Central Collegiate in Moose Jaw is taking safety to the next step for their 50 football players. Once their season kicks-off this week, all of the 12 players that will be on the field in Cyclones jerseys will be sporting Q-Collars.

The team is the first high school team in North America to make the collar – which is designed to protect the player from head injuries – mandatory. The collar applies pressure on the jugular and keeps blood in the cranial cavity which then prevents the brain from sloshing.

Central Cyclones, head coach Colin Belsher says he talked with Zeljko Stefanovic with Sask Selects football about the collars after the program started using them last year.

Stefanovic says a parent of one of their players told him about the collars and once they looked into it, they ended up ordering 100 Q-Collars for their players.

Stefanovic says the results were positive right from the get go once they introduced the collars. “So we had all of our older boys wear the collars and the results were staggering. It’s was the first time we ever came back from a tournament without a single concussion.”

Another team in the province is jumping on board to issue the collars to each of its players, with Wynyard recently deciding to use the Q-Collar for the upcoming season.

Football players on the pro level are also using the Q-Collars including Adam Bighill of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Each collar sells for about $200 dollars.