When a parent makes the decision to purchase a football helmet for their child, safety is the primary concern and with that comes the opportunity to make sure that the helmet fits properly. Generally, what happens is that a parent grabs a tape measure and wraps it around the child’s head to determine the size or perhaps they take the child to a sporting goods store to have someone there handle the measurement.

At the high school level, the coaches distribute helmets to the players and they generally do the same thing that a parent would do and that is to measure the head to determine the size of the helmet that should fit the player. It’s not an exact science because every player’s head is different in terms of head shape and hairstyle. Also, fits can vary depending on what brand helmet that a program or school is using so an exact fit can be challenging. 

But in 2017, Riddell introduced Precision-Fit technology that became the industry-leading helmet platform at elite levels like the NFL and colleges.  This year, more NFL players took the field with Precision-Fit helmets that all other manufacturer helmets combined, and more than 1,000 college players wore the helmet this season.

And now, Riddell has partnered with tech company NetVirta to help make the Precision-Fit helmets more accessible to youth and high school football players thanks to Netvirta’s mobile 3D scanning technology via the Verifyt app.

“Riddell is very excited about introducing this technology,” said Joey Levene, Product Engineer at Riddell. “It’s a step in the right direction to bring mobile scanning to the masses.” 

The Verifyt app is currently being used by Riddell reps but the long-term plan is for parents and coaches to be able to download the app through an app store to have the technology on any smartphone or tablet as well as android or IOS devices. They would be able to go through the process on their own to scan their own player’s Riddell Precision-Fit helmets. 

“Once the player sees the 3D model on the tablet after it’s generated, the excitement of a fit that not only fits the circumference of the head but every surface of their head gets both the player excited and the parents excited as well,” said Levene.

At the moment, Riddell reps use the app to capture the data but there will be a point when the parents and coaches will be able to use the app to capture head shape measurements with accuracy of +/- 0.5 mm, which allows Riddell to create a custom fit for the Precision-Fit helmets thanks to the mobile 3D scanning technology. 

The parents and the coaches will have the technology in the palms of their hands and the opportunity to wear Precision-Fit helmets will expand from NFL and college players to so many youth and high school players around the country. 

“Our goal as an organization is to try and make elite level technologies, stuff that colleges and NFL teams are using available to basically the largest market of football playing athletes, which is youth and high school athletes,” said Justin Kenny, Communications Manager at Riddell. “The opportunity for people to be in a Precision-Fit helmet if you are in high school or a youth organization is just incredible, as far as, being to have that level of protection.” 

Technology has certainly become a huge part of making sure that a helmet fits properly. With the Verifyt app, more players will have the opportunity to wear a helmet that is a perfect fit. That hasn’t always been the case in the past, but Riddell’s Precision-Fit helmets coupled with NetVirta’s 3D technology will allow players to wear a safe helmet that fits properly. 

“Especially at the institution level, players aren’t often given a choice of a brand new helmet and every different brand that’s out there fits a little bit differently, so if a team only offers a certain type of helmet it might not fit the player because we have seen that every head style is a little bit different,” said Levene.  “The Precision-Fit technology allowed us to fit any head type regardless of head shape whether their forehead is sloped or flat and also any hairstyle as well.”

And now parents and players will have the reassurance that helmets can fit any head shape and any hairstyle. 

For more information on Riddell’s Precision-Fit helmets, click here.

Peter is a sports anchor for the CBS Sports Radio Network, FOX News Headlines 24/7 and WCBS 880 Radio in New York.  His son Bradley plays middle school football on Long Island and is a participant in the U.S. National Team program while his younger son Jared plays flag football.   Peter, his wife Sheryl and the boys are busy cheering on the New York Jets when they’re not at a youth football field.