National Football Foundation All-Star Football Classic between Long Island and NYC to feature custom-fit Axiom helmets
Shareef McMillan slipped the scanning hood over his head and sat motionless. A hand-held device was used to scan the small green and red dots that covered the hood to capture the three-dimensional measurements of the contours of McMillan’s head to create a custom fitting.
The hood covering McMillan’s head and wrapped under his chin, like a ski mask, without covering the face, was then stripped off and he was now scientifically fitted for a Riddell Axiom football helmet. Then it was on to sizing for football cleats and the all-star uniform.
All this equipment was showcased for the first annual National Football Foundation All-Star Football Classic on Monday night at the Orlin & Cohen facility in Woodbury. The Long Island senior all-stars were there to check in and check out all the new goods.
Long Island will meet the New York City senior all-stars at Hofstra University at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 21.
“Getting a custom fit helmet, for your head specifically, is one of the coolest things ever,” said McMillan, a star defensive end for Wantagh High School, the Long Island Class IV champions. “They treated us like professional athletes. We usually picked our random helmets and shoulder pads off a pile in high school. No one ever fitted us for these things – we were on our own. If it felt like it fit – it was ours.”
McMillan was one of 44 players representing Long Island at Monday’s introduction of Nassau and Suffolk teammates and the fitting. Most of the players were enamored by the new Riddell Axiom helmet.
Eriq St. Louis of Bay Shore and Brennan Kurtz of Ward Melville pose with the Riddell Axiom helmet during a fitting for Long Island's senior football football All-Stars on Monday. Credit: Howard Simmons
“The Axiom is much lighter than my school helmet and the facemask is positioned better pointing down instead of diagonal,” McMillan said. “My facemask got crushed. I’m thankful for this. I see the work that goes into this helmet, and it makes me feel safer and much better.”
The scientifically engineered Axiom helmets were introduced selectively in 2023 and have quickly become the NFL helmet of choice. It is a player driven, player choice product.
“These are the helmets the players are using in the National Football League and at select FCS colleges,” said Pete Blieberg, the all-star game coordinator. “We have a unique opportunity to use these helmets in the all-star classic. The promoters purchased 110 helmets for the game.”
Blieberg served as game coordinator for the Empire Challenge for the Boomer Esiason Foundation for 24 years and said putting this game together would not have happened without the efforts of Rich Polo, the area representative for Riddell.
“He’s been instrumental in the purchase of the helmets, uniforms and cleats,” Blieberg said. “Without Polo securing the equipment, which has always been the main hurdle for our all-star game, there’s no game.”
A few local high school programs started to use the Axiom helmet in 2024 -- Garden City, Mepham, Bellmore JFK and Cardinal Hayes in the CHSAA.
Dylan Martini of Wantagh, wearing a scanning hood, is fitted for the Riddell Axiom healmet by Gavin McCabe of Riddell during a fitting for Long Island's senior football football All-Stars on Monday. Credit: Howard Simmons
“The benefit of having properly fit top of the line equipment is second to none,” said Pat Friel, the senior manager for Riddell’s advanced technologies. “The Axiom helmet starts with the scan of the athlete’s head. When we know the surface of the head then we build the helmet off the surface to increase the energy management material that’s inside the helmet. We’re creating a better helmet with the emphasis to take player performance to the next level.”
The helmet looks offset as the distance from the head to the shell is longer than other helmets. Because we measure and know the surface of each head, we’re able to maximize the energy management attenuation and we want to redirect the force of impact.”
Friel explained that four different flex panels featured on the helmet -- one on each side, one in front and one in the rear -- are designed into the shell to help lessen the energy at the point of impact. The helmet also gives the most robust field of vision. Mounting straps and mounting side wires have been removed to create more visibility and better peripheral vision to see what you’re hitting and see the ball better.
“There are five impact zones on the helmet that with the activation of a subscription are being measured from our InSite analytics system, incorporated in every helmet and wirelessly communicating to the sideline,” Friel added. “We measure intensity, location of impact, and we can see if a player is hitting with the crown of his helmet or see if a player is keeping their eyes up with contact. The data through thousands of scans can help generate the best fitting silhouette of the shell for today’s ever-changing heads, shapes and sizes versus its predecessors.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.