Believe it or not, helmets were not "required" in professional football until 1939. With roughly 3.9M reported concussions every year due to recreational sports, it can safely argued that helmets are...a good thing.
Lots of concussion prevention and management advice available at USA Football and the Centers for Disease Control. Also your state's governing body for high school sports will have free advice as well.
I also cover concussion awareness in my sports parenting book for divorced moms new to youth sports.
Zero Offseason: Divorce, Youth Sports & Tips for the Insanely Busy Sports Mom
http://www.amazon.com/Zero-Offseason-Divorce-Sports-Insanely-ebook/dp/B00PLY51RW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416491953&sr=8-1&keywords=zero+offseason
