Let’s assume you purchased clubs custom made for you and you started playing better, lowering your scores and lowering your handicap . Would you ever consider buying stock big brand clubs again ? Surely you have several friends that paid large bucks for big brand clubs but did not improve their game, and continue to play as they did in the past ? The answer to your game is not throwing more funds at it, but to find a good club maker and have them perform an accurate club fitting for you. You’ll then realize that the high priced brand name clubs are actually inferior to well fit clubs.

Also , if you go to a good coach/psychologist you will realize that you can play your best golf without the need for the latest big brand hyped clubs, balls or other equipment. The psychologist can set you on a path to playing good golf with any equipment. Lee Trevino once said, “It ain’t the arrows, it’s the Indians”. That’s his typical funny way to say it, but the truth.

Do just two basic things . Find a good custom club maker and book time with a good sports psychologist. If you want to work on swing technique, add a swing coach. But, just having custom fit clubs and the help of the psychologist will improve your game immensely . You don’t need the hyped brand name equipment. If the gimmicks that the big brands promote actually worked, wouldn’t every golfer who bought their clubs have a low handicap?

The most outstanding “gimmick” that I have ever seen was the “vibration dampener” that some of big brands marketed in a big way . It was a piece of soft rubbery plastic material that was glued onto the back of the club head. It weighed 1/1000 of the total club weight and “dampened all the vibrations in the club”. Huh? The laws of physics won’t allow that to happen. The point is that the average golfer believed it and many bought those clubs for that feature. I’ll guess that most of them got the same results as they did with their previous clubs.

Do the two main things, see a good sports psychologist and get a custom fitting. It won’t make any difference if the clubs are clone golf clubs or discount golf clubs, just be sure they’re made to the specifications learned in your custom fitting session. If you improve your mental game and have correctly fit equipment, you will improve your scores. The pros don’t use off the shelf standard clubs and they all have help with the mental game. You should do the same, too.

Assume for a minute that you had a set of clubs custom made for you and you started playing better, lowering your scores and lowering your handicap . Would you ever consider buying stock big brand clubs again ? Surely you have several friends that paid large bucks for big brand clubs but did not improve their game, and continue to play as they did in the past ? The answer to your game is not throwing more funds at it, but to find a good custom club maker and have them do a correct club fitting for you. You’ll then realize that the high priced brand name clubs are actually inferior to well fit clubs.

Also , if you find a good coach/psychologist you will realize that you can play your best golf without the need for the latest big brand hyped clubs, balls or other equipment. They can start you in the right direction to playing good golf with any equipment. Lee Trevino once said, “It ain’t the arrows, it’s the Indians”. That’s his typical funny way to say it, but the truth.

There is a strong case to be made for doing just two basic things . Find a good custom club maker and book time with a good sports psychologist. If you feel the need to work on swing technique, add a swing coach. But, just having custom fit clubs and the help of the psychologist will improve your game immensely . You don’t need the hyped brand name equipment. If the gimmicks that the big brands promote actually worked, wouldn’t every golfer who bought their clubs have a low handicap?

The biggest rip-off “gimmick” that I have ever seen was the “vibration dampener” that some of big brands marketed in a big way . It was a piece of soft plastic material that was glued onto the back of the club head. It weighed 1/1000 of the total club weight and “dampened all the vibrations in the club”. Huh? The laws of physics won’t allow that to happen. The point is that the average golfer believed it and many bought those clubs for that feature. I’ll guess that most of them got the same results as they did with their previous clubs.

Do the two main things, see a good sports psychologist and get a custom fitting. It won’t make any difference if the clubs are clone golf clubs or discount golf clubs, just be sure they’re made to the specifications learned in your custom fitting session. If you improve your mental game and have correctly fit equipment, you will improve your scores. The pros don’t use off the shelf standard clubs and they all have help with the mental game. You should do the same, too.

What has changed? What is giving the Razorbacks this chance on the big time in 2010? Firstly, their running back, DJ Williams, had a fantastic year or so final yr, earning him a set of group records that out-does any previous player inside a single year or so. Williams performance stunned fans and critics alike, and with him on the team, points will be fun for the fans, interesting for the coaches, and satisfying for his fellow team mates. As if previous year’s year or so was not impressive enough, inside a current interview Williams stated that final 12 months was ‘good, for a warm up’. If his last year or so was merely a warm up, what will we see this season? Williams is clearly determined to wow us all, and that is certainly what the group needs to turn points around.

