COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — In the eyes of Mitchell High School head coach Josh Browning, the Denver Broncos Foundation's ALL IN. ALL COVERED. program is exactly what his team needed.
The unprecedented statewide free helmet distribution program, which represents the single largest philanthropic investment in Broncos history, offers all 277 Colorado high schools highly rated Riddell Axiom helmets. And for Browning's group, the initiative could change the trajectory of his program.
"It's going to be huge for us," Browning said Tuesday. "For our community, these kids need something like this to help boost their morale and boost our program. It's been a rough go for them the last few years, and we're trying to get rebuilding and going in the right direction. I really do think this excitement that we're building with this opportunity is going to help gear that for the future for us.
"It's going to not only bring more kids out to the program, but they're going to be safer and it's going to help us keep them on the field a lot longer, which is huge for us."
Browning and coaches from more than a dozen Colorado Springs-area high schools were able to learn more about the Denver Broncos Foundation's partnership with Riddell at Tuesday's caravan at Mitchell High School. Angela Mandelkow, the mother of Mitchell quarterback Andrew Jones, said the caravan allowed her to gain a deeper understanding about the scope of the initiative and how it can keep players safe.
"It's very neat, because I had no clue what it is, and I didn't realize the technology they put into these," Mandelkow said. "It's incredible. … Everybody's going to be excited that this is coming to the community."
Mandelkow joined more than 60 participants in hearing from Broncos Vice President of Community Impact/Executive Director of the Denver Broncos Foundation Allie Engelken, Broncos Director of Youth & High School Football Bobby Mestas, Riddell representatives and industry experts from Children's Hospital Colorado and CommonSpirit Health. Attendees at Tuesday's caravan gained an outside perspective about the benefits of the program from former Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey before Dennis Coonan, manager of Children's Hospital Colorado's Sports Medicine Center, and CommonSpirit Health neurologist Dr. Josh VanDerWerf discussed the health and safety benefits of the program.
"This program and rolling out these really incredible high-level helmets to all these schools is really going to increase the safety of the game of football for these kids and really protect them from a lot of these traumatic head injuries," Coonan said. "… This is something that's going to have a huge impact on the health and safety of these kids."
The coaches, players and parents then learned more about the specifics of the distribution plan and attended breakout sessions about the optional InSite Smart Helmet Technology impact reporting and the helmet maintenance process.
"There's a lot of things that we were doing during practice to focus on heads-up tackling," Browning said, "and trying to keep those things in mind when you're looking at 'OK, in this drill, how many times is this kid going? What kind of hits are they taking? What are we looking at?' And then trying to analyze that — 'How much impact was there?' This will give us that opportunity to see that in real-life data vs. trying to eyeball it and ask questions."
McCaffrey previously coached at both the high school and collegiate level, and he's also watched all four of his sons play high school football in Colorado before advancing in their respective football careers. From every angle, McCaffrey said he can appreciate the value of the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group's investment.
"What a generous donation by the Walton-Penner family," McCaffrey said. "Really unbelievable. The Denver Broncos are stepping up big time. As a former player, I know how important it is to have the right equipment. As a coach, I know how important it is to keep your players safe. … But most importantly, as a parent, safety first. I have four boys, and they all played football. As a parent and as a fan in the stands, you really want to know that they're protected. These aren't just helmets that the Broncos have donated, these are the top-of-the-line helmets. … It's the best helmet you could possibly wear to play football. These are the same helmets a lot of the pros are wearing. It's an incredible, incredible donation."
"… I'm a Denver Bronco for life, so I love it. I love what the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group is doing in the community, what the Broncos are doing in the community. It's never been done before. I think all great organizations, including NFL teams, they really start with the owners. What is their commitment to the team, to the organization? What is their commitment to the community, to the fan base? I think we can see here in Colorado that our owners care about everybody, and they're showing it."
Browning could sense that commitment — which will continue in the coming days with four more caravans across Colorado before the continued rollout of the ALL IN. ALL COVERED. initiative — at Tuesday's educational event.
"As a lifelong Broncos fan, this is huge for this school and this is huge for our state," Browning said. "You don't see very many initiatives going on across the state — let alone the country — doing something this big. I think they're paving the way for other football programs and other teams to maybe take this kind of initiative on to supply those kids in their state with the same opportunity to be safe while they're out there playing."
