After several concussions in one game, East Bay HS parents raising money for 'guardian caps'

MARTINEZ, Calif. (KGO) -- At Alhambra High School in Martinez, the football season is off to a less than ideal start.

"Unfortunately, last Friday we had a game and two kids sustained concussions during the game. One pretty serious that had to be taken off in a stretcher," said Stephen Parini.

Parini's son plays on the team.

He says following the injuries, he and other parents decided to try to purchase "guardian caps" for all the players.

Guardian caps are a soft shell padding that goes outside of football helmets and are meant to reduce the risk of concussions.

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Parini says while the school supports the move, buying the caps has been out of their budget.

"We can move much faster as parents and as a community than schools normally can. So we're able to just get the ball rolling," he said.

To help with the cost, Parini has organized a GoFundMe to try to get the community's help to keep the kids safe.

The parents hope to raise about $6,000 in order to buy the caps.

They tell ABC7 News any money left over after that will then be used to purchase extra safety equipment.

The move is supported by people like Dr. Nirav Pandya, the director of sports medicine at UCSF Benioff's Children Hospital.

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"People think about repetitive concussions, but sometimes even one concussion can set that pathway off to having issues with school performance, learning concentration, that can potentially last for a long period of time," said Dr. Nirav Pandya.

The doctor says while he doesn't think the guardian caps will hurt, he also believes more research needs to be done into their effectiveness.

"If you actually look at the studies of the guardian helmets, they haven't been shown, particularly at the high school level or in games to actually decrease concussion risk," Pandya said.

Parini says the parents of Alhambra are determined to take every measure they can to help protect their players.

Keeping everyone safe while also allowing them to play the sport they love.

"To us, if we can prevent one or two concussions, then we're doing a great thing," Parini said.