An additional factor improving the Razorbacks’ chances this 12 months may possibly be the new strategy devised by the running game coaches. This program has been in the pipes for a couple of years, plus the end on the final year or so saw the proto-type becoming trialed for the very first time. A ground game with Williams’ power behind it could put the group in place to make a serious effort on the SEC championship on the extremely least, and may quite properly take them all the way to the final showdown in January.

With so quite a few new faces, cunning strategies, and fresh ideas, this season promises to be an extremely exciting one. So, for those fans who have stuck with the Hogs via their bad times, you are going to be rewarded this year! And for those who have not, maybe it’s time to obtain out your shirt and come on down to a game.

Check out our Arkansas Razorback Watch or our Pittsburgh Steelers Bedding or our San Diego Chargers Watch

Proper care of the equipment helps make sure that it protects the player with maximum effectiveness from the time of purchase to the time the equipment is retired or outgrown. The most common complaint with hockey equipment is that it smells bad.  The more often it’s worn, the more it smells. Drying equipment properly is vitally important to keeping it working at maximum effectiveness.

• Open the bag
• Pull everything out
• Hang it up
• Spread the equipment out so that air can move through it

Washing equipment every few months is also a good idea.  Of course, not everything can be washed.  Gloves and skates can’t be put into the washing machine.

By placing SportzGemz inside the gloves and skates, they will also be dry, with no smell, for the next icetime.

It’s always good to have a small toolkit with you.  It’s always right before a game that a screw comes loose on a helmet or a skate lace breaks.  Here are a few basics to have with you:

• Extra Laces
• Helmet Screws
• Screwdriver
• Scissors
• Tape
• Towel
• Practice Puck

Before the season starts and then again at Christmas are great times to double check the equipment, making sure:

• The equipment still fits
• The screws on the helmet are still tight
• The helmet isn’t cracked
• There is no rust on rivets
• All clasps are working
• Velcro is still holding well
• All pads are intact and laced as needed

Some equipment, like helmets and hockey pants can be adjusted as the child grows. Other pieces must be replaced.

Skate Sharpening
Skates need to be sharp to work properly.  Skate blades cut into the ice, especially when making turns and the edges have to be sharp.   Skaters use their edges to accelerate, so the sharper the skates, the faster a player can move.  With a young child, sharpening the skates once a month is probably sufficient.  As a player grows, they will need their skates sharpening every 5 or 6 ice times.  Ice surfaces are all different.  Some are harder than others.  If the skater is playing on a hard ice surface, the skates will need to be sharpened more often.  Skates can also become nicked and sometimes will even lose an edge, meaning that the sharpening isn’t done properly.  If these happen, get the skates sharpened immediately.

As a rule of thumb for parents:

• Sharpen once a month if under 10 and not playing rep.
• If the child is constantly falling (after they know how to skate), it’s time to sharpen the skates.
• Prior to a tournament get the skates sharpened.
• If the skate looses an edge.
• If there is a nick in the blade.

Most kids can tell you they need their skates sharpened after they’ve played for a few year.

Skate Blade
There are different types of skate sharpening.  The amount of blade sharpness and hollow are often a matter of skater preference. Sharper blades have a deeper groove in the blade that helps with pushing off, stopping, changing direction, pivoting and turning. However, if a blade is too sharp, a player can have problems gliding and stopping as the overly sharp blade tries to grab the ice.

Key Points for Parents

• Hockey equipment needs to fit properly.
• Buying equipment big, in hopes of not having to replace it often, is dangerous for the player.
• Replace any problem equipment immediately.
• Make sure skates are always sharp.
• Use skate guards to protect the blade and guard against injuries;

Key Points for Players

• Always wipe down your skates after use and air out your hockey gear.
• Put your SportzGemz inside your gloves and skates after playing so they dry out.

The hobby of darts eventually grew to become a lot more widespread and even noblemen were known to throw a round from time to time. The truth is, heritage shows that England’s King Henry VIII was given a group of darts as a gift. The game as all of us know it was in jeopardy of being changed through the years. People tried numerous variations such as using a blowpipe to propel the dart. Several Scandinavians continue to play a version of darts by throwing foot long small spears from many meters away.

