The new emphasis in the last couple of years on safety and concussion prevention in the game of football has helped Suffolk’s teams refine and improve their equipment and techniques.

“Safety’s always a primary concern when you’re dealing with a sport like football,” Lakeland High School coach Bryan Potts said. “(Given) the violent nature of the game, you definitely want to take all the precautions you can take as a player and a coach.”

King’s Fork High School coach Joe Jones said the increased attention given to protecting the head is “probably long overdue. I think it’s bringing to the surface the concussion issue that has been around forever.”

There are some important facts to note in order to have a proper understanding of the head safety issue.

“The helmet manufacturers will never keep up with the head injuries,” Jones said. “They’ll never invent anything to prevent them all.”

He said as youths get older and consequently bigger, faster and stronger, the collisions are going to be harder.

“The helmet itself will not cause the concussion,” Potts said. “Any time that the head takes on a direct blow, you’re going to have some movement around of the brain.”

Coaches have two primary means at their disposal to protect their players as best as possible: providing quality equipment and teaching superior technique.

Virginia Tech has conducted research and analysis to come up with a five-star rating system for adult football helmets, designed to identify key differences between the abilities of individual helmets to reduce the risk of concussion.

Jones said King’s Fork ordered 42 new Xenith X2 helmets for use this year that are five-star rated, meaning they are among the best available.

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy coach Lew Johnston said the majority of his players are using the five-star Riddell Revolution Speed helmet.

Nansemond River High School coach David Coccoli said, “We just bought 15 new helmets that were rated 4 by that Virginia Tech study,” which certifies them as “very good” according to the rating system. “We were in line, we didn’t have any helmets returned. We are three or above for all ours, but you definitely have to look at what they’re rated now before you buy them.”

Lakeland used 25 new Riddell Revolution Speed helmets last year. Potts said quite a bit of the school’s helmets are up-to-date, and the school is in the process of further upgrading its stock.

And the coaches are hard at work teaching the proper technique, including lowering the shoulder when running with the ball, not the head.

Regarding players without the ball, Jones said, “We really stress keeping the head out of the tackle and the block and everything.”

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll recently sent out a video to football coaches demonstrating a rugby-style tackling method promoting greater safety to players.

After seeing it, Johnston said, “We have totally revolutionized our tackling technique starting just the other day.”