News story

Some New Products are Cool, Some Wet, Some Just Wild

March 1, 2001 – Senior Softball-USA

LAS VEGAS ˆ The Sports genies at the 2001 Super Show seemed to be granting softball wishes by the dozen, with new products ranging from self-cooling water containers for dugouts, to custom-made fielding gloves and magical elixirs for fatigue.

The Super Show, sponsored by the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association here in January, showcased more than 5,000 sports vendors who offered products and services from around the world.

Some were wet, some were wild, and some seemed designed distinctly for senior softball players.

As the demand for cold water at players' fingertips in the dugouts escalates ˆ especially at national tournaments ˆ a Florida company has come up with several hydration solutions.

Water Sports

Waterboy Sports, Inc. (which has the distinction of having a movie named after it), offers 10-gallon to 30-gallon coolers ranging from $49.95 to $1,000. The coolers come with multiple spouts ˆ from four to eight ˆ designed to cut down on the wait for a cool drink between innings.

"I had two sons who played Pop Warner ball, and I noticed the kids always were in line between inning to get a drink of water," said Jack Brown, who helped develop Waterboy's design.

There are several models: some using simple gravity technology, some with direct water supplies, and some with more complex self-cooling features. Some are mobile and some need to be placed on a table or dugout bench.

For more information, call (888) 442-6269, or visit the website: www.waterboysports.com.



Hit, Pitch, and Throw

Taken from the gyros developed in the aircraft industry, DynaFlex International has created a hand-held gyro exerciser that can reach speeds of 13,000 revolutions per minute and produce 38 pounds of torque.

DynaFlex looks like a yo-yo and, in fact, beginners pull a string to start the gyro in motion. Simple back-and-forth movements build the speed of the gyro. Which creates the torque ˆ and the exercise.

"Using DynaFlex will help softball players build strength for hitting, pitching and throwing," said Tom Smith, president of DynaFlex. The hand-held gyro builds strength in the hands, wrists, forearm, biceps and triceps, said Smith.

DynaFlex retails for $24.95 and is available at many sporting goods stores, or call (714) 630-0909.

Fighting Fatigue

The energy drink used by marathon runners and professional football teams to reverse dehydration is now available to senior softball players.

Unlike other sports drinks, Fatigue Fighter Robust is based on low Fructose ˆ avoiding the "sugar" rush and drop ˆ and it replaces electrolytes, according to the company.

"Fatigue Fighter is not a stimulant," said Keith Shaffner, president and CEO of the Houston-based Fatigue Fighter. "Senior softball teams need to be drinking a low fructose drink to avoid the sugar rush ˆ and drop."

Fatigue is really an imbalance in electrolytes and Fatigue Fighter is designed to replace the lost electrolytes and vitamins, said Shaffner.

"It gets into the athlete's system immediately, giving the body what it needs," he said. "It's perfect for the latter innings of the game."

Several professional teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, routinely use Fatigue Fighter, said Shaffner. For more information, call (888) 621-5588 or visit the website: www.robustbev.com.

Sudden Impact

For protection of injured arms, legs or other portions of your body during games, a Pennsylvania company has come up with Quick Fix, which looks like Silly Putty and absorbs the force of the impact.

"Quick Fix uses Polysorb, which is a light-weight silicon-based material," said John Matechen, president of Impact innovative Products.

The material conforms to the part of the anatomy to be protected and is held in place with safety tape. It's made to be placed over injuries, to protect the area in case it is hit by a ball or in case of a fall.

At a demonstration during the Super Show, Matechen put gloves containing Polysorb on his hand, then hit it with a mallet ˆ hard. The impact of the blow was completely dissipated by the Polysorb.

The company is still setting up distribution channels, but the Quick Fix Field Pack, which retails for $72, is available through the company's website: www.zoombang.com.

Custom-Made Gloves

A Southern California company has developed a glove for fielders who have always dreamed of a glove tailored to their exact measurements. Kazuma Custom Pro Series Gloves builds the gloves from a traced version of the fielder's hand.

"We give you a choice of 10 web styles in 10-inch to 14-inch fielders gloves in many different colors," said Ping Yang, president of Kazuma International of Duarte, California.

The lightweight, durable leather custom gloves cost between $225 and $250 and can be ordered through many retail stores and through the company's website: www.kazumasports.com.

The company also offers some new technology in pants: a high cotton blend, double-layer fabric with a mesh inner layer for protection during sliding. The pants retail for $98 and are available through Softball Express catalogs.

