NFL Gear Functioning: Insights into Equipments Used in Football Games
In the bustling world of American football, the role of an NFL equipment manager is a crucial yet often overlooked one. Take, for instance, the equipment manager working for the Carolina Panthers. Their daily routine is centred around preparing, maintaining, and readying all player and team equipment for practices and games.
The equipment they handle encompasses a wide range, from helmets and shoulder pads to gloves, cleats, practice and game uniforms, footballs, and training equipment used during practices. They are responsible for the upkeep of all these items to ensure player safety and performance readiness.
One piece of equipment that requires special attention is the shoulder pads. These protective pieces come in 12 different styles and four different sizes per style at Miles, with custom fitting and padding options. Constructed from a hard plastic shell with foam padding underneath, they are secured with various snaps and buckles.
Players choose their body pads depending on their position and injuries, with options for hip pads, knee pads, and thigh pads also available. The shoulder pads, being one of the four pieces of body equipment in American football, absorb some of the shock of impact through deformation and distribute the shock through a larger area to reduce pressure at the point of impact.
Shoes, or cleats, are another essential piece of equipment. They come in four sizes and are crucial for protecting players' hands and feet. Cleats for Astroturf and natural grass can vary depending on the weather conditions, and an equipment manager may have a big job to replace all of the cleats on 53 pairs of shoes if it rains during a game.
Many players apply two-sided carpet tape to their shoulder pads so that the jersey sticks to the pads. The jersey, which has an extension at the bottom that wraps around from front to back to keep it tucked in, is cut to fit tight around the player when pads are worn.
For cold-weather games, additional equipment such as skull caps, thermal underclothing, long underwear, thermal socks, four kinds of gloves, muffs, handwarmers, cold-weather cream, heated benches, and more are added to the list of equipment that travels with the team.
The sports drink Gatorade was developed by Dr. Robert Cade at the University of Florida to aid the UF football players, demonstrating the importance of well-designed equipment and drinks in the world of professional sports.
In a nutshell, the NFL equipment manager's role is comprehensive, involving daily preparation, maintenance, inventory control, logistical coordination, and close communication with coaching staff to meet the evolving equipment demands of a professional football team. Their work plays a significant role in ensuring player safety and performance on the field.
[1] Sources: - NFL Equipment Manager Job Description - The Importance of an NFL Equipment Manager
- In American football, especially in the NFL, the equipment manager is in charge of preparing, maintaining, and readying a wide range of equipment, such as shoulder pads, cleats, and practice uniforms, ensuring player safety and performance readiness.
- The role of an NFL equipment manager is vital not only in the provision of equipment but also in logistical coordination, as changing weather conditions may necessitate the replacement of cleats on 53 pairs of shoes, or the addition of cold-weather equipment for matches played in freezing conditions.
