There’s a new ultra-safe helmet on the market, and a Ballard youth football team is asking for help to buy them for their players.
The Ballard Jr. Football team, playing in Ballard since 1962, wants to equip their kids with the VICIS Zero1 Youth Football Helmet, which is rated the safest helmet on the market. And, it was designed right here in Seattle.
Julie Peebles Hall, team board member, former cheer coach, and parent of players and cheerleaders tells My Ballard that as a non-profit, the helmets are too expensive — $500 each — to purchase without community help.
The VICIS helmet is on the cutting-edge of helmet safety, and was given the highest-ever safety rating at Virginia Tech’s helmet testing. What makes it different is that it’s designed specifically for young players, as opposed to the “shrink-it” approach by other helmet companies. The helmet has a deformable outer shell and a layered design that is designed to work similarly to a car bumper, slowing impact forces. It’s also lightweight and compact, with a wider field of vision.
“As a Coach, Board Member and now President over the past 5+ years I’ve seen a dramatic shift towards making the game of football safer through better technique, managing/limiting contact in practice and improved equipment,” Coach Andrew Muller writes on Facebook. “Any donation you can make would be sincerely appreciated.”
Their fundraising goal is $50,000 — so far, as of April 18, they’ve raised $8,105.
To learn more about the fundraiser, visit their FundMyTeam page.
Photo from the Ballard Jr. Football team Facebook page
![](https://www.myballard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024-My-Ballard-Tile-Ad-Troop-100.png")
There are parents in Ballard that let their children play tackle football? Yikes.
The new helmets will be packed with soy tofu!
I thought that was reserved for the INSIDE of the cranium 😆
This isn’t about Ballard, this is about the safest helmets out there. Proved again and again in every neutral text from youth, high school, college and pro Vices rank number one and Ballard JR FootbAll is dedicated to the safety of our players.
If they really cared about their safety they would end the football program. Though the men in the area would hardly accept this.
Yep, elenchos, gotta keep the young men safe so they can be fully functional and healthy during their “white males are scum” skool indoctrination and careers in offices dominated by man-hating cat ladies.
Agreed
Ballard Junior Football has taken safety as their number one goal, many studies have shown girls soccer has as many or more head injuries then youth football. Come watch how we practice, play and teach safety before you bash the thought of youth football.
If you have ever been to a youth soccer game and watched the complete insanity on the sidelines with parents and coaches… you ain’t seen nothing like a youth football game. Parents and coaches reliving their missed glory vicariously through little kids. The screaming and yelling is mind boggling, all in the name good fun? The helmets are indeed expensive and rated the very best, however joint, back, shoulder and knee injures are the real issue in youth sports since the bones are still growing. ACL, MCL are very real problems and will cause the kids to have issues the rest of their life. So by all means protect their heads but maybe look at the published stats and see what the real injuries. So if your plan is to get a full ride for your kid at a PAC12 school, better start saving your money because the odds are stacked way against you and your kid.
By the time the boys are grown up men will be banned from universities. GET WOKE
Have you ever been to a Ballard Junior Football game? Because that is not the experience I’ve seen coaching these kids for the last 3 years! Nothing but class and dedication by the coaches, kids and community. Please don’t just assume football is a macho sport where people act like idiots. Come watch is play at Loyal Heights Playfield
Nothing wrong with “macho”. Viva Mexico, Amigo!
Insanity, really?!
Have you ever been to a Ballard Knights game? This is Pee Wee football. Most of the kids aren’t coordinated enough to deliver the hits your describing. My son played for them for 3 years and it was a great experience for him. Out of all those games and practices he attended there was one injury. One child rolled his ankle in practice. Not a game, but practice and he returned in two days. And no parents were trying to relive their youth through their children.
There was one game where a set of parents on the opposing team started to get upset because they felt a call should have been made. They began yelling at one of the referees. The game was stopped and the field manager had those parents leave the field or the game would have been forfeited to avoid the problems you are referring to. So there is no screaming or yelling, just cheering. You should really attend one of the games before you start falsifying what it is actually like.
Brycen, really?!?!
Get back to me in a few years and a few weight/age classes if you’re still involved in youth football and tell me I’m wrong. Frankly you make a great argument as to why your team doesn’t need $500 helmets., but that’s another story.
Brycen, I’m not some fn troll, I speak from experience in Granite Falls Youth Football and have my grandsons MRI’s to prove it and can show you others as well. So get off your know it all, seen it all soap box and stop telling people they are falsifying anything before you check your facts.