As it grew in acceptance, the sport of darts has conquered a number of attempts to have it banned. Some people thought that darts was a game of chance rather than a game of skill, therefore it needed to be settled in a courtroom in 1908. The sport was illegal in Scotland because a tainted sway but the civic outcry made it short-lived.

Today the sport is certainly most popular in Britain in which you can find millions of competitors and numerous authorized groups, however it’s quickly becoming a global pastime. The sport is accepted in the Netherlands, Germany and the Scandinavian nations. In the U.S. hundreds of thousands of dartboards are purchased yearly and countless Individuals play darts every week.

Learn more about soft tip darts and shop for Bottelsen Devastators darts at our website softtipdarts.net.

These are niche shoes that are only sold in some of the specialized biking shops or the niche on the internet stores; the prices and the makes vary, but for a good pair you will require to most likely put aside a couple of hundred dollars. Most of the mens mtb footwear are usually lightweight, made out of synthetic leather and with reinforced outer sole that will provide you with extra stability when pedaling; some have Velcro straps and buckle straps, which make them easy to take off and put back on. The mens mountain bike footwear ought to be comfortable for walking as well and provide you with the comfort of an ordinary walking shoe. Tighter shoes may cause your foot to perspire and even though they might be great for going downhill, for that lengthy rides pick footwear that allow enough room, so your feet feel comfortable; also for the long hauls you might wish to purchase a pair with wider toe box; lacing system that allows to be adjusted without obtaining off the bike is really a great plus too.

Before you spend a couple of hundred dollars on a great pair, you must consider the type of pedals that your bike has – in some cases it may be cheaper to simply get better pedals than purchase a new pair of footwear, but if you’re serious about going off-road, you most certainly require good mens mtb footwear as well. What sets them apart is their durability, the material that they’re created of, the special soles that provide much better grip and their light weight. There are different biking footwear for that various bikers: if you’re performing jumps, then you may want to use various footwear than the next guy, who is into downhill mountain biking.

If you are unsure what to buy, you can walk into a biking shop and ask for a professional advice, or you can join a single from the large on the internet biking communities and discover out what your fellow riders use. The Web provides a vast pool of info that permits you to very easily search for mens mtb footwear at the different online shops and compare their prices and qualities. Even though you will find few brands that most certainly stand out, they generally come with higher price as well; nevertheless, don’t let the price be a deterrent – great mens mtb shoes are nicely worth the cash and will actually price you less in the lengthy run since they will most likely outlast the cheaper imitations.

Thank you Troy!

The gag reflex some get from the noxious odour of bacteria-ridden sports equipment may be a thing of the past, if a local woman has anything to say.

A local entrepreneur believes she has a solution for moms and wives who feel the need to pull on Hazmat suits and gas masks every time they walk into their garages or basements.

Langley mom and entrepreneur Wendy Ratel has distributed SportzGemz to retail sporting goods stores across Canada, including Offside Pro Shops, located inside the Langley Sportsplex. Troy Landreville/Langley Advance

Wendy Ratel, a Langley mom of three, is the driving force behind SportzGemz.

SportzGemz sells beanbag-style pouches filled with the volcanic mineral zeolite. The pouches are placed inside sports equipment such as gloves and shinpads to eliminate bacteria and noxious odours.

After years of driving her son and two daughters to hockey, ringette, basketball, softball and golf practices through the years, Ratel felt enough is enough.

“There has to be a way to enjoy the sports, have the kids benefit and not have everything smell like sweat,” she said.

The smell was bad enough, but when Ratel’s daughter’s legs burned from bacteria in catching pads (softball), she said the problem became a “full-time focus.”

“I went looking for a solution that was natural, that would solve the problem,” Ratel said.

Sprays and powders weren’t the solution, Ratel noted.

Sprays encapsulate the smell and drop it into the fabric, they don’t eliminate it, Ratel said, adding that many sprays have toxins and chemicals in them as well.

“Add that to the smell of sweat and you have a nasty mix,” she said. “The kids complained about the powders. They didn’t like the residue left behind and when used in skates or cleats, the powder ended up between their toes and that didn’t feel very good.”

After months of research and trial and error, a natural mineral was found. According to Ratel, this mineral – zeolite – absorbed the smell and when placed near the equipment, the ionic charge of zeolite draws the odour to it and actually absorbs the smell inside itself.

