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A Universal Sports Training Aid Changing the Game

Athletes everywhere are always looking for a way to gain that extra inch, half second, or mile per hour that will change their game. Across all forms of athletics, sports training aids have been a way for competitors to increase strength and improve form through repetition. One of the more common types of training aids is a resistance device using weights or weighted equipment. We have all seen the baseball bat weighted ring, a weighted basketball, or one of the countless golf training tools. But what these all have in common is that they are sport specific. Younger athletes are often involved in a multitude of activities, playing different sports every season of the year. This has meant you were buying different training aids for different sports, filling your garage up with gadgets that were going to get your son or daughter a full ride. One company addressed this issue and designed a weighted training aid that work for a variety of sports like never before.

This company was LaceUp, and their idea was the Training Lace. This bendable, weighted “Lace” allows you to add weight to your bat, stick, wrist, racket, and more! Available in several different weights, the Training Lace is making an impact across the sports spectrum. Originally designed as a weight for a lacrosse stick, the Training Lace has become more dynamic than was originally thought. Now it is being worn by basketball players and swimmers on their wrists, tennis players on their rackets, baseball and softball players on their bats, as well as ice and field hockey players on their sticks. The list seems to be continuously growing, and new ways to use this little device are being developed every day.

What makes the Training Lace so valuable beyond its versatility is its adjustability. Specifically looking at it as a baseball training aid, this bat weight is different than your traditional ring. Unlike other baseball bat weights, the Training Lace does not move on contact, thus keeping the swing smooth which allows you to maintain form. The other unique feature is that you can move the weighted lace to different areas of the bat to focus on specific parts of the swing. Put the Lace on the middle of the bat to target bat path and plane. Move it down towards the handle to work on getting the “knob to the ball” and preventing you from letting your hands lag or drag. Using the Training Lace in batting practice or the cages can lead you to see an immediate improvement in your swing.

LaceUp has designed a product that truly can benefit athletes everywhere. From youth sports to the professional level, the Training Lace develops strength that will enhance performance. Lace up your training regime with the Training Lace today.

Written By Dylan Hamilton, Sports Unlimited

It’s in the gear: Roberto Perez

As Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen were mowing down hitters one-by-one during Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night, you had to wonder… maybe it had something to do with the target.

If the All-Star System 7 Catcher's Gear set is good enough for Roberto Perez, it's good enough for you. — If the All-Star System 7 Catcher’s Gear set is good enough for Indians catcher Roberto Perez, then it’s good enough for you.

Behind the plate was unquestioned Game 1 hero Roberto Perez, clad in his All-Star Catcher’s Gear, managing his pitchers through the most important game of the season. The Indians catcher watched as they struck out 15 batters, cooling off a red-hot Chicago Cubs team that had just plated 23 runs in three games to reach the Fall Classic.

Perez provided the pop on offense too, clubbing a solo shot in the fourth to fire up the Cleveland fans early and adding a three-run blast in the eighth to essentially put the game away.

Was it in the gear? Perez was wearing perhaps the best catcher’s set in the game. The System 7 is chosen by catchers across the highest level of baseball for its incredible level of craftsmanship and exceptional durability. The two-toned helmet is both stylish and lightweight, while the chest protector provides a consistent rebound.

While his pitchers weren’t missing the zone often, Perez had the support of triple knee protection in his shin guards to block errant balls. A four-point harness system allows for the best fit and oversized perforations keep players from overheating. It’s a set that’s been popping up around the major leagues and for the second year in a row is showcased in the World Series.

So what are you waiting for? Also offered as a camo catcher’s set, the System 7 is one of the most popular pieces of equipment at Sports Unlimited. Check it out, along with our vast selection of catcher’s gear, today!

Avoid a Jose Canseco moment with Unequal Technologies

Sports can strike a cord in all of us for a variety of reasons.

The history, the nostalgia, the wow factor. Great players coming up with big plays in big moments and teams capturing our hearts on championship runs.

Joy, anger, elation and sadness all have big roles in sports. And so too does laughter. Nothing showcases that as much as bloopers.

But with increases in technology and the rise in the skill level of athletes, we’re left with far less to laugh at these days. In fact, some companies are making it their business to make the blooper reel no laughing matter.

Take, for example, Unequal Technologies and their recent introduction of helmet and hat pad reinforcers to the market.

I know what you’re thinking. Why would anyone have any need for an additional liner in their baseball hat? You’re not getting a ball thrown at you and you already have your glove to protect you. And to that point, I give you Jose Canseco.

Now known more for blowing the lid off the steroid scandal than for blowing the cover off the baseball, there was a time when Canseco was among the best in the game. The first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a single season, Canseco was named to five all-star teams in his first eight years in the majors with the Oakland A’s.

After reaching three straight World Series from 1988-1990, the A’s fell from prominence, and, to a large extent, so did Canseco. He was traded from Oakland to the Texas Rangers late in 1992 and bottomed out in May of 1993 when he lost track of a Carlos Martinez fly ball, which hit him in the head at the warning track and bounced over the fence for a home run.

Three days later, he pitched the eighth inning of a blowout loss to the Red Sox, injuring his arm and requiring Tommy John surgery in the process. He missed the remainder of the season and though he bounced back to win the Comeback Player of the Year award in 1994, he was never the same player.

Had he installed a HPZ Halo helmet pad in his cap on that fateful day, maybe he wouldn’t have become a sideshow. Maybe he would have played out the ’93 season, and gotten closer to the 500-home run mark (he ended his career 38 dingers shy, despite playing just 60 games that season). Maybe he wouldn’t have had a need to thrust himself back into the spotlight with a book exposing baseball’s dirty secret. And maybe, just maybe, the course of baseball history would have been changed forever.

By Lou Rusnock
Lou is a writer at Sports Unlimited.