The era of COVID-19 brought a challenge for all kids and families yearning to get back on the playing surface – how can we do it safely? There is a product that has recently been created from the old mantra – necessity is the mother of invention. And it has staying power well past this pandemic.
The initial idea in creating a line of protective nose and mouth shields for sports was born from a father’s concern for his high school son as the pandemic was in its infancy. My businessman in the northeast named Joe Bosack knew that the athletic career of his high school athlete son had an expiration date – four years and done. The thought of a lost season was too much for him to bear after all the hours of practice and time dedicated to improving every year. Bosack could see the disappointment in his son’s eyes with the uncertainty if he would even have a football season to play.
Not a person to let a good idea slip past him, Joe began to search for an additional layer of protection for his son’s football helmet. The goal was to find a product that did not impact his performance, was easy to install, and would fit inside his existing helmet. But most of all – minimize the spread of airborne germs. After extensive research Joe realized there was not a product on the market that met all the critical criteria. So, Joe decided to invent his own, in partnership with his business partner, Marc “Jake” Jacobson. It marked the beginning of development for the best sports nose and mouth shield on the market – TEKTOR Shields.
Their mission was to create innovative shields that allow athletes to perform at their peak and protect them from the spread of airborne germs in the face of COVID-19. Specializing in football, hockey, lacrosse, baseball and girls’ softball, TEKTOR Shields built a strong case that mouth and nose shields should become standard equipment for athletes of all ages playing competitive team sports requiring a helmet and facemask.
They knew there was a group of stakeholders that needed to be served:
- Families looking for cost-effective and easy to install products to protect their sons and daughters on the field or rink.
- Sports governing bodies and organizations looking to find the best way to get athletes back to play.
- Team managers having discussions about how to build a culture of safety within their organizations.
- Leagues and tournaments adding safety protocols to ensure a safe and competitive tournament or season.
- Administrators in all states doing their best to keep/get back to playing sports, making it safe for the player. This kind of product innovation helps.
- The organization’s mission also includes giving back philanthropically to community sports groups. A portion of every sale of TEKTOR Shields is donated to deserving youth sports organizations and programs across the country.
TEKTOR Shields are safe and interchangeable, attaching in seconds to the inside of a player’s facemask or cage. Made of recyclable flexible anti-fog polycarbonate, the product is engineered with clean site lines, breathability, and a proven layer of protection from the spread of viruses.
When TEKTOR Shields was launched, the company received incredible feedback from athletes of all ages on the performance of the shields. In fact, one of the best and most common feedback they continue to receive from athletes is, “I don’t even know the shield is on.”
As critical as an athlete’s performance is to Joe and Jake, as important is the efficacy of their shields. Do they accomplish what they want them to do—protect athletes from the spread of airborne viruses?
To find out Joe and Jake reached out to ICS Laboratories in Brunswick, Ohio – the long-time leading personal protective equipment (PPE) test laboratory in North America — to conduct an independent study on the efficacy of our shields. ICS scientists ran several sneeze simulation experiments; a sneeze produces more outward moisture particles from the nose and mouth than shouting or high-active breathing. Professional analysis from the tests found that TEKTOR Shields were up to 83 percent more effective at blocking and protecting the smallest outward moisture particles from a sneeze than without wearing a face shield, and an even higher efficiency (over 90 percent) for larger particles.
These test results have a compounded improvement rate as well. When multiple players are wearing TEKTOR Shields on the same playing surface, the safety benefits improve dramatically. Our shields have been approved for use by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), among other organizations.
TEKTOR shields improve safety for team-sport athletes during a pandemic and beyond, including cold and flu season. Joe and Jake’s mouth and nose shields are a sustainable safety precaution as important to protecting athletes’ health as visors are to protecting their eyes.
They wanted their product to protect athletes of all ages, be economical for the parents and teams, and also give back to the community. This is a labor of love for Joe and Jake, one created out of necessity to protect their own children and they hope the product can help protect athletes across North America and beyond.
After all, it’s all about giving athletes the safest avenue to get back out there and play the sports they love at their peak performance.
Marc “Jake” Jacobson, co-founder of TEKTOR Shields, works alongside Joe Bosack to tell the story of TEKTOR Shields to youth teams, organizations and leagues while running a successful marketing and design firm 1919 Productions. For more information on TEKTOR Shields visit https://tektorshields.com/
