Team USA Football to wear GelDefender head safety skull caps in World University Championships

RALEIGH, N.C., June 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The USA's representative team in an international football tournament will wear GelDefender skull caps, a new advancement in head safety from Raleigh's PSE Technology.

Athletes in Action (AIA), which fields traveling college-aged teams in multiple sports, will represent the United States in the American football World University Championships in Monterrey, Mexico. Coached by the University of Northwestern at St. Paul's Kirk Talley, the team will join five other countries at the 10-day tournament.

"I think we have a pretty good team of athletes as well as character, so we're excited to see them compete," Clint Mahan, AIA's head of football operations, said. "I know that Mexico and Japan have very good teams, and we're excited to see the growth of the sport with India and Guatemala coming on board."

As the team prepares for the tournament, the organization was proactive regarding head safety. PSE Technology provided GelDefender skull caps to the entire 50-player team for use under the players' helmets during practice and the tournament. The skull caps are designed to disperse g-forces when contacts occur.

"At some point, football teams added hip pads and thigh pads to their equipment inventory," PSE Technology's Bill Futterer said. "Now they are realizing the need to do everything they can to help protect against head injuries."

Team USA's first tournament game will be against China at 2 p.m. EDT on Saturday, June 4. The game can be streamed online at monterrey2016.com.

ABOUT GelDefender— Developed by PSE Technology LLC, a Raleigh, N.C., company, GelDefender skull caps are engineered to reduce the effect of g-force impacts sustained in contact sports and recreational activities. Tests show they provide protection from collisions and from extreme heat and cold.

IMPORTANT: Scientists have no conclusive evidence as to whether or how the reduction of g-forces during impacts reduces the number or degree of concussions and head injuries. Participants in activities in which head impacts can occur should always use tested and approved helmets for protection. However, no helmet or supplemental padding can protect the user from all serious head or neck injuries that can result from impacts.

ABOUT Athletes in Action—AIA is a faith-based nonprofit sports ministry that sends about 35 teams of collegiate and recently graduated athletes around the world every year to compete, run sports camps and clinics, and teach character and sportsmanship.

SOURCE PSE Technology