The New Britain High School football team needs new football equipment.
On Monday, they raised money to help pay for equipment that is so old, the coach said some of it is safety hazard.
Head football coach Tebucky Jones, an NBHS graduate and former NFL player, said the team’s main priority is raising money to buy new helmets and shoulder pads.
It's why they held their first annual Tebucky Jones Golf Classic fundraiser at Stanley Golf Course in New Britain and raised at least $20,000.
The team uses a variety of helmets and the coach said they need new ones.
“You only can have a helmet for 10 years so every year. We’re like at that borderline like 10 years – get rid of 50 helmets before you get new helmets and you know, shoulder pads… I swear I saw my shoulder pads in there!” said Jones.
“Under the paint it’s scratched and some of the padding is kind of hard it depends on what helmet it is,” said senior football player, Keyon Wellington.
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“You know with all this stuff going on nowadays with concussions and stuff so you want to keep them as safe as possible,” said Jones.
The team also raising money to buy shoulder, leg and knee pads.
“The equipment has to step it up a little bit for the safety of us we’re having fun, too. So we want to be able to be safe playing the game that we love,” said senior football player, Alexander Silva.
NBC Connecticut reached out to the school district. A spokesperson told us:
"The Consolidated School District of New Britain complies with all guidelines for athletic equipment set by the State of Connecticut and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC). Our equipment meets the standards of safety as issued by the governing bodies which regulate high school sports in Connecticut. Student safety is always a concern in major contact sports such as football. Helmets are sent out each year to be reconditioned to meet the standards set by the CIAC. Coaches and staff have training to recognize and to follow the strict protocols now set to handle concussions which may occur in practice and/or games."
