PARKER, Colo. — The Broncos announced the launch of ALL IN. ALL COVERED. on Tuesday, an unprecedented initiative to distribute more than 15,000 new Riddell Axiom smart helmets to every high school tackle football program across the state at no cost.
And for CHSAA Commissioner Mike Krueger, the significance of the initiative and the impact it will have across the state of Colorado cannot be overstated.
"For us to be able to be here today to share in that opportunity is just hard to wrap our minds around," Krueger said Tuesday. "I think it goes without saying that we're excited. I think that's an understatement. But I think that word would only be surpassed by the word 'gratefulness.' We're very grateful for this opportunity and the tools that come along with it."
The Axiom helmets feature Riddell's TRU-FIT™ SYSTEM, which uses 3D imaging of each athlete's head for a personalized fit and protection system to improve impact response. The careful selection of these helmets reflects the Broncos' commitment to health and wellness, which Allie Engelken — vice president of community impact and executive director of the Denver Broncos Foundation — emphasized as a core pillar of the foundation.
Not only will the helmets address health and wellness concerns to help bolster participation in the sport across the state, but providing players with the most expensive piece of equipment required to participate is also expected to make a significant impact.
"We know that the helmet is the single most expensive piece of individual equipment required to play tackle football," Engelken said. "That's a barrier. That's a barrier to schools that don't have access to funds. It's a barrier for individual athletes who don't have an opportunity for their parents to purchase one for them. If we can make the game safer, and also remove barriers so that more kids can play, it allows us to further our mission to make a positive impact statewide."
The positive effects of the helmets, though, are expected to extend far beyond the confines of the football field and even the sport of football.
"School budgets are tight," Krueger said. "This piece of equipment especially is one of the more expensive ones that school budgets face and athletic departments face. So, it's going to have a huge impact. ... That impact's going to go beyond football programs because where those funds would've gone to helmets, now you can share across multiple programs. So, this has great impact, again, not just in the football programs, but especially for them. This is going to really resonate for athletic budgets and school budgets across the board in all parts of our state."
Added Bobby Mestas, Broncos director of youth and high school football: "I think it's always a strain on the athletic departments to make sure that their kids are well taken care of across all sports, boys and girls. With helmets being the most expensive piece of equipment, some of these schools that are working with very small budgets have to find ways to — whether it's through booster clubs or fundraising — fundraise tens of thousands of dollars to meet the helmet needs year after year. Helmets phase out. And a lot of times, schools are trying to guess on how many helmets they will have to buy each and every year. So, with this 25 percent rollout, this program will essentially alleviate a lot of those constraints around budgets and not just help football, but also the money that teams would have to save to buy helmets can now be passed down to help other sports — boys and girls.
"There's not a school in the state that won't feel the positive ramifications of this, because everybody is fighting the budget battle and everybody's trying to fundraise. And everybody's trying to catch up with their equipment, especially helmets."
The initiative also comes on the heels of the first completed season of girls flag football as an official high school sport in Colorado, which was made possible through multiple years of support provided by the Broncos and Denver Broncos Foundation. The effort culminated with the official sanctioning of the sport last April, and these two recent initiatives reflect the Broncos' unwavering commitment to providing opportunities for youth in the community to participate in sports.
Krueger — who noted the significance of the opportunities provided by the sanctioning last year — once again looks forward to witnessing the wide-reaching positive impact of a youth-centered initiative.
"I hope you understand that this is more than just handing schools a football helmet," Krueger said. "The technology that comes with this — [it's] the gold standard that was picked here to stand with students. ... I just want to thank the Denver Broncos Foundation, of course, but especially Bobby and Allie for their work. President Damani Leech with the organization who's just a strong supporter of all our programs. I especially, from the bottom of my heart, want to thank [Owner] Carrie Walton Penner, [Owner and CEO] Greg Penner, the [Walton-Penner Family] Ownership Group, the Denver Broncos Foundation and their leadership. We're really blessed in Colorado if you think about it. This is unprecedented around the country. For us to be in this position, I think they just deserve the greatest thanks. Their leadership goes beyond being inspirational. Carrie Walton Penner, Greg Penner, they do inspire us, but their efforts are heartfelt. They really invest in our athletes, in our schools, in CHSAA, and we're just really honored to be a part of this."
