With all the research available now, it's no secret: Concussions are a major concern when it comes to the game of football, from Pop Warner all the way to the NFL.
But there's new technology that's proven to cut football injuries 80 percent and concussions 60 percent. That technology has arrived in Arizona.
It's called the "Mobile Virtual Player," or "MVP.” Its purpose? To eliminate teammate-on-teammate tackling forever.
Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Famer Nick Lowery has a mission, and that's to bring the MVP to his hometown of Phoenix through his foundation.
"When you change the landscape of football and reduce the concussions 60 percent and reduce the injuries 80 percent, now all the other technological things -- better helmets, better protocols, better safety -- those things will reduce it further,” Lowery said. “Hopefully Arcadia and all the high schools in Phoenix and Arizona will have these in the next few years."
Arcadia High School is already on board. They'll become one of the first schools in the west to use these high-tech tackling dummies to reduce the risk of concussions.
Arcadia head football coach Tony Stillings says the decision was a no-brainer.
"Look at the statistics,” Stillings said. “With the modern game today, the concussions on the rise, traumatic brain injuries things like that, we want to avoid these things.
"That doesn't change the game of football. Tackling techniques are much different today than even 10 years ago. That doesn't mean the game is different. That just means we found a safer way to play it."
So, with this new technology now available and proven effective, Lowery believes there's no time to waste.
"Let's not wait 15 years. Let's do it now," he said. "It's affordable, it's going to cut insurance costs probably in half, if not more, so we can afford it. It's time to do the right thing."
From now until the end of August, $10 from every box of Vitasome will be donated to the Nick Lowery Youth Foundation, which will help spread this technology though Arizona. Use Code: NICK.
