Helmet & Uniform

BEHIND THE HELMET

Since 1999, "The Helmet" has included the following...

X) a front bumper decal

Y) award decals

Z) player-helmet number

Although the company that distributes the jerseys & pants has changed numerous tmes, the uniform has only had one significant change in design.

CLASSIC BLACK - 1998-2003

Champion, SB

Debut: Sep 4, 1998 vs Wootton HS

Final Game: Nov 7, 2003 vs Wheaton HS

CLASSIC WHITE - 1998-2004

Champion, Russell Athletic,

Debut: Sep 18, 1998 @ Poolesville HS

Final Game: Dec 3, 2004 vs Lackey HS

MODERN BLACK - 2004-PRESENT

Cisco Athletic

Debut: Sep 3, 2004 vs R. Montgomery HS

MODERN WHITE - 2005-PRESENT

Cisco Athletic

Debut: Sep 16, 2005 @ Seneca Valley HS

MODERN SILVER - 2005-PRESENT

Cisco Athletic

Debut: Nov 4, 2005 @ Damascus HS

SILVER PANTS - 1998-PRESENT

Russell Athletic

Debut: Sep 4, 1998 vs Wootton HS

BLACK PANTS - 2001-PRESENT

Russell Athletic

Debut: Sep 7, 2001 @ Damascus HS

Top Left: The "Classic Black" Home jersey worn from 1998-2003.

Top Right: The "Classic White" Away jersey worn from 1998-2004.

MODERN COMBINATION DEBUTS

MODERN BLACK ON BLACK PANTS

Debut: Sep 3, 2004 vs R. Montgomery

MODERN BLACK ON SILVER PANTS

Debut: Sep 10, 2004 vs Rockville

MODERN WHITE ON BLACK PANTS

Debut: Sep 16, 2005 @ Seneca Valley

MODERN SILVER ON BLACK PANTS

Debut: Nov 4, 2005 @ Damascus

MODERN WHITE ON SILVER PANTS

Debut: Nov 11, 2006 @ R. Montgomery

MODERN SILVER ON SILVER PANTS

Debut: TBA

CLASSIC COMBINATION DEBUTS

CLASSIC BLACK ON SILVER PANTS

Debut: Sep 4, 1998 vs Wootton

CLASSIC WHITE ON SILVER PANTS

Debut: Sep 18, 1998 @ Poolesville

CLASSIC WHITE ON BLACK PANTS

Debut: Sep 7, 2001 @ Damascus

CLASSIC BLACK ON BLACK PANTS

debut: Oct 26, 2001 vs J. H. Blake

“as long as im coaching here, we’re going to keep things the same.. we will be traditional.. we will have an identity that people will recognize”

-Randy Trivers Jaguars Head Coach (1998-2006)

PROJECT JAGUAR

Professional graphic artist John Foster speaks about his relationship with Coach Trivers and the Jaguar logo he created.

When Coach Trivers was still working at Wootton he had become good friends with my wife Suzanne and in turn with me. We spent a lot of time together in our early twenties and Randy's drive was very evident. When he was offered the position at Northwest, it was obvious that it would be a good fit for him and that he would soon build a powerful program (which he certainly did sooner than most thought was possible.)

Randy was always a details man and he knew he had an opportunity to shape every aspect of a program with no history behind it. He wanted to make sure that the team would have tradition and know that they were a part of something special. With this in mind, he knew he had to have a unique logo for the squad as opposed to just re-using existing clip art or a giant NW. Leaning on our friendship, he asked if I might help out in this regard which I gladly accepted.

We talked about what he hoped the mark would convey and his main concern being how it looked on the helmets helped whittle down our original presentation to the single profile of the jaguar. The logo is a stark contrast to the weak looking eagle down the street (as was the idea.)

It's funny as I think the logo has always been misused (too small on the helmet and often inverted color-wise) and I wanted to let the school use it as well to cut down on the awful looking sweatshirts and paraphernalia they produce using clip art and horrific type. We never really talked about it after I handed over the files but I always assumed Randy kept it to himself to use only for the team. Makes it more special which I know was the purpose.

I ended up re-visiting the sketches years later and adapted one of the unused logos for a project for Coca-Cola so I ended up getting compensated for all that work after all!

~John Foster

John Foster is no longer in his twenties. He is VP, Creative for fuszion and has been recognized internationally for his design work in magazines, books and galleries. He is the recipient of both a gold and silver medal from The Art Director's Club of Metropolitan Washington as well as a best of show from the DC Ad Club. He speaks around the world on design issues and is the author of Maximum Page Design and New Masters of Poster Design.

In week 10 of the 2006 season, the Jaguars wore white jerseys on silver pants; a first since 11/18/2000.

Photo by Robert J. McGuire

A brief history of Northwest football through uniform changes...

THE HELMET

The Shell & The Mask: The shell has remained SILVER & the facemask remained BLACK. The Jags have worn shells from SCHUTT and RIDDELL. The Riddell Revolution became popular among players in 2003.

THE MAIN DECAL

The Jags sport the traditional black jaguar decal designed by John Foster on the helmet.

The first prototype of the design was a 'negative' of the current design. It was only used in the football team's inaugural year in 1998. The players from that 1998 team suggested that a black version of the decal can be more visible against the silver helmet.

The eyes and the color of the tounge of the Jag on the black decal has changed without notice from true silver to gray on different years.

1999 saw the most 'upgrades' in NW's helmet. It also became the standard look for the current design we see today. Player number decals were added to the back of the helmet to give the helmet a sense of personalization and ownership. Also, a decal that reads "JAGS" made its way on the front bumper.

The coaches also began giving out award decals. The Jags helmet has only seen two, such award decals. They are the paw and the hammer. A paw is given to a player for a remarkable play, a score, a significant stat, or being named player of the week. In addition, each player on the team gets a paw after a win.

Atleast three hammer decals are given each week. One for the best hits on offense, another for defense, and the last for special teams. Mehmet "The Shiek" Hazar gets hammer decals for kicking touchbacks. He kicked a county-high 25 touchbacks in 2000.

Like the majority of football teams across the nation, as a tribute to America, The Jags sported an American Flag on the helmet on their next game following the event that happend on 9-11-2001.

On the 10th season of Jaguars football, the players sported the 10th Anniversary decal on the back of the helmet.

FASHION

Underarmour brand tights became popular in the mid 1990s and by 2001, almost every player on every team wore underarmour or a prototype of the skin-tight, water-wicking apparel. In 2006, each player on the team wore custom nike dri-fit undershirts.

All players are required to wear black socks and cleats.

The style of Northwest football is quite unique. At this time when it is quite easy to splurge by adding numerous accents to a helmet or jersey to make them more flashy; Northwest has remained true to its humble roots by remaining conservative in design.

The addition of a solid black stripe across the top of the helmet for the 2007 season of Jags football commemorates the beginning of the Andrew Fields era.

Salim Koroma '05 shows off his decorated Riddell revolution helmet. Photo by Jonathan Newton - The Washington Post

LEFT: the 10th Anniversary decal that commemorated 10 years of Northwest athletics (which was distributed on the 10th year itself- one year too early).

RIGHT: Jahrett Butler in 2007 with the decal on his helmet.