By Matthew Peaslee

mpeaslee@vindy.com

CANFIELD

Like Dwight Beede before him, Dr. Steven Novicky is doing his part to make sure the Mahoning Valley is on the cutting edge of a new football revolution.

Beede had the penalty flag, Novicky has the helmet.

His product, Shockstrips, first came into use during last football season with a handful of individual players (110, to be exact) wearing the set of seven strips that decrease the chance of a concussion or head injury by 35-percent.

The Western Reserve program is looking to adopt the product for every player. There are also orders for Shockstrips in Arkansas and California.

But on May 4, those plans — and the future of the product — were in jeopardy.

The National Federation of State High School Associations was to outlaw the product, stating that “equipment must be worn as the manufacturer intended.”

At first, Elyria-based Riddell, one of the largest helmet manufactures in the country, did not recommend their use.

“If Riddell felt for one moment that there was a probability of an injury occurring when my device is on the helmet, they would say no and that they didn’t want a part of it at all,” Novicky said.

The company has a policy that allows players to turn in their helmets for reconditioning every two years even if Shockstrips are attached. For a $20 up-charge, Riddell will give the player a new shell.

That was one of Novicky’s selling points to the NFHS, eventually leading to the association ruling that Shockstrips would be permitted for use.

Novicky also had another bargaining chip on his side — insurance companies.

“They’re in the business of collecting premiums, not paying out on a claim,” Novicky said. “If they felt for a moment that there was something damaging about it, they wouldn’t have got on board.”

It’s likely the first ruling that allows something on the outside of a helmet.

In the late ’80s and early ’90s Mark Kelso of the Buffalo Bills gained notoriety for wearing a “pro cap,” essentially a big piece of foam that was an extension of the helmet, but disguised with the same painting and emblem.

“It made him look like a bobble head,” Novicky said. “That was a big piece of foam that bottomed out.”

Shockstrips don’t bottom out, Novicky contended. Their main use is for absorption, deflection and sound-ending.

The main material of Shockstrips is an off-shoot of Akton, a viscoelastic polymer. It was developed in 1970 by Dr. William McElroy, a chemist.