In November 2019 United Bank opened a new branch in East Brewton. Later that evening at the Battle for Murder Creek, United Bank wanted to express their support for the community by announcing plans to outfit the two teams. The president of United Bank explained they wanted to bless the two high school teams with brand new abdominal injury protection equipment at no cost to the schools. This week, after delays due to the pandemic, that gear was provided to the players.
The Taylor Haugen Foundation’s YESS Program (Youth Equipment for Sports Safety) equipped two local Brewton high schools with abdominal protection gear for their football teams. Every player from T.R. Miller and W.S. Neal’s football teams were given an extremely effective rib shirt. The base layer shirt has pads that form fit to the individual player to offer superior protection. The Taylor Haugen Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization in the United States for abdominal injury protection, and their aim is to help educate and equip student athletes with new generation, high-tech equipment to help better protect against abdominal injuries. The foundation has outfitted over five thousand of youth football players across the country.
The partnership between the Taylor Haugen Foundation, United Bank, and the two high schools is an excellent example of having plans and protocols in place to help protect our youth athletes. As football players are being taught to make contact between the thighs and shoulders of their opponents, it only makes sense to provide a higher level of protection to the abdominal region. Abdominal injuries can be hard to diagnose, and sometimes catastrophic. This equipment is a great way to protect young players from injuries.
The Taylor Haugen Foundation honors Taylor’s legacy by enabling youth athletes, who love the game of football as he did, to continue playing it more safely. Kathy Haugen, the foundation’s executive director said, “don’t prevent your child from playing the sport they love, do the research to find how best to protect your child so that they can better enjoy the sport they love.” She also expressed her gratitude towards the team from United Bank for their generosity and support of the community they serve.
