Guardian Athletics has been named as a finalist for MN Cup 2019. MN Cup, a program of the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurs at the Carlson School of Management, is a community-led, public-private partnership that brings together corporations, VCs, foundations, government, and skilled volunteers to support Minnesota’s entrepreneurs. Click here for the press release.
For a full list of the finalists, please click here. For press inquiries or more information, please contact Zeb Carlson at admin@guardianathletics.com.
2019 Season Updates
Last season we shipped 1,000 Kato Collars to NFL, NCAA, and High School teams across the United States. When we asked the football community about KC’s launch, two themes emerged.
1. We need to quicken efforts to get more collars on teams. Many of you stressed the importance of the right gear used as not only a return-to-play tool but also getting in front of potential injuries before they happen.
2. Budgets are tight. With decreased resources available for your teams, greater flexibility is essential. At the same time, with increasing pressure from parents and others who question football’s safety, you’re accomplishing a lot with a little.
Launched earlier this summer, our rental program offers packs of collars from 25 to 80 with a 1-year rental agreement. We are accepting pre-orders for the remainder of this season that will ship in the coming weeks (you can sign up for updates here). We are incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received and thankful for the input from athletes that have helped guide us through the updated designs.
We’ve redesigned the pads. The former design utilized a post to connect to the pad, which we’ve replaced with a rivet. This new design is impervious to extreme heat and other stresses that the collar must endure during its life span. For those of you that have purchased a collar, we’ll be shipping you the replacement pads in the coming weeks.
Additional pad sizes will be available online for purchase. These make sure no matter your size, you have options to find the best fit, with .5″ pads available in addition to the standard 1″ pad.
The flange is redesigned, too. We heard concerns about the stress on the fabric, and we responded with a new design that has been tested to show a 300% increase in durability.
We’ll also offer a new medium collar for athletes that typically wear shoulder pads from Youth XL to Adult M. This offers a great opportunity for JV players to have access to our product, too.
If you would like to share your input with us, or if you have experienced issues with the current design, we want to hear from you. We are all about making sure we back up our product. Our customer service email address is admin@guardianathletics.com.
News: Startup Showcase
The Pioneer Press recently met with Jeff to talk through our company and Kato Collar for their Startup Showcase. Check out the article over on their site!
Our founder, Jeff Chambers, recently met with the Mankato Free Press to talk about player safety and offer an update on our progress from our first season. Check out the article here.
News: Rich Gannon Partnership
We’re excited to announce Rich Gannon, former NFL quarterback and CBS Sports game analyst has joined our advisory board.
“Football has been a big part of my life
and I’ve been fortunate to be associated with the NFL for over 30 years.”, says
Gannon. “Unfortunately, injuries are a big part of our game and that’s why the
safety element to me is absolutely critical. I’m excited to partner with
Guardian Athletics and the Kato Collar because I believe this is a piece of
equipment that can help players at any level. The design & technology
behind the collar is proven to help reduce the forces that are believed to
cause concussions, helping to keep players safer on the field. We’re excited to
see it in action this season.”
For more the full press release, please click here. For press inquiries, please contact press@guardianathletics.com.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT KATO COLLAR
Announcing GA’s Opening Drive
Over the past months, we’ve started shipping our first 1000 collars to schools across the country. These schools are part of a movement in football: Innovation just isn’t moving fast enough and players and coaches are ready to take action.
We are excited to hear what the football community has to say about Kato Collar. And we’re also excited to see it appearing on national TV (keep your eyes peeled, maybe you will, too!) as players wear the collar during games. As we’ve launched, the feedback has been incredibly positive and we’re also learning more about how to keep pushing future innovations.
Each of you is crucial to the continuing development of our product line. And together, we’ll keep our players safer from burner/stingers and the risks of concussions.
These first 1000 collars are available at a discounted price of $199 with free shipping. Check ’em out over at the store or give us a call.
To read what people are saying, check out some of our testimonials here.
And also; don’t hesitate to connect with us for comments or questions!
NEWS: MANKATO FREE PRESS
Our founder, Jeff Chambers, sat down with the Mankato Free Press to tell them a bit about our collar. Check it out by clicking the link below.
Kato Collar helps keep players safe in the game by decelerating the head by up to 30% after an impact. This helps prevent concussions, burner/stingers, and other injuries. To check out the collar, click here.
NEWS: Aurora Register
Our founder, Jeff Chambers, was recently featured in his hometown newspaper, the Aurora Register. To view or download the article, please click here. To view the article on Aurora Register, please register for an account on their website.
Guardian Athletics Manifesto
Concussion.The big, scary, 10-letter word. The fear of them is getting in the way of the protection of our athletes and the game we love.The game that’s been handed down through generations. The game that entire communities are built around.
But our game has been under attack because of legitimate safety concerns. And it ends now.
If youth participation continues to drop, where will the next generation of great players come from?
The first impact protected by helmets is only a part of the problem. Just as a sound structure is important in a car crash, without multiple airbags the results are catastrophic.
With innovative design and technology, the Kato Collar addresses the real problem, rapid acceleration and deceleration inside the helmet, protecting the brain from that secondary, often times more traumatic blow by 30%.
So let’s protect our players, protect the game and let them play. Safely.
The fear of concussions and other head injuries is preventing athletes of all ages from playing a game they love — football. Our passion was ignited when we realized that the industry simply wasn’t innovating fast enough.
Football has been passed down through generations and has built tight communities of athletes, coaches, and fans all around the world. While helmets provide a level of protection for the skull, the brain can still move and can cause head injuries, particularly concussions. Innovation in safety gear is lacking. And there’s a lack of products that properly address the frequency, severity, and recovery times tied to head and neck injuries.
Protect. Perform. Recover. It’s our mission. It’s in our DNA; our founder learned over the 35+ years working with athletes, particularly football players, that it’s not one simple element that creates a safer game. And as an organization, we believe that this systematic approach to the safety of athletes is how we can play a role in reducing the risk of injuries, concussions, and other contributors to CTE, not to mention helping eliminate burners and stingers.
Using our experience, innovative design, comprehensive testing, and technology, our launch product — Kato Collar — focuses on the deceleration of the brain after the initial impact of a hit. The collar slows down the head, which keeps the brain from reaching those extreme points where injuries occur after an impact of any kind. Movement of the brain can lead to bruising, which leads to a concussion. Kato Collar’s unique design decelerates the head after impact by up to 30% and reduces the forces that are believed to cause concussions.
We designed Kato Collar to give players confidence in their safety and technique to help them move faster on the field and let them play the game they love. Proper tackling and blocking techniques are also fundamental to protection and confidence in the game.
We won’t stop innovating and learning more about how to let them play.
Our Team
Football is in our DNA. After years of research, prototyping, and development we’ve launched a product like none other. Our team works to create confidence with the football community to help players at all level of play, inspiring the next generation of athletes. With the launch in ’17 of Kato Collar, our flagship product, we’re defining how we can prevent and protect our athletes.
Science and physics are key components that support our mission and inspire our products. We see the techniques being taught through programs such as Heads Up as fundamental to protection and confidence in the game. Our product not only gives players confidence in their safety and technique but will help their confidence when playing and keep them moving quickly on the field. Anyone that plays knows, you can’t slow down on the field.
Our passion was ignited when we realized that the industry is not moving fast enough to keep players safer on the field. We couldn’t wait for a revolution, so we decided to start our own. We want to protect our game — the game we love — and the game we pass on to our kids and grandkids.
We build better gear for our players, and we’re not stopping at football. Protection is our core belief. After all, guardian is in our name.
