Through the Youth Equipment for Sports Safety program, Brian and Kathy Haugen have equipped a dozen schools with EvoShield safety gear, including teams in Niceville and Walton County.
Since 2011, the Haugens have outfitted more than 800 students with gear designed to help prevent injuries similar to what killed their son Taylor five years ago when he was hit on the football field.
The 15-year-old died the following day from a ruptured liver.
“It’s unbelievable how many kids have their appendix, spleen, rib, liver, of course, get damaged when they’re participating in a sport,” Brian said. “And there’s never really been anything to protect that region.
“Our target market is high school and middle school teams, seventh through 11th grade. That age group is amazingly susceptible to injury because they’re not developed yet. They are all different sizes and strengths.”
The YESS program is an arm of the Haugens’ primary organization, the Taylor Haugen Foundation. The purpose is to raise funds to protect players from internal injuries while educating them about the hazards on the field.
“We would love for more local schools to apply for our grant and see them do fundraising to offset the cost,” Brian said. “We want to take care of our local teams.”
The next fundraiser for the foundation is Savor the Season on Nov. 6 at Caliza Pool at Alys Beach. Ten local chefs will present wines paired with hors d’oeuvres along with a live auction. Tickets can be purchased at www.savortheseason2013.org.
“It started with one, then two, then 70 kids who we’ve protected. Now, this has become our mission,” Kathy said. “This is a sport. It’s not meant to be lethal.”
TO LEARN MORE: For more information about the Taylor Haugen Foundation, visit taylorhaugen.org. To buy tickets to Savor the Season, go towww.savortheseason2013.org.
