Grace Brethren football to play with new helmets

FOOTBALL /// Player safety



SAFETY FIRST—Grace Brethren High football head coach Josh Henderson holds the Lancers’ new helmet, the VICIS ZERO1.

SAFETY FIRST—Grace Brethren High football head coach Josh Henderson holds the Lancers’ new helmet, the VICIS ZERO1.

When it comes to player safety, no price is too steep. Grace Brethren High will pay nearly $60,000 to buy 65 of the newest football helmets on the market, the VICIS ZERO1, a $950 helmet that’s designed to reduce impact to the brain. The helmet was released for college and pro teams last year, but it’s available for high school players for the first time this fall.

“When we saw this helmet . . . wow,” said Grace Brethren head coach Josh Henderson. “I really believe it’s a revolutionary helmet. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“The money behind it’s not easy, but it’s much more feasible than you would believe.”

The Lancers’ deal with VICIS, a Seattle-based company, is to pay $58,900 over the next six years.

Public school teams at Simi Valley and Royal will not play in ZERO1 helmets this season. In fact, no other team in Ventura County has these helmets yet.

Henderson, who has a son on the team, said the helmets are worth every penny.

“What parent doesn’t want their kid in the best helmet made?” he said.

The ZERO1, named one of Time magazine’s 25 best inventions of 2017, outperformed 33 different helmets, including popular models from Riddell, Schutt and Xenith, in the NFL/NFLPA Helmet Laboratory Performance Testing the past two years.

“Our team has worked hard to bring (the helmet) to high schools across the country this season,” said Dave Marver, VICIS CEO and co-founder, in a statement. “We are proud to help Coach Henderson and the Grace Brethren football program protect their athletes and elevate their performance.”

NFL stars including Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Alex Smith, now a gunslinger with Washington, donned the helmets in 2017. The Lancers are impressed.

“The good thing about them is that they’re the safest helmet on the market,” said Grace Brethren quarterback Mike Zele, who will be a sophomore in the fall. “I think they look cool.”

Zele said the Lancers had a few head injuries this past fall. Henderson estimated Grace Brethren had two players suffer concussions in 2017.

“I’m thankful Grace Brethren had the same conviction I had to do the right thing,” Henderson said. “We were able to put our kids in the best helmet I’ve ever seen.”

The Lancers hope the new helmets make a difference.

“I hope we get fewer concussions this year,” Zele said.