(FORTUNE Magazine) – Ah, remember the untroubled days before runaway liability suits, when sports were fun, as opposed to NASA-level exercises in safety? Remember the days when a man could take to the football field with little more than what looked like a leather Louis Vuitton handbag on his head, and stock-car drivers were revved up on moonshine during races? Today we live in a different time: a time when a person needs a helmet to play soccer.

After much R&D, Full90, a San Diego--based sporting goods company, has come up with what its CEO, Jeff Skeen, believes is a necessity: a protective padded headband designed to lessen the chance of head injuries. In 22 years, Skeen says his outfit has shipped some 100,000 of its patented protection devices at around $25 each, and the idea of a soccer helmet is gaining momentum. "By word of mouth, this thing is zooming around the world," Skeen says.

The soccer dad, who formerly worked in marketing for various helmet companies, hit upon the idea after his young daughter sustained multiple concussions on the field. He created a prototype, and after much lobbying of schools and soccer associations, his headgear was allowed in games. Skeen admits his daughter was self-conscious about wearing the goofy padding at first, but his invention quickly went from "fool to cool" after several Olympic and pro players also began wearing them.

But one person holding out for helmet-free games is Dr. Bernard A. Griesemer, the lead author of an American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report on youth-soccer injuries. He says he's "skeptical" that the padding reduces the risk of concussions or the brain damage that could result from repeatedly heading the ball. "I don't recommend it," he says. Now, about all those kids playing badminton ... --Reed Tucker