Dayton Children’s partners with Centerville Wee Elks Football to provide new helmets

Dayton Children’s has partnered with the Centerville Wee Elks program to provide new helmets and recertify current helmets for youth football players. The new helmets from Dayton Children’s will help protect athletes during play and ensure players lower their risk of sustaining head injuries.

In 2019, the Wee Elks purchased new Riddell Speedflex helmets, which are individually fitted for each player. Each helmet has a different combination of air and padding for better protection. To ensure the safety of athletes, these helmets are recertified by Riddell every two years until they are retired after 10 years. This year, the Wee Elks program is expecting to have its highest enrollment of athletes since 2014, so the program purchased an additional 85 helmets to meet the demand, which Dayton Children’s will help fund.

“Safety of our community’s athletes and injury reduction are top priorities at Dayton Children’s,” said Lora Scott, MD, division chief of sports medicine at Dayton Children’s. “These new helmets will go a long way to help reduce  head injuries in young football players and allow for a safer football season.”

The Wee Elks organization is for children in first through sixth grade and is operated 100% by volunteers.  The program teaches the fundamentals of football with an emphasis on sportsmanship, teamwork, respect and hard work. Registration for the upcoming football season closes June 25.