Treadmill Trends

One of the treadmills to stand out during the 2001 Super Show was the Power Series Treadmill, which was named one of the top new products of the year. The Pro Series Treadmill, made by Keys Fitness of Garland, Texas, offers pre-set easy-to-use programs and durable, smooth treadmill motion. The Power Series comes in two models: the Pro 1000 SES and the Pro 2000 SES.

Another Keys Fitness treadmill, the Milestone Series, was named a Consumers Digest "Best Buy" in December and the American Council on Exercising gave the Milestone its "Excellence in Customer Satisfaction" award.

For more information, call (800) 683-1236 or visit the website: www.keysfitness.com.

Keeping Cool

One of the easier ways to keep your team cool is keeping them in the shade with a new product by SportsShade, from Kansas City. The light-weight shade is designed to be portable (folding into a small tube carrying-case), easy to put up (no tools required), and versatile (fitting over dugouts and on vehicles. For more information, call (816) 734-4740 or visit the website: www.sportsshade.com. Suggested retail price is from $99 to $150.

Some Serious Shoes

The Tanel 360 softball shoe has a patented circular cleated design that allows easy pivoting. The design reduces torque to the player's knees and ankles ˆ and provides more support for added swing power and greater bat speed. "Our market has always been the serious softball player, who's looking for the best equipment," said Mike Tanel. For more information see www.tanel360.com or call 866-TANEL360. Suggested retail price: $149.95.

Here is a sampling of some of the other innovative products released at the Super Show:

Here is a sampling of some of the other innovative products released at the Super Show:

Those fielders tired of feeling the sting of the ball hitting their glove, will love Glovemate. The leather and neoprene mini-cushion forms to the contours of your index finger and the portion of your palm behind the pocket. Glovemate comes with a leather string that attaches to the glove and sells for $6.95 at sports retail stores, catalogs and over the Internet: www.glovemate.com.

For those needing the whole glove, Rawlings is coming out with the new limited-production glove called the Bull Line in April. "This ready-to-play fielding glove has oil-tan leather and has a hand adjustment for players with smaller hands," said Rawlings Glove spokesman Denny Whiteside. The glove will retail for $69.95 in most sports stores.

Louisville Slugger also has introduced some new fielding gloves: the TPS Tradition Series 1300S, a 13-inch softball glove with Coolmax finger linings to absorb sweat and Bruise-gard padding for $69-$79, and the VAC Series VTPX1250 in black leather and pro patterns for $79-$89.

Tired of paying $1 or more for those small plastic bottles of spring water? Culligan is offering a replaceable carbon filter that fits over most plastic water bottles and makes tap water taste like spring water ˆ filtering out odor, chlorine and lead. The water filter caps cost $3.99 and are available at Sears and True Valu Hardware Stores.

Still hot? Try Artic Blast from Misty Mate. This portable personal cooling system looks like a fanny pack, only facing your face, with a small fan and push-button cooling mist that is pushed by the fan in front of your face. For more information, call (800) 233-6478 or visit the website at www.mistymate.com.

If you just want some shade, try a cap with the perfectCURVE, a small hard-plastic form that shapes the bill of your cap into a "perfect curve." The company also offers water and stain repellant for that special cap ˆ and a cap cleaning and deodorizing spray, which teammates may thank you for using. The products are available at most sporting goods stores.

If you want to look AND be cool, try the newest sunglasses on the market ˆ Jax. From Southern California ˆ naturally ˆ these sunglasses have logos on the outside, which the wearer can't see. They are also shatterproof and have UV protection. They sell for $30-$35 and have most professional team logos. For more information, see the website: www.jax.net.

Some products stand out for their simplicity. Arch+Aid was designed by an Indiana company called Wrap-Aid as a simple reusable medical tape that wraps around sore arches to give added support. "We originally designed this compression wrap for the medical community, but it is perfect for sports ˆ especially senior softball players," said Steve Byrne, Wrap-Aid president. For more information on Arch+Aid, which sells for $14.99, call (317) 823-8333.

The zinc-plated steel Rocket Rod is a thin batting rod that comes with different screw-in weights for batting training. The Rocket Rod is designed to help improve swings through changing the bat weight in a rod that is easy to use. For more information call 760-295-6789. Retail price: $39.95.

Target Base is a new safety base with an easy-to-see orange corner. The rest of the base is filled with a gel that absorbs the impact of slides while it remains stationery. For more information, call (810) 322-3876.