NOCSAE Extends Youth Football Helmet Standard Implementation

OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS (August 12, 2025) ― The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) extended the effective date of its performance standard for youth football helmets (ND006) by six months to September 1, 2027. The decision was made during the NOCSAE Summer Standards Meeting on July 25 in Kansas City, which was attended by the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA).

There were concerns about the March 1, 2027 date giving manufacturers enough time to have helmets meeting the youth standard in the marketplace. A key step in advancing the standard is validating the performance of the new small NOCSAE Generation III Headform via round robin testing with testing laboratories. The Standards Committee received input about the timeframe for completing round robin testing, the value of subsequent technical review of the results and the need for further refinement to various aspects of the standard to benefit the marketplace once products certified to the standard become available.

Helmet Add-Ons

Elizabeth McCalley, the NOCSAE Technical Director, addressed helmet add-on products available in the marketplace and the questions these accessories raise around SEI certification to NOCSAE standards. NOCSAE standards define a helmet model as a helmet family or design “intended to be identical in every way, except for size.” Any changes, additions or alterations of the model, except for size, color or graphics, even if made by the original manufacturer, result in a new, uncertified model. This concept of limiting certification to a specific model is commonly found in national and international helmet standards.

McCalley acknowledged the complex challenges around certification of add-on products and the impacts on licensees, manufacturers of accessories and consumers. NOCSAE is actively working with relevant stakeholders to explore ways to responsibly address these concerns and identify solutions to facilitate the certification of accessories to NOCSAE standards. All interested parties are invited to submit questions or comments to NOCSAE.

Concussion Summit and Lacrosse Injuries

Dr. Robert Cantu, NOCSAE vice president and chair of the NOCSAE Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) shared a report on outcomes of the Cantu Concussion Summit and addressed a pair of recent catastrophic injuries in high school lacrosse from players who were hit by the ball in the head/neck area.

The Cantu Concussion Summit gathered prominent clinicians and researchers with expertise and experience in athletic brain injuries and cognitive disorders to identify current gaps in research. Supported by an education grant from the NFL, the Summit explored the best ways to mitigate the risk of concussion and repetitive traumatic brain injury. Held in December 2023, the unanimous findings from the Summit were published by the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Key recommendations included:

• Eliminate intentional and avoidable head impact in contact and collision sports.
• Encourage policies that limit the number, duration and intensity of head impacts.
• Reinforce proper and safer techniques to avoid head contact at all levels of play.
• Implement rules that penalize intentional and avoidable head and neck contact.

In coordination with the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research (NCCSIR), and in response to two recent catastrophic head injuries in boys high school lacrosse, NOCSAE conducted an extensive review of relevant injury data about the occurrence of blunt force trauma to the head and/or neck in lacrosse. The review, as Cantu explained, suggests that such injuries are rare and produce variable pathology to the structures of the brain and/or neck. The NCCSIR was created in 1982 to develop a national archive of catastrophic injuries in U.S. sports at the collegiate, high school and youth levels of play, and help improve prevention, evaluation and rehabilitation of sports-related injuries. NOCSAE is a leading funding partner of the NCCSIR.

It was suggested during the meeting one of the issues could be the style of how players wear their helmets and how it exposes the back of the head to ball strikes.

Reconditioning Testing

There was discussion to consider a revision that would make drop tests optional instead of mandatory for helmet reconditioning and recertification. Tony Beam, the executive director of NAERA (National Athletic Equipment Reconditioners Association) and a NOCSAE board member, said the reconditioning season and number of reconditioners is shrinking and it may help to evaluate the process, since cracks or other problems are typically found prior to testing. More discussion on the issue is expected.

This was also the first meeting led by new NOCSAE Executive Director John Parsons, who took over that role April 1, 2025. Mike Oliver retired as Executive Director but will continue to serve as NOCSAE’s General Counsel and act as Executive Director Emeritus through the end of 2025.