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Daryl Johnston’s Company Working on Fields to Prevent Concussions

Jan 26, 2010, 10:30 PM UTC

Increased concern about head injuries and the consequences from them will be an ever-present concern for football players on all levels in the years to come. With this in mind, former Dallas Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston has joined with his former college quarterback, Don McPherson, who is one of the founders of G9 Turf, a company that stresses that strict maintenance and testing of new and existing playing fields can help combat against serious injuries.â†µ

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â†µâ†µFor the time being, the company’s focus is on the youth level, as business opportunities on college and pro levels are more sporadic. Still, the company has been invited to speak at the safety summit during this year’s NFL Combine to advocate their methods of field testing and rejuvenation.â†µ

â†µâ†µOf concern is a field’s Gmax rating, which measures a field’s shock-absorbing properties as compared to the industry standard. Scores above 200 are considered dangerous. A rating in the range between 120-150 is thought to be ideal. In a phone interview, Johnston said the company recently traveled to a school in Long Island, which they were about to reduce in rating from 170 to 140 using their process of rejuvenation.â†µ

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â†µ"We're using highly compressed air to blow out debris that collects underneath a synthetic field," Johnston said. "It's not that we're trying to make fields softer, per se, because that might present other injury issues. It's that we're trying to restore them to where they were." â†µ

â†µâ†µDown the line, Johnston said, the company wants to see multi-use NFL venues to keep their fields in place, rather than rolling them out to accommodate other events.â†µ

â†µâ†µ“When you’re taking out the field and putting it back down, sometimes in the span of 24 hours, you’re ruining the integrity of the field,” Johnston said. “It isn’t the same when you can put another layer on top of the field when another event is going on. At the moment, we’re working to develop what that intermediate surface would be, but it’s something we’re serious about implementing.”â†µ

â†µâ†µG9 wants to be able to sell its own brand of synthetic fields to independent schools and entire school district, but has yet to get a contract signed as of yet. According to Johnston, however, the company is in discussions to secure its first contract with a school in Sunnyville, TX.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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