Ratel said zeolite has two properties: first, it dries fast enough so the bacteria doesn’t get a chance to appear, and second, there is a minor silver content in the mineral itself, and silver is anti-microbial, “so the mineral inherently has microbial properties to it.”

“Even with three hockey bags in the garage, you could walk in without your eyes watering,” she said. “Better yet, the mineral is non-toxic, so the mineral could work on the equipment, but doesn’t leave behind a residue that coats the equipment and can potentially be absorbed into the skin.”

Zeolite also dries, Ratel noted, adding that hockey gloves and skates were dry in about five hours.

“When a kid is on the ice five or six times a week, equipment usually doesn’t dry out,” Ratel said. “Gloves can be wet to touch. The bacteria growing inside the gloves can causes rashes on the hands and the smell is horrific.”

Ratel said using drying methods such as hanging equipment on hockey trees is effective because it separates the items and gives them room to breathe, but it doesn’t solve the problem.

“Simply drying the material doesn’t deal with the bacteria build-up, nor does it deal with the smell,” she said. “If you use [SportzGemz products] in connection with the things you are already doing, like washing the equipment periodically or hanging it off [hockey] trees, then you actually walk into a garage and not get knocked over by the smell.”

National Hockey League linesman and Langley resident Brad Lazarowich travels with SportzGemz pouches wherever he officiates, according to Ratel.

Ratel’s and Lazorwich’s daughters had played softball together, hence the connection.

“He loves that his skates are dry and there isn’t a smell in the hotel room from his skates,” Ratel said. “He is responsible for his own equipment, so he keeps it with him all the time.”

Check out:

• Rinkside Sports in PEI
• Offside Pro Shops inside the SportsPlex in Langley, BC
• All Seasons Source for Sports, Terrace, BC
• MVP Athletic Supply, Langley BC
• Mt. Washington Ski Resort, Mt. Washington, BC

We’ve updated our packaging and our point of purchase information.  We’ve also joined the BC Sports Rep Association for more exposure.

To further our efforts to be an earth conscious company, we’ve changed the mine we purchase our mineral from.  The new mine contains are purer mineral, raising our active ingredient from 65% to 95% and it is in a drier climate.  Starting with a drier mineral means that we don’t have to dry out product prior to shipping and keeps the moisture content in the mineral more consistent.  The result is an even more effective product!

SportzGemz are carried in many independent stores, pharmacies and Home Hardware stores across Canada.  For a complete list of retail locations visit our corporate site, Fresh-N Home Products.

Hockey Sudz were created by some sports dads in Tsawwassen, BC. The families behind Hockey Sudz all play hockey and were being suffocated by the smell of the hockey equipment. They formed a company called Sports Solutions Hockey Soap, with its sole product Hockey Sudz, an antibacterial, biodegradable, hypo-allergenic and environmentally sound cleaner geared specifically to cleaning hockey equipment. Each container sells for $9.95 and is good for eight to 10 washes.

On November 18th, The Vancouver Sun published an article about Hockey Sudz.

Hockey equipment can be washed and washing machines that are front loaders are gentler on the equipment than the traditional tubs. Almost all the equipment can go into a washing machine. Remove the plastic parts, prior to putting the equipment into the washer and don’t put the wet equipment in the drier. The heat from the drier can burn and cause the equipment to become misshapen.

Most of us can’t wash equipment after each ice time and you can’t wash hockey gloves or skates. Between washings, use your SportzGemz to absorb the smell and to speed up up the drying time. By inserting the smaller pouches directly inside gloves and skates, your gloves and skates will be dry in about 4 hours.

Skate sharpening - a different cut to the blade

A new skate sharpening technique is quickly gaining acceptance in the hockey world. BlackStone Sports, the Ontario manufacturer of skate maintenance equipment that developed the flat-bottom V method. This new method allows for sharper turns and a freer glide when moving in a straight line.

“Having the angles instead of the arc was quite intriguing,” said Wilson, who is awaiting the results of a University of Ottawa kinesiology study on the effects of the flat-bottom V. Depending on the angle at which the fangs are cut, he said, “when a player stops, he doesn’t have that ‘chattering’ effect.”

An article in The New York Times gives all the details.

We’ll have to check it out. Give us your feedback and your thoughts on how this works for you.