Kutztown Middle School football players request new helmets

After having two players getting concussions, Kutztown Area Middle School football team members addressed the school board at last week’s meeting about finding funding for new helmets.

Jarrett Mohn, Jarryd Kase and Dean Dell presented to the board stating that two members (one being Dell) suffered a concussion during the season and are still feeling the effects of the injury.

“I have memory loss, I have a hard time balancing, and it’s not getting any better,” Dell said to the board.

Dell said he has six weeks until he can return to school, but his condition hasn’t gotten any better. This past Monday will mark the fourth month that Dell has been out of school.

The fund raisers that the team would work on would only cover a small amount of the total cost for new helmets. The middle school football players hope that the board can find funding for the helmets so that they can have the helmets for next season.

The helmets that the group has been looking at range from $175 to $369. The price they are looking at per helmet is $265. To outfit the entire team with the new helmets would cost $4,375.

“The helmets that we have are allowed and just barely meet the standard,” Dell said.

The other student who has not been named has reportedly been diagnosed with Post Concussion Syndrome and has not been in school since October.

After the students’ presentation, Board President Carl Ziegler said that he realized that concussions were a hot topic in football and that it should be given more attention at the middle school level.