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21st Century Uniforms and Apparel
You look good, and you feel good; you play well.

by Rod Smith

It's an adage as old as the game itself. But as we stride into a new century, does this axiom still carry the weight it once did?

You bet it does. At the onset of the 21st century, the fusion between sports, entertainment and fashion has never been stronger. Football uniforms are continually becoming more customized, form-fitting and durable. Yet at the same time, they serve a more traditional role within a team. More than simple colors and construction patterns, uniforms often create a visual identity for both the school and the team, not to mention their integral part in tradition.

What look will your team have? As a coach, that decision may very well become yours. Does your school already have a strong tradition of winning, or will a new uniform reinvent or revitalize your team? Can a new uniform instill in your players a sense of change? What about the garments players wear under their uniforms? Can compression shorts or sweat-wicking materials actually enhance your players' performance?

Tradition. Fashion. Performance. All three are factors to consider when selecting uniforms and athletic apparel. Now, how can you get your players in the uniform and apparel that is right for them? Read on.

WHERE TO START?

One resource you will probably find valuable, whether you are a first-time coach or a veteran athletic director is The Athletic Uniform Buying Guide, a 30-page catalog, printed by Betlin Uniforms, that walks you through the ins and outs of quality uniform selection. Informative and unbiased, the guide is more than just a simple public relations or marketing tool.

Compiled with Betlin's expertise of the industry and the knowledge of long-time athletic director Everett DeVaul, the guide includes valuable information on budgeting, ordering, fabric selection, sizing, care and replacing uniforms.

"With the turnover rate in coaches and athletic directors, these individuals often don't know a lot about buying uniforms or what to look for," says DeVaul, Betlin's marketing director and author of the guide. "I think sometimes coaches get their priorities mixed up, maybe go too much Xs and Os and don't realize the importance of outfitting athletes that represent their school, their team and obviously represent their coach. Some coaches don't put uniforms as a priority and then all of a sudden it's too late to buy them. When you buy custom uniforms, you've got to plan ahead."

BUDGETING

Whether you like it or not, the choice of uniforms will probably not be as simple as just finding what you like in a catalog and the school buying it. Oftentimes, the determining factor in uniform selection is the budget.

But even if the almighty dollar directs your decision, where do you start? How can you determine that the uniforms you are buying are actually a good value? One means of determining this is to use what is called the price/quality relationship. To simplify, this means taking the price you pay for the uniforms and dividing it by the number of years you can reasonably expect to use them. If you purchase uniforms for $5,000 and expect to use them for four years, the actual cost of these uniforms per year is $1,250.

By knowing your budget, you can determine how much you have to spend per uniform. When you go to your local sporting goods dealers, they will be able to better assist you in getting the most out of each dollar you have to spend.

TIMING

Just like in the game itself, timing and execution can be critical when it comes to ordering uniforms. Be sure to allow plenty of time for uniform delivery. This can mean from one to four weeks for stock uniforms and up to three months for custom ones. Moreover, some uniform manufacturers have what they call production windows, meaning they only manufacture football uniforms at certain times during the year.

Many uniform companies offer early purchase incentive programs that can save teams hundreds of dollars. But, according to one expert, the problem with early incentive programs is that schools seldom have their budgets approved by December or January, the deadline for most early incentive programs.

"In the custom uniform business, you have to order uniforms four to six months in advance," says Todd Levine of Don Alleson Athletic. "With budgets being cut back and being approved later, it's harder for coaches and athletic directors to make those decisions early."

As a result, his value-driven company has turned its focus to providing both the look and durability of a custom jersey with the convenience and almost instant availability of having that uniform in stock. This combination of quality, price and availability allows companies like Don Alleson to meet coaches' needs, whatever they might be.

RE-DESIGNING

Another element to consider when selecting a uniform is the look that you want your team to have.

Teams at all levels have benefited from subtle or complete makeovers in uniform or logo design. Recently, the NFL's Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans have combined uniform and logo changes to jump start player and fan enthusiasm.

"Not only does (changing uniforms) create increased enthusiasm for the players and a fresh start if a program has not been successful, it creates for the school some tremendous capital revenue generating devices," says Andy Lehrer, co-owner of Teamwork Athletic Apparel, a company that makes uniforms for all sports but targets mostly high school and youth programs, "If they market it appropriately, the school can generate additional income to offset the price of new uniforms."

But what if school officials, parents and players don't agree that a full-fledged uniform change is necessary or affordable?

Then make small changes. Whether it be with a Lycra-spandex insert down the side of the jersey or jacquard trim - a sort of pattern-embroidered neck collar - new uniforms with small changes can be not only more functional but more fashionable, as well. Small cosmetic changes like patches, thinner stripes or color accents can make sizable differences. In the process, you can create a new look without recreating the entire uniform.

