As I write this I am watching a Major League baseball playoff game and will later be watching the NFL Monday night game. I watch these games on my flat screen television with all the accompanying remote control devices nearby. To those of you who are middle age like me I’m sure you remember the days when we actually had to walk to our television sets to change the channel. And I wonder why I have trouble managing my waistline these days.

Can the design of an athletic uniform and the fabric that it is constructed of actually affect an athlete’s performance? I don’t think that there is any doubt anymore that the answer to that question is yes; maybe in subtle ways but still yes.

Over many years in the custom athletic uniform business, our jobs as salespeople have transformed into more of a consultancy. Gone are the days when our customer service people speak to a customer, he or she orders item A, and we produce and ship the order. Not so long ago we offered only a handful of fabrics, basically two methods of uniform decoration and most importantly; just several dozen different styles.

Uniform Characteristics Have Evolved Over Time

When speaking with a customer the other day it occurred to me how our customer’s perceptions have changed over the years regarding custom athletic uniforms. Not so long ago, when showing samples to a potential customer, it was not uncommon at all for that customer to ask if we had anything “heavier” available. “Heavy” meant quality and durability and was considered just plain better at that time.

I had tryouts for my 2009 summer baseball team this weekend - ALREADY - and it has occurred to me how much things have changed over the years. For the record, the players that I coach are now high school juniors and seniors.

To those of us in the athletic uniform business this is a very challenging time of the year. In some years, upwards of 25% of our annual business can be due for delivery within this 30 day time period. While the rest of world is seemingly throttling back in anticipation of the long Labor Day weekend the employees of our company are scrambling in the impossible task of trying to keep all of our customers happy.

As I was watching the Olympics on TV this weekend it has occurred to me that I just can’t get into them like I used to. When I was young I could watch the games for hours on end and I found the competition to be fascinating. Back then, or so it seemed, I could identify at least in some way with all of the sports that were televised.

Our local baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles, has finally done the right thing concerning the name on their away uniforms. For years, the Orioles have been one of the few major league teams that don’t show their city name on their away jerseys.