As well as the ball itself, items of essential safety equipment such as a safety helmet, knee and shoulder pads, gloves, a mouth-guard, and an athletic supporter (jockstrap), are all essential items of American football equipment.
Safety Helmet
This piece of American football equipment has an outer shell made of hard, durable plastic, which is thickly padded on the inside to form a barrier of protection. It is secured with a strap under the chin, and has a face-mask consisting of shock absorbing, small metal bars to protect the face. Footballers do suffer from head injuries caused by impact during play, however these would be more severe without the use of helmets.
Many quarterbacks have a small radio inside their helmet so that coaches can communicate with them directly during the game, this can be identified by the green spot on the back of the safety helmet. Helmets are colour co-ordinated to go with the team uniform. An additional optional extra is a coloured visor, but it is the choice of the player if they wear a visor or not.
Knee and Shoulder Pads
Knee pads and shoulder pads are made out of durable plastic. Knee pads are placed into pockets inside football pants. Shoulder pads are placed over the shoulders, chest and ribs. These items of American football equipment act as shock absorbers and decrease the pressure caused by impact. Pads are usually quite light in weight.
Gloves and Mouth Guard
Football players wear gloves for various reasons. Linemen wear them for protection, they are padded to prevent damage to the hands from opposing linemen, i.e. being trampled / squashed. Receivers wear gloves with a sticky palm for ease of play. Mouth guards are made of plastic, and protect the player from damage to the mouth from impact during play. They also act as shock absorbers for the head. They are made specifically for each player and hook onto the face mask.
Jockstrap
One of the other main items of American football equipment is the jockstrap. It consists of elastic straps which attach to the players waistband. Attached to the straps is a pouch which covers the genitals. This pouch is usually fitted with a plastic shock absorbent cup to protect the genital area from damage caused by impact. It is alternatively known as an athletic supporter.
These are some of the most important items of American football equipment required to play the game, as they provide protection for players.
Angie Briscoe - I am a 36 year old writer, recently graduated from the Open University in Humanities with Philosophy. I have been writing for ...
