For High School Gridiron Advantage, EvoShield "Gel-to-Shell" Gear Delivers Superior Protection without Sacrificing Athletic Performance

ATHENS, Ga., July 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- With preseason football workouts under way and legions of high school players sweating it out in training camps from coast to coast, anticipation of another action-packed season soon will be hitting fever pitch in local communities across the U.S.

And while all these hopeful young athletes are enduring their intense drills and scrimmages, the national conversation about on-the-field injuries and proper protection for football is just as sure to heat up again.  According to the Center for Injury Research & Policy, football tops the list of the most-dangerous high school sports, with more than 3 million injuries estimated nationwide each year.

For players looking for decidedly superior protective equipment and the higher performance and confidence boost it can bring to their game, EvoShield has become the serious custom fit rib and organ protective gear of choice for professional, collegiate and high school teams across the U.S.

"Gel-to-Shell" Technology

EvoShield's gear helps prevent injuries without affecting performance.  Its core custom fit products, which protect competitors in many of America's most-popular sports, feature an innovative, "Gel-to-Shell" technology that distinguishes EvoShield gear from run-of-the-mill padding found elsewhere.

EvoShield's gel-like protective pieces begin soft, but transform into perfectly fitted load dispersing safety "Shields" in minutes, shaping to the athlete's body as they harden.  Molded into a perfect, custom fit, the Shields also are much thinner, lighter and stronger than traditional foam and plastic gear.  They provide best in class protection without restricting a player's movements or quickness – a huge performance and player confidence advantage.

"Evoshield's innovative and football market exclusive custom fit Gel-to-Shell protective gear is designed to form exactly to the body shape of the user, to ensure the best protection, comfort and mobility," said Mike Van Alstyne, president of EvoShield.  "Our gear fits better, feels better and protects better than anything else.  It's unlike any other protective equipment on the market."

Dispersion Technology

The unique quality that all EvoShield Gel-to-Shell products have is the ability to disperse impact over a wider surface area, which sets the brand's gear apart from traditional modes of protection.

The dispersion of impact leads to two things: less impact felt and less stress on the point of impact. EvoShield's trademarked Dispersion Technology (DSP) works to keep athletes in the game and worrying less about injury and more about making the next play.

EvoShield Products

Among essential football protection items from EvoShield are a variety of top-of-the-line Gel to Shell custom fit rib shirts, Gel to Shell custom fit thigh guards, girdles, arm sleeves, back plates, chin straps, and multifunction Gel to Shell custom fit after injury guards for shins, fingers and toes.

EvoShield is an authentic on field protective supplier to Major League Baseball and the #1 protection product in Major League Baseball, used by more than 85% of MLB players who use Elbow, Leg and Wrist protection. Besides baseball custom fit protection, EvoShield designs custom-molded protection equipment tailored to fastpitch, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, and shooting sports. 

Sports Injury Risks

Each year, across the country, more than 30,000 high school athletes – engaged in a range of sports – are treated for avoidable injuries.  In addition, another 3.5 million children ages 14 and under receive medical care for sports mishaps.

Football Injury Risks

In recent years, the proportion of football players in the 12-17 age group who've been injured participating in the sport has been about one in 10.  And in 2013, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons reported that football injuries among children ages 5-14 had increased by nearly 23 percent during the most-recent 10-year span.

While much attention lately has focused on concussions, the risk of other injuries – from sprains and strains to fractures and internal damage – also remains prevalent in football.  The danger of internal injuries is an inherent part of high-impact sports.  According to medical experts, the organs most vulnerable to football injuries are the spleen, liver and kidney.  And it's important to note that young athletes are at a higher risk for internal injuries than are adult players, who have more muscle and stronger bones.

Also often overlooked in today's dialogue about football risks is the fact that football injuries among younger players occur more often in practice than under actual game conditions.

According to the 2014 edition of the Annual Survey of Football Injury Research, an average of 11 U.S. high school students die each year from playing football.  And twice as many suffer non-fatal football injuries described as "catastrophic."

During the fall 2015 season, seven high school football players died from football-related injuries, including three whose deaths were attributed to internal injuries.  

Concerns about comprehensive protection are at an all-time high, and players and coaches clearly are paying greater attention to the need.  While they realize one serious mishap can take athletes out of the game for the rest of their lives, they also know that many injuries in youth recreation and school-level football are preventable.  So they're constantly on the lookout for easy-to-wear products that afford better protection, without impeding movement.

Supporting Taylor Haugen Foundation

From their home base in Florida, Kathy and Brian Haugen are making a difference in the effort to improve sports safety for youth.  Their only child, Taylor, a hard-working wide receiver on the Niceville (Fla.) High School junior varsity football team, died in 2008 – at age 15 – from an internal injury sustained on the playing field.  He'd been hit by two opponents simultaneously while attempting to catch a pass during a game.  His liver was crushed, which ultimately led to his death.  Doctors said the force of the impact was equivalent to that of a high-speed car crash.

In 2011, Brian and Kathy created the Taylor Haugen Foundation and its YESS Program (Youth Equipment for Sports Safety), to provide education and equipment to secondary school athletes, in hopes of better protecting them from internal injuries.  According to Brian Haugen, YESS is the only nonprofit organization in the United States that focuses exclusively on protecting middle school and high school athletes from internal injuries.

In recent years, the Taylor Haugen Foundation and EvoShield have been partners in raising awareness of the importance of safety equipment among young athletes and their coaches and parents.  The two organizations also have been busy outfitting various school athletic teams around the country with protective gear, through the YESS Program.  Since 2011, approximately 3,400 players – on at least 70 teams from seven different states – have been outfitted with EvoShield's protective rib shirts, one of the company's signature products.  This partnership protects developing adolescents from internal injuries, prolonging the lives of the players and their continued play of the game.

"It's important to show players, coaches, parents and others that many injuries in youth-league and school-level football are preventable, and then to help them identify the types of equipment that will help ensure an improved level of safety," said Van Alstyne.  "EvoShield teams up with organizations like the Taylor Haugen Foundation to help educate young athletes about the importance of proper sports protection gear, and to help outfit aspiring players who otherwise might not have access to equipment of this caliber."

Stanton Partners Up

Passionate about youth safety and practical injury prevention methods, Drew Stanton, a quarterback with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, partnered with the Taylor Haugen Foundation in 2015 to outfit his hometown high school with EvoShield protective gear.  Said Stanton, "I actually wear EvoShield gear each time I step onto the field, and I firmly believe in it.  So it was really a no-brainer for me to partner with EvoShield and the Taylor Haugen Foundation to help raise awareness for every single kid that plays football."

Stanton is working with EvoShield and the foundation again in 2016.  On July 20, all members of both the varsity and junior varsity football teams at Mountain Pointe High School, in Phoenix, Arizona, were outfitted with EvoShield protective gear and provided educational information on the importance of sports safety.

About EvoShield

EvoShield is the pacesetter in innovative custom fit protection equipment for many of America's most-popular sports, including football, baseball, fastpitch, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, and shooting sports.  Its revolutionary, body-conforming "Gel-to-Shell" technology produces incredibly strong, yet lightweight equipment that provides athletes maximum flexibility, allowing them the best in class protection they need, without sacrificing their performance.

EvoShield is now the chosen protective gear of more than 350 professional and college sports teams worldwide, and its products deliver superior protection for sports competitors of all ages.  The game-changing EvoShield protective apparel is sold nationally in a variety of retail outlets and comes with a perfect-fit guarantee.  For more information, visit evoshield.com.

SOURCE EvoShield

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