trauma and neck injuries in football. As a father of two he sought to come up with something to help alleviate and reduce injury in young players. The Sensor is being brought to market with the help of business partner and entrepreneur Darren Ward who is also a longtime fan and participant in the game. Ward joined Tomlin in his quest for a solution to the football head and neck injury issue. They saw the need for a device that could help his kids and other players learn to keep their head up when playing football.

The HITRight Sensor Training Aid is the first technology based in-helmet training aid to provide an audible alert directly to a player when they have lowered their head into the downward, forward danger zone. With the HITRight Sensor Training Aid, a youth player gets constant reinforcement of their head positioning no matter the situation, drills, scrimmage or game. It is a great complement to USA Football’s HEADS UP program as well as the other two major training programs, Tackling Academy and Train’em Up that seek to teach proper training and technique, which can avoid long term injury down the line. The tone becomes real time reinforcement for the athletes while they are on the field engaged in play, and assists coaches who are not able to see every head down instance occurring on the field.

The sensor has been well received in the tri-state area, and is being used by Pop Warner and American Youth programs to compliment the work coaches are doing to keep kids safe while enjoying the game of football. While in no way a cure-all for the rigors of contact football, it is being seen as a safe, easy and smart way to help instantly remind young and eager players of what is proper and what can be dangerous.

Now marketing such a device to the masses is the greatest challenge for the small company. Acceptance of any new device in the litigious society we are in, especially in light of all litigation going on with regard to football injuries, is a very long and tedious process. Every good idea is examined time and again for riffs in the system, and issues with the technology. There is always the question of widespread acceptance without massive testing, and once approved, comes the question of massive dollars to test market and then reach the widest audience possible. All of those steps take investment dollars and deep marketing partners, which the duo hope will come in time, especially for an idea that seems at first bush to be simple and easy to apply to the masses.

Will the HITRIGHT Sensor surpass any similar products and make it to the masses at the grassroots level of football? Will it prove to be a key part of solving the health and safety issues plaguing football at all levels today? It remains to be seen. But for now, an entrepreneurial branding experience with a simple, easy to understand product is one worth watching, especially with its Jersey roots. To check out HITRIGHT, take a look here.