The Fountain Hills Soccer Club offered a new safety measure for athletes this season, making protective headbands available to young athletes at a fraction of the usual cost.

“It has been a wonderful and exciting soccer season,” said FHSC President Rachel Walters. “We’ve had a variety of challenges and supply chain issues but have been so pleased with the enthusiasm and patience of all of the players, coaches and parents.

“Our most important news is, given the generosity of our title sponsor, we’ve been able to offer protective headbands for $10 when they are normally $49.99 retail.”

The Soccer Club chose to offer Unequal Halo Headbands this season after extensive research, including the safety ratings. These discounted pieces of safety equipment were a passion project for Dwight Johnson, president of the Verne C. Johnson Family Foundation.

“I’ve had this dream of offering protective headgear for soccer players ever since my son played on the Fountain Hills High School team almost a decade ago,” Johnson said. “The timing was right this year and I’m overwhelmed that 51 of 181 players chose to purchase the headbands. I’m confident this number will only increase in future years.”

The Fountain Hills Soccer Club has been in existence since 1993 and caters to Fountain Hills Youth aged 4-17. FHSC’s goal is to give players the opportunity to develop a variety of soccer skills while fostering character development in an environment that is empowering and fun. According to Johnson, this is exactly the type of organization his foundation takes an interest in.

“Our foundation rewards organizations who have demonstrated strong growth, outreach, diversity and remain focused on their mission,” Johnson added. “Each nonprofit we fund must continue to reflect superior performance every year to receive renewed funding. The Fountain Hills Soccer Club has certainly deserved our foundation’s support as title sponsor for the past eight years.”

Looking ahead, Walters said she hopes to see the use of protective headbands become more widespread, giving local youth an extra layer of protection while playing the sport they love.

“Parents are aware of and becoming more concerned with head protection and concussion protection in children’s sports,” Walters said. “We are thrilled we can offer this protection at such a low cost.”

For questions regarding the Fountain Hills Soccer Club, email info@fhsoccerclub.org.