SBCC Athletes Sporting Impact Monitor Headbands

Santa Barbara City College athletes will be sporting a headband, but it’s not for a fashion statement. The bands will monitor any blows to the head that an athlete might receive.

“The company that provided it was Triax, but ultimately this comes from the Sports Legacy Institute which is one of the biggest research groups out there that is trying to address the head-injury problem and the concussion crisis that is going on right now,” said Ryan Byrne, SBCC athletic director.

The headband has a Triax Smart Impact Monitor (SIM) meter in it that athletes will wear during practice and competition for SBCC men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s football teams.

SIM meters are miniature devices that slide into the back of the headband and measure head impacts and record the “hit count” incurred by athletes in these high-risk sports.

“Our number one goal is the safety of our student athletes and the secondary goal is to really help the research process and to better understand the problem we are facing,” said Byrne.

The concussion-management plan will include information to student athletes on head injuries and concussions, baseline testing, injury prevention efforts, and protocols on when athletes should be removed from and returned to the playing fields.

SBCC is the first institution in California to implement the “hit count” headband. Cottage Hospital helped out by presenting a grant for 80 percent of the cost to the junior college.