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University of Minnesota Athletics
Helmet Stickers Unveiled
9/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
There was a subtle – but meaningful – addition to Minnesota’s helmets last Saturday against Indiana State.
This year, Coach Claeys instituted helmet stickers for the Gophers and they made their debut on the lids of the deserving in a 58-28 win against the Sycamores on Sept. 10.
Fans may not have noticed them because each helmet didn’t have multiple stickers on it. That’s by design of course. The stickers are earned and not handed out for team wins, each individual touchdowns or the like.
“We want to reward kids who make plays that help the team win a football game,” said Coach Claeys. “As the staff is grading film they write down the plays for kids who they think helped us win and give them to me. Then I got back and watch those plays.”
Once Claeys signs off, the equipment staff then affixes small brick-like stickers with the words “Gold Standard” on them to the back of helmets of those who earned them.
“Almost all of them are things that helped the team win,” said Claeys. “Against Oregon State, Tyler (Johnson) make a block that helped get Mitch into the end zone.”
Players can earn stickers throughout the season, but the competitive Claeys said they can also lose them as well.
“If they make a critical error during a game, they lose a brick,” he said. “It’s not an all-good and forget the bad. It’s a little bit of a process, but it is important to play well. You are not going to get rewarded if you made a bunch of mistakes.”
