Wen playing football you have to be properly -- and safely -- equipped. Football players are coated in modern day armor when playing football to ensure their safety while having fun but being rough and competitive. Players may wear a lot of other equipment on the field, depending on personal preferences, but there are some pieces of equipment you are required to wear to play football from youth to college states the National Federation of High School Associations.
Helmet, Chinstrap And Mouthpiece
One of the most important pieces of equipment is the helmet. The helmet is composed of a facemask and the helmet itself. With growing awareness of concussions associated with football, wearing a helmet properly is extremely important. According to USA Football, the helmet will be placed so the front edge will rest 1 inch above your eyebrows and will fastened to your head via the chinstrap. The chinstrap will attach on both sides of the helmet and fit snug under your chin. The chinstrap will prevent your helmet from flying off during running or contact. The mouthpiece is also a required piece of equipment when playing football. The mouthpiece's main responsibility is to protect against concussions, and to also protect your mouth from injury.
Shoulder Pads
Shoulder pads must be worn when playing football. They absorb shock when being hit, and allow you to tackle with reduced risk of injury. Shoulder pads come in various sizes, depending on the position you play. Quarterbacks tend to have smaller and lighter shoulder pads so that their natural throwing motion is not affected, and players such as linebackers and defensive ends have larger shoulder pads so to protect their bodies from constant impact.
Waist And Leg Pads
Your lower body needs protection too. From youth to college football, you are required to wear leg and hip pads. You will need hip, tailbone, knee and thigh pads. These are inserted in the football pants themselves or a sports girdle worn under the football pants. The hip and tailbone pads can also be tied around the waist with a sports belt in some cases. Also, though it is not required at most levels, it is very important to consider wearing a cup to protect that sensitive area of the body from impact in the groin area.
Cleats
You need proper footwear when playing football. Football cleats must be worn, and they can be plastic or metal tipped. However, rubber tips may be required in many youth football leagues. USA Football reports that football cleats protect the mid-sole of the foot more so to provide more support in lateral movement and quickly applying power and acceleration for contact. Football cleats also come in three styles: high-cut, mid-cut and low-cut. High-cut cleats provide the most ankle support, but hinder ability to maneuver in comparison to the others. Mid-cuts supply a balance of ankle support and ease of ankle mobility, and low-cuts are mainly designed to be lightweight to allow quick mobility.
References
- USA Football: Football Cleats-5 Things to Know
- USA Football: Equipment Fitting
- USA Football: Football Equipment
- "NFHS 2010 High School Football Rules Simplified and Illustrated,"; The National Federation of High School Associations and Bob Colgate; 2010
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