Helpful sports medicine & athletic development tips and tricks gleaned from years of experience in the field as an athletic trainer at the professional, collegiate, and high school levels.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Screamin' deals...
Hey everyone...with the month of November here, I have made a new committment to post to this blog daily starting today. We'll see how I do. I wanted to make you aware of some goings on that might be of interest to you. We have quite a bit of very lightly used SPARQ training equipment (some of it is brand new) that we are clearing out. Simply put, we have more than we need and are selling it at awesome prices just to move it quickly. We also have some incredible deals on commercial fitness equipment that has barely been used. Although we hate to get rid of it, it really does need to go. Maybe you are looking for a good gift for the athlete in your life. You might want to check it out...
I helped throw a baby shower for my cousin a few months ago. We were playing the quintessential baby shower game...Baby Shower Bingo. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the game (if there is anyone left who has not played this game thousands of times), the guests write the names of baby shower gifts they think the mother will receive in the squares of a bingo card. When the new mother opens a gift that you have written down, you get to mark off that square and hope you get 5 in a row before anyone else does. The problem happened when four of our guests shouted "Bingo!" at the same time.
It was then that I realized there is no mystery anymore at baby showers. Expectant mothers can assume they will receive bibs, pacifiers, diapers, wipes, baby lotion, and a cute little comb and brush set. EVERY mother will receive those items. There is no surprise.
How would you like to surprise the guests at the next shower you attend with a gift that is unexpected but totally adorable? We have the perfect gift for you. It is a mini football helmet that comes in blue or pink. The helmet looks just like the real thing and even has little vinyl stickers that say "It's a Boy" or "It's a Girl". To make this little treasure even cuter, it comes with an autograph marker so everyone who helps welcome the new baby to the world can sign their name. (Perfect for later when the parents are telling the little guy or gal about their birth and they can't for the life of them remember the name of that amazing nurse who brought an encouraging smile along with the buckets of ice chips.)
You know the new parents will receive more bibs than their little one could possibly spit up on, so give them a gift that will conquer the Baby Shower Blahs!
Born Athletic in Marion will be hosting a FREE open house kick-off event on SATURDAY, JANUARY 5 from 10 am-4 pm at the Born Athletic Athletic Development & Sports Performance Center. Come check out the area’s only total athletic development center while you hit in the batting cage, shoot hoops in the basketball area, test your vertical leap on our digital jump mat, test your agility on our digital timing system, or check out our wide array of functional training equipment. You can also leave with more than you brought…we’ll have drawings and prizes for free t-shirts, hats, braces & tape, and even free training sessions. Born Athletic staffers including Ralph Santana of the Southern Illinois Miners, Paul Whittaker, Lloyd Whittaker, Josh Allen, and Toby Brooks will be there to show you what we do. Be sure to check it out, and bring a friend! Directions: Take Rt. 13 east of Marion. 3 miles east of I-57 (just past FS Fuel Stop), turn right onto frontage road and an immediate left. Just past Satellites & More, turn right onto Adams Drive. We are the second building on the right (1606 Adams Drive). Call 618.218.4423 for more information.
Free Born Athletic T-shirt for any athlete who brings 10 people with them!!!!
Joel Sambursky is now part owner of Born Athletic...he'd be there too, but he's getting married that day
In our continued attempts to get you the absolute best deals around, we have decided to cut an unbelievable deal for anyone looking for a CTi brace. Whether you are into motocross, football, baseball, basketball...whatever...you know you can't beat the CTi. Even though our prices are already the best around, we've decided to offer free shipping on any order that includes a CTi product. If you are looking to buy the OTS, the Morph, the Flex, the C180, the Paradigm, or the supercool OTS wrist brace...do yourself a favor and quit looking around, because our prices will not be beaten anywhere!
New Partnership with Southern Illinois Sports Connection
Hey everyone! Sorry it has been so long since my last blog entry. Things have been crazy. We have been working feverishly to open our new sports performance center in Marion, Illinois. Former Southern Illinois Miners second baseman Ralph Santana is on board and assisting with football, baseball, and speed and agility training. We have over 6000 square feet of training space complete with indoor batting cages, indoor basketball, optical timing systems, and state of the art Ivanko and Legend strength equipment. We also recently formalized a deal with the new Southern Illinois Sports Connection magazine. I'll be developing the website for the group and will also be contributing a regular column regarding speed and agility to the magazine. All in all, it is an exciting time for our company. Be sure and check out our hot Christmas specials, including free shipping on all CTi products! Until next time...
I have had some requests lately for some "how-to" content, so I put together a little lesson on the ever popular "spat" here. If you are not familiar with spatting, we aren't really sure who started it, but it has been around since at least the 50's. Simply put, it is ankle taping that is performed over the shoe, and it may be used in combination with regular ankle taping and/or ankle braces. I don't like doing any type of heel lock or anything...just figure 8's and closure strips. That helps keep it clean and wrinkle free, which is critical, because a majority of players who have it done do it primarily for the look, not the function. The most famous athlete I have ever spatted was Jerry Rice. I have also spatted Lance Briggs, Bobby Wade and Jordan Palmer (among others). While at UTEP, we were an adidas school, but Jordan always got free Nike cleats from his older brother, Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals. Due to our adidas contract, players couldn't be seen wearing anything other than adidas shoes, so every game I would spat Jordan's Nikes all the way past the swoosh, then he'd take a marker and draw three stripes on the tape. If you've never spatted, you might give it a try. While it's ability to increase ankle stability is questionable, it will make your shoes fit tighter, which does give some measure of added support and comfort...not to mention style.
