Emily Menges has succeeded everywhere her soccer career has taken her. From Georgetown University, where Menges was a 3x All-Big East selection and a First-Team All-American, all the way through her eight years and counting in professional soccer, where she’s been a stalwart defender both with the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Melbourne Victory of the Australian Women's A-League.
Knowing first-hand the detrimental impact of head injuries in her sport, Menges first began wearing the Q-Collar in 2019 as part of a product wearability study, and has been wearing it ever since. During the 2021 season, Menges talked about what the Q-Collar means to her and the impact it can have on girls youth soccer:
“Like all professional athletes, I definitely have concerns over head injuries. It’s not fun. Actually, it was terrible and it was a little bit eye-opening about how much of a detriment it is to your entire life. When we do defending practices, we’re heading balls out of the box. I’m heading balls multiple times per day and now I can’t imagine doing one of those practices without the Q-Collar. Once you pass that threshold of knowing what you’re actually doing to your head every time you head the ball, there’s absolutely no reason for you not to be wearing this.”
To learn more about Emily’s experiences wearing the Q-Collar, watch this video.