"Some coaches aren't allowed to change the look of the uniform," says Lehrer. "It's been a tradition that it's always been (a certain way) ... so a coach might make a small change. These types of things can be done at a lower cost than redoing the entire jersey."

UNDERGARMENTS = UNDER-APPRECIATED

Superstition. Injury prevention. Fashion or function. These are probably all reasons that athletes wear or refuse to wear certain undergarments.

In football, undergarments such as the girdle are required for protection. In much the same way compression shorts (more commonly referred to as tights) have been used to protect players from the travails of chronically strained or pulled muscles. Full-length undergarments are often used to guard against the extreme cold.

No matter what length, no matter what construction, tights all contain one common fabric — Lycra. Commonly referred to as spandex, Lycra is actually a bundle of finely-spun hard and soft fibers bonded together. Its unique construction allows Lycra to stretch up to six times its original state but still return to its initial size. The percentage of Lycra found in undergarments like compression shorts can range from 10 to 25 percent or more. According to the experts, it is not just the percentage but also the type of Lycra that can determine the difference between a leg-warming tight and a performance-enhancing compression short.

According to Michael Hunt of DuPont, the company that developed Lycra in 1958, the benefits of compression on performance and injury prevention have been anecdotally reported for two decades. That is until 1995. That's when a five-year study conducted at Penn State University concluded that compression shorts made of DuPont Lycra and manufactured to specifications that qualify them as Lycra Power apparel gave scientific credence to years of speculation.

In the Penn State study, both trained and untrained athletes showed significant improvements in endurance, speed, power production and body awareness. On average, the athletes showed a 12-percent increase in force and power production, while 73 percent of those tested increased the accuracy of their movements or body positioning.

"The intent of the research was to understand the relationship between compression and muscle performance," says exercise physiologist William Kraemer, who conducted the research. "We hypothesized a relationship existed because of the anecdotal reports from athletes who had tried compression garments and liked the way they felt and performed."

But how does a garment, made from any material, help an athlete overcome fatigue? First, wearing compression garments helps reduce muscle vibration or oscillation. By reducing this unwanted movement of the muscles, athletes can directly reduce muscle fatigue. Moreover, the study showed that form-fitting garments could increase the neural feedback from the body's proprioceptive receptors. These receptors are what tell athletes where their bodies are in space and instantaneously transmit this important information to their brain. Improving this mind-body link means improving your athletes' ability to move, react or anticipate. Or, in short, to perform better.

In order to cash in on the results of the study, manufacturers of compression garments, such as Bike Athletic, must meet certain industry standards. Only those garments meeting the criteria established by DuPont can sport the Lycra Power logos and hang tags. As Dupont's Hunt explains, these standards require a certain percentage of Lycra per garment and also dictate the manner in which the fiber is woven into the garment.

"Not all tight-fitting shorts or full-length tights meet these certifications," Hunt says. "Many of them have a much lower stretch and compression level. They may feel good and they do their job — for example, long tights keeping you warm in cold weather — but they aren't necessarily delivering the benefits.

"A large part of the standards is how the fabrics are put together. Just going by the percentage of Lycra (in a garment) doesn't necessarily guarantee it will meet these requirements. We want the users to see the performance benefits."

In other words, to ensure performance benefits, look for the Lycra Power label and hang tags.

ACCESSORIZE FOR SUCCESS

If you are like most successful coaches, you preach to your players and practice an attention to detail on a daily basis. In football, as in life, it is often the little things that make the difference.

An example of such a detail might be creating a theme or slogan for a particular season. As a visual reinforcement, the team imprints this goal or slogan onto t-shirts, shorts or baseball caps. But why not put that slogan or goal where everybody, even your opponent, can see it? What about on your chinstrap?

One company that can do this for you is Gear 2000, a shoulder pad company that started making colored chin straps in 1995. Available in nine colors, the Gear 2000 chinstrap can be silkscreened with your school name, mascot, slogan or particular season's theme.

And according to Gear 2000's Ed Tebergte, pre-printed order forms make factory direct ordering a snap.

"Many coaches have themes for a particular season," says Tebergte, who indicated that the early trend for next season is to screen the team's name, followed by the digits "2000" for the year. "Coaches often include the chinstrap as part of the team's spirit pack. If there is a theme for the season, then the players see the theme every day that they practice."

USE ALL YOUR RESOURCES

Whether purchasing uniforms, selecting workout apparel or matching accessories such as chinstraps, the buzzword should be preparation. Use the AFM Product Information Hotline (561-355-5068) or the Internet. Visit your local sporting goods dealer, who can provide you with catalogs.

If you spend some quality time researching and defining your team's uniform needs this winter, you will be able to focus on football come fall.






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