Why Prevention Belongs on Every Safety Checklist

Doing Everything Possible to Reduce Preventable Risk

Youth sports should be about confidence, competition, teamwork, and the joy of playing. As parents, coaches, league leaders, and athletes, we all want the same thing: to keep kids in the game while doing everything possible to reduce preventable risk.

One rare but serious risk that has gained national attention is commotio cordis — a sudden cardiac event that can happen when a blunt impact strikes the chest at a very specific moment in the heart’s rhythm. It is most often associated with sports where athletes may be hit in the chest by a ball, puck, stick, or another player, including baseball, softball, lacrosse, hockey, football, and other contact or projectile sports.

The good news is that awareness has grown, standards have improved, and families now have better protective options than ever before.

Why Commotio Cordis Is Back in the Conversation

Many people first heard the term commotio cordis after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest during a nationally televised football game in January 2023. Hamlin later identified commotio cordis as the cause and has continued to use his platform to promote heart-health and youth-sports safety awareness.

Since then, the conversation has continued. Recent medical and sports-safety reporting has emphasized that commotio cordis is rare, but that it most commonly affects young male athletes and is often linked to impacts from baseballs, softballs, lacrosse balls, hockey pucks, or physical contact. A 2024 analysis of organized sports incidents in the United States found that most recorded commotio cordis cases occurred in athletes 18 or younger, with baseball, lacrosse, and football among the most common sports represented.

These stories and studies should not scare families away from sports. Instead, they should encourage a smarter, more complete safety plan — one that includes emergency preparedness and prevention.

CPR and AEDs Save Lives — But Prevention Comes First

There is no question that CPR and access to an AED can be life-saving after a player collapses. Every team, league, and facility should have an emergency action plan, trained adults, and a working AED that can be reached quickly.

But once an athlete becomes a victim, the emergency has already happened.

That is why prevention deserves to be treated as the first line of defense. Better education, improved coaching, safer equipment choices, and properly fitted protective gear can help reduce risk before impact ever becomes an emergency.

Catchers, Chest Protectors, and the NOCSAE Mandate

Baseball catchers are one of the groups most often discussed in commotio cordis prevention because of their position behind the plate and repeated exposure to fast-moving balls.

In high school baseball, NFHS Rule 1-5-3 requires catchers to wear a chest protector that meets the NOCSAE standard at the time of manufacture. This rule became effective January 1, 2020, and the rationale was clear: the NOCSAE standard was developed to help protect the heart and cardiac silhouette from commotio cordis.

In lacrosse, similar progress has taken place. USA Lacrosse youth rules began requiring goalie chest protectors that meet the NOCSAE standard in 2021. Beginning in 2022, boys’ field players under USA Lacrosse, NFHS, and NCAA rules also needed chest protection meeting the NOCSAE ND200 standard.

For parents and coaches, the takeaway is simple: check the label, check the fit, and check the rulebook. Protective equipment should meet the current standard for the athlete’s sport, position, age group, and level of play.

Why a Base Layer Can Be a Smart Safety Upgrade

Traditional chest protectors matter, especially for catchers and goalies. But many young athletes also need lightweight, flexible protection that can be worn comfortably under a uniform, jersey, or existing gear.

That is where Unequal has focused for years: protective technology that athletes actually want to wear.

Unequal was the first to design a protective shirt with a heart-protection pad backed by peer-reviewed published research. At Tufts Medical Center, researchers studied chest-wall protector designs using Unequal materials and found that certain combinations significantly reduced ventricular fibrillation compared with no protector. The study, published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, helped establish a new standard for what chest protection could achieve.

Unequal’s HART® protection products were built from that mission: protect the chest wall around the heart with thin, lightweight, high-performance materials that help absorb, disperse, and dissipate impact energy. The goal is not to make athletes feel restricted. The goal is to help them feel protected, confident, and ready to play.

Protective Equipment Should Be Part of the Culture

The best safety programs are not built on fear. They are built on preparation.

A positive youth-sports safety culture includes:

• Coaches who teach athletes not to use their chest to block a ball or puck.

• Parents who understand the difference between ordinary padding and protection designed for commotio cordis risk reduction.

• Leagues that require properly certified gear where applicable.

• Teams that practice emergency action plans.

• Athletes who feel comfortable wearing protective gear because it fits, moves, and performs.

When safety becomes normal, athletes do not feel singled out. They feel supported.

What Parents and Coaches Can Do Today

Before the next practice or game, take a few simple steps:

1. Confirm that catchers, goalies, and other at-risk players have properly fitted protective equipment.

2. Confirm gear is NOCSAE/SEI certified only where the sport/position explicitly requires it. Unequal offers options for players and positions where mandates have and have not be imposed.

3. Consider added base-layer heart protection for athletes in sports with chest-impact exposure.

4. Make sure coaches know where the AED is located.

5. Review the team’s emergency action plan.

6. Keep the conversation positive: protective gear is not about fear — it is about confidence.

Play Hard. Play Smart. Protect the Heart.

Commotio cordis is rare, but the impact of one event can be life-changing. The progress made in awareness, emergency response, equipment standards, and protective technology gives families more tools than ever before.

At Unequal, we believe prevention should be part of every athlete’s preparation. CPR and AEDs are critical when seconds matter. But the first defense is doing everything possible before impact happens: educating athletes, improving safety standards, and choosing protective equipment designed with the heart in mind.

Youth sports are worth protecting — and so are the young athletes who play them.