GREEN BAY, Wis. (WLUK) -- A trio of Northeast Wisconsin high school football teams were in for quite the surprise Wednesday in Titletown.
As part of the Packers Helmet Give Back Program, three high schools -- Oshkosh North, Shiocton and Winnebago Lutheran Academy -- each received $7,500 worth of new helmets.
Jarrett Bush, a Super Bowl champion with the Packers, helped unveil the surprise.
With the teams preparing for the upcoming season, players and coaches alike couldn't hold in their excitement having received such top-of-the-line equipment.
"Just an awesome surprise by the Packers, and I'm looking forward to see how they work on the field," said Winnebago Lutheran Academy football player Mason Faust, who will be a senior this upcoming school year.
Winnebago Lutheran Academy football coach Kevin Loehr says this will be a huge help for the program.
"It was such a blessing that they reached out to us. We got 18 helmets for our program. That's huge. That's going to benefit us for the next five years," said Loehr.
Aside from alleviating costs for high school football teams, the new helmets also look to increase player safety on the field.
"We're providing new VICIS helmets, which are some of the top-rated helmets in the industry, to these high school programs, so that they're able to play as safe as possible," said Packers Football Outreach Manager Ryan Fencl. "And every school is in a different financial position. Obviously, helmets are not cheap -- especially with new technologies coming out all the time."
Maintaining player safety is a top priority for these teams.
"If we don't get the state-of-the-art equipment or the stuff that is going to protect kids, then football's going to die," said Loehr. "So we need to do that and that's huge. It gives families and coaches relief too."
Now, the players will be under the Friday night lights in style.
"My senior year. Just want to make it the most special season as it could be, working with the guys, and I think this definitely helps bring us together," said Faust.
Full article and video: https://fox11online.com/news/making-a-difference/gallery/packers-make-a-difference-for-high-school-football-teams-providing-new-helmets
