NOCSAE Finalizes First-Ever Performance Standard for Youth Football Helmets

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) has finalized the world's first performance standard for youth football helmets: ND006.

The standard is the result of more than 10 years of NOCSAE-led effort and funding to support scientific research, testing and analysis to establish sufficient youth-specific data and testing criteria necessary to develop the standard.

To allow time for manufacturers to develop youth helmets that meet the standard, the NOCSAE Standards Committee set an effective date of March 1, 2027, for ND006.

"This is an important step forward for helmet protection in youth football," said Dr. Robert Cantu, MA, MD, FACS, FACSM, FAANS, NOCSAE vice president and chair of the NOCSAE Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). "We've known for some time that youth football players face different risks from those at or above the high school level. Building on scientific data and critical insights from research studies funded by NOCSAE, we were able to identify those risks and develop criteria for a standard to help protect against them."

The NOCSAE performance standard for youth football helmets (ND006) is designed specifically for players below the high school level. The new standard directly addresses unique risk exposures for youth football players which differ significantly from those at or above the high school level. The primary differences in exposure at the youth level include the frequency, type, location and magnitude of head impacts. All these factors are influenced by the player's age, size, speed and coordination.

"Put simply, younger players don't run as fast or get hit as hard as older players, but they do fall to the ground more often and their heads are proportionately larger compared to their bodies," Dr. Cantu said. "Adjusting the standard for these conditions will enable manufacturers to design helmets that focus on what youth players need, not what players need at the high school, college and professional levels."

While NOCSAE's existing football helmet standard (ND002) works well for all players, including youth, the new ND006 youth standard has the potential to provide enhanced protection for this age group by more closely addressing their risk exposures, using a lighter pneumatic ram for testing and an adjusted impact threshold.

NOCSAE-Funded Scientific Research Behind the Standard
To ensure the ND006 youth standard is grounded in scientific data, NOCSAE directed and funded two complex and coordinated scientific studies through the NOCSAE research grant program. These studies were designed to address crucial knowledge gaps identified by the NOCSAE SAC after reviewing existing research. Previously, there was insufficient data to suggest youth-specific criteria for a standard.

NOCSAE's studies reconstructed and assessed the biomechanics of head impacts and injuries specific to youth tackle football. The studies also explored potential performance criteria for the standard, analyzing unique risk factors and impact velocities at the youth level.

NOCSAE-Funded Research Studies (Learn more)
Quantifying the Biomechanics of Concussions in Youth Football Players (Learn more)

• Led by Dr. Steve Rowson, associate professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech.
• Analyzed more than 6,000 head impacts among 49 youth football players aged 10-14.
• Developed data using helmet accelerometers and video from multi-camera arrays to calculate and verify player and helmet impact velocities.

Biomechanical Analysis of Youth Head Impacts in American Football (Learn more)

• Led by Dr. Blaine Hoshizaki, vice dean, professor and director of the Neurotrauma Impact Science Laboratory at the University of Ottawa.
• Studied head impact events from 60 youth football games, athletes aged 5-9.
• Analyzed and reconstructed concussive and non-concussive impacts using finite element modeling to establish youth specific risk curves for peak linear accelerations.
• Identified common injury mechanisms and impact parameters (velocity, mass, location and circumstances) and quantified head dynamic and brain tissue response.

The SAC also reviewed important findings from other NOCSAE-funded studies, including "Head Impact Exposure of a Youth Football Team over Eight Consecutive Seasons" published in 2021. In parallel, the SAC reviewed more than 40 published papers from other researchers investigating injury risk and exposure in youth tackle football. The SAC considered these studies as complementary to the research directed and funded by NOCSAE and made recommendations for the new standard based on all findings.

Standard Overview and Criteria          
The NOCSAE youth standard is specifically designed for football players below the high school level. Under the standard, youth football helmets are tested on the drop test system and a youth-specific pneumatic ram impactor developed by NOCSAE that more accurately represents conditions.

The standard also requires the use of the newly redesigned NOCSAE Generation III headform. NOCSAE pioneered the development of variable-mass biofidelic headforms, which accurately simulate certain biomechanical responses of a human head during impact. Over the last few years, NOCSAE has been working on an enhanced headform which includes the ability to utilize a Generation III package to improve data collection, as well as advancements to biofidelity.

ND006 Key Criteria (Learn more)

• Designed for youth players below the high school level.
• Tailored to the unique risk exposures of this age group including frequency, type, location and magnitude of head impacts which are influenced by player age, size, speed and coordination.
  • For helmets tested on small headforms, helmet mass cannot exceed 3.5 pounds, including all accessories, attachments and facemask.
• Addresses injury thresholds and impact energies specific to youth football.
  • Rotational acceleration during testing cannot exceed 5,000 rads/s² (radians per second squared).
  • Testing is with a lighter pneumatic ram.

Impact and Implementation
"NOCSAE is committed to providing the highest possible level of protection for youth players and finalizing the youth football helmet standard has been a priority," said NOCSAE Executive Director Emeritus Mike Oliver. "Throughout the process, we worked to ensure that any steps to enhance protection for youth players were grounded in science and did not introduce unintended consequences. Parents and coaches can have a higher comfort level knowing the science behind the standard is tailored to the specific needs and risk exposures of this age group."

Consistent with NOCSAE policy to allow reasonable time for manufacturers to develop equipment that meets the standard and be available to players and teams, the NOCSAE Standards Committee set an effective date of March 1, 2027, for ND006. However, manufacturers can seek to certify football helmets to the standard prior to the effective date. NOCSAE standards are intentionally design neutral to allow for manufacturer innovation in equipment design. Manufacturers will update the public on the development and availability of youth football helmet products. A complete list of youth helmets that have been certified by Safety Equipment Institute (SEI) to meet the ND006 standard will be available on the SEI website.

The NOCSAE Standards Committee voted to finalize the youth football helmet standard at the NOCSAE Winter Standards Meeting on February 7, 2025. NOCSAE is ANSI accredited as a standards development organization, and the NOCSAE Standards Committee serves as its consensus body in accordance with ANSI Due Process Requirements. The process for developing and finalizing new equipment standards is conducted at meetings open to the public and with input from any person or party with a material interest.

About NOCSAE
NOCSAE's mission is to commission research, establish standards for athletic equipment and encourage the dissemination of research findings on sports injury and prevention.

Since NOCSAE's inception in 1970, the organization has been a leading force in the effort to improve athletic equipment and to reduce injuries through robust standards. NOCSAE develops voluntary performance and test standards for athletic equipment. "Voluntary" in this case means our standards are not mandated by a federal agency. But rather, the use of athletic equipment that meets NOCSAE standards is mandated by sport governing bodies through rules of play. Numerous national and international regulatory bodies for sports require NOCSAE standards, including the NFL, NCAA, NAIA, National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), International Federation of American Football, the United States Polo Association (USPA), USA Football, Pop Warner, USA Lacrosse, Amateur Softball Association, USSSA and USA Baseball.

SOURCE NOCSAE