Basketball Uniforms - Lost Youth

I've written in the past about how street fashion drives basketball uniform styles like no other sport. What I failed to mention then is something that struck me just recently as I watching a wretched high school basketball game on a local cable channel. Not the level of talent; I take that for what it is.(i.e., Excessive palming, erratic shot selection, a reluctance to play team defense, etc.)

What I was newly struck by was how ridiculously out of control basketball shorts' length and overall bagginess have become. Since every 5th grader has --at least in their mind-- mastered the between the legs dribble, this combination has produced many -- if they weren't so annoying -- comically moments.



With the school season soon upon us and an AAU run in the not so distant offing, I am making my case to STOP THE MADNESS!

Proper proportion is a fundamental design characteristic. Not just in basketball uniforms, in almost all things that are well-designed. What is proportionally out of sync is easily detected by the human eye, even at an early age. Then why have we found ourselves in the pickle of watching young hoopsters fall over themselves in circus-worthy shorts?!?!

Why? Because "That's how the kids want to wear them?" To which I reply, as my father would have said "Tough darts."

At TSP, we sell tons of basketball uniforms every year and have done so for going on ten years. In the past two years, we've sold almost no youth sized basketball uniforms. Don't get me wrong, we're selling to more teams and schools than ever, but almost no youth sizes. Coaches of 5th graders are ordering Adult larges in the hopes that they'll be "baggy enough for the boys."

Manufacturers have made the adjustment. They did so 3-4 years ago, bowing to style. But no matter. A 4 foot guard is currently "pantalooning" at a gymnasium near you. Enough already!

The saying goes, "Youth is wasted on the young." And that true to some degree. But can we at least get them into a properly fitted uniform in the process?!?!?




Sports Uniform Guy
TeamSportsPlanet.com

The Little League Coach:Teaching Life Lessons

I’m into team uniforms, team sports, and I like to peruse coach’s blogs from time to time. While I’m hardly an expert on the subject of coach’s blog’s, I can say with good authority that there are a lot of horrible ones out there. Many times, people will just throw up a few softball drills or the like, and expect you to buy their DVD series on “Coaching Youth Athletes” for only 5 easy payments of $19.95.

That’s why when I first came across The Little League Coach.com, I found it so refreshing. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a blog to market whatever it is you do, I sincerely believe that first you should have valuable content, and then you can try and sell whatever your heart desires.

And that’s where this blog really comes through for me, content. This blog is stuffed full of informative, and sometimes entertaining articles on all aspects of coaching and running a Little League. From practice tips to advice on getting parent volunteers, this blog really covers everything you would ever want to know about Little League.

Written by a long time Little League Coach & board member, this blog has something for every audience. Players, coaches, team parents, you name it, there’s probably something here for you. Heck, I don’t fall into –any- of those categories and I still keep going back. After following this blog for a couple of weeks, I feel like the content really stems from a sincere desire to share his 19+ years of experience with anyone willing to listen. His blog isn’t about just winning games, but about “teaching life lessons” as he writes on the front page. In his posts he talks about ways to make the entire Little League experience better for everyone involved. After reading through some of his many posts, and conversing with him via email he comes across like the coach we all wish we could have had.

So if you’ve never heard of this blog, go check it out, and if you have heard it, then go visit it again. Whether you’re a coach, parent, player, or even just a guy fondly remembering his own Little League days after reading this post, this is the coach’s blog to read. So what are you waiting for?




Sports Uniform Guy
TeamSportsPlanet.com