Author: Todd Marinshaw

As a father, one of the best bonding times I’ve ever had with my sons has been coaching their sports teams. Unfortunately, it also has been one of the most trying times and has tested my resolve and patience more than once. On top of all that, you have the dreaded “parents” to deal with which can really make or break your love of coaching pretty quickly. (I know, I’ve been a  dreaded parent myself before as well). I’ve been coaching my boys football and baseball teams going on 10 years now and I’ve had my share of ups and downs so I’ve put together a few do’s and don’t below that will hopefully help you along your journey or get you started on this rewarding role.

The Good 

The good is the reason you coach, it’s what makes all the other stuff tolerable and if you get enough of it you may even continue coaching. 

• First and foremost, the ability to positively influence a group of athletes I’m coaching is #1 on my list.  Win or lose, if I can get a bunch of kids together and see weekly progress in the team and in the athlete personally and see visible improvements by season’s end, I will walk away feeling like I’ve done a great job and believe it’s by far the most rewarding aspect of coaching. 
• The Development of Character is a very close second because sports teaches life skills like nothing else in the world can. Being a team player, helping others, lifting your teammate up when they are down, getting up time and time again after falling and how to handle both victory and defeat like a champion. Character is what makes a boy a man or a girl a woman and I get to be a part of that maturation. 
• The Memories.  For the rest of their lives, they will look back and remember their teammates as well as their coaches taking the time out to mentor them, push them and get the best out of them when they were young and long after you’re gone, these precious memories will live on. How’s that for a legacy!

The Bad

Unfortunately not all of your interactions with your players will be great.  I’ve been blessed enough to have coached some amazing kids in my time but I have ended up at times doing more damage than good. Major Payne is a funny movie but nobody wants a real life Major Payne coaching their kids.  In order to avoid this costly mistake you need to focus on a few things

• Never make the game more important than the kid’s. “IT’S JUST A GAME”.  If you find yourself wanting to strangle a kid you are probably taking the game too seriously.
• Encourage your kids constantly- point out the bad but when they fix it make sure to encourage them for it repeatedly.  If you want a behavior to continue, encouragement is your best weapon.  Most athletes do not respond well to criticism unless it’s limited and immediately followed up by encouragement when they do it right. 
• Be prepared- It’s easy to say it’s just a game and not come in ready each game but that’s an attitude you need to drop if you’re going to coach.  You need to be understanding and encouraging to your players but as the coach you need to make sure you are always ready and prepared.  Believe me, the kids and parents all know when they have a dud coach and you don’t want to be that guy. 

The Ugly

The parents, some can really be that bad. To be fair, you get a lot of great and supportive parents, but there is rarely a time that I’ve coached where I didn’t get at least one or two critical and divisive parents.

The worst ones are the parents that scream and put their kids down during the games. If you want your kid to hate you when they grow up, congrats you are well on your way when you do that. There’s also the average athlete parents that think their child is the team MVP.  I can see them after every game creeping around the group with a frown on their face before hearing those dreaded words “coach can we talk for a minute?” 

The last thing you want after coaching for two hours and pouring your heart out is Karen’s lecture on how you clearly don’t see that their kid is the best kid on your team and you need to be playing them more than your “favorites”.  My favorites according to Karen are always the best 2 or 3 players on the team and the only reason I’m playing them according to Karen is because I like them and not because they are any good. 

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that every season I’ve coached I’ve thought about being done with it for good because of the parents which is why you really need to make the good count. Times like this, I have to put myself in Karen’s shoes and appreciate that they are being their kids number one fan, which is something to be admired. I also look to my assistant coach/coaches for input so we can address the parents concerns and do our best for the kid. Sometimes, no matter what I do, it will not be good enough for Karen. 

Block out all the noise and focus on the kids, get your encouragement from seeing them flourish and don’t worry about Karen watching your every move. If you do this you can have an amazing and rewarding coaching career whether it’s for little leagues or something bigger like high school or college.  You have a chance to change a child’s life and there aren’t many things in this life of ours we can do that will that kind of impact.

Written by: Todd Marinshaw (President/CEO Allen Sportswear, Dad/Football Coach)

The World today is not the world your father grew up in. There used to be a time in the US when your word was your honor so people were†careful with what they said and what they sold. Unfortunately those days are gone, replaced by companies and reps that many times are not even based in America and donít have any issues with providing less than stellar product and service. There are still great companies and even better employees out there, but finding them is the hard part. To help you out, here are 5 warning signs that should make you run away from a run-of-the-mill sportswear company.

1. The first and probably biggest warning sign of a bad company is when you see a product thatís literally half the price of recognized, name brand uniforms. You get what you pay for is never more evident than when dealing with these companies. Shotty work, unreliable delivery, poor customers service and little to no guarantees that you will even receive your product lie in wait for the person crazy enough to buy from them. If youíre in charge of uniforms for your team and decide to take chance with a company like this be prepared for the backlash if and when the team uniforms arrive.2. The Second warning sign is when they won’t pick up the phone. If the only way to get a hold of a uniform provider is by email you can be sure they are understaffed and most likely based overseas where they do not have to guarantee timeliness, accuracy, or even a product if they donít feel like sending it. The first and second warning sign go hand in hand because the same companies usually have very cheap products. 3. The third warning sign is the website. If the website is littered with misspelled words and looks like your kid photo shopped half the designs and uniforms itís probably because someone’s kid did make the designs in a country like Pakistan, Indonesia, Philippines or China. There is a reason you should buy through American companies and thatís because they know how to deal with factories from these countries and have trusted contacts. They also have years of learning to communicate effectively along with having preset expectations and a relationship. †If you are buying directly from overseas factories not only do you have none of this but they have no incentive to make sure your order is done right and on time for your season, so youíre taking a huge risk using them and will likely end up having to buy again from a US based company after losing your money. Also, because of VOIP technology all companies selling to the US have US numbers so just because they show a US number does not mean they are based in America.4.†The Fourth warning sign is the ìAbout Usî page is empty or has very little in it. Every respectable business is happy to brag about their beginnings, where they came from and what their core values are. If the page is blank or doesn’t have anything of any real meaning in it they are telling you what is important to them; your money. 5.†The Fifth warning sign is a lack of personal guarantee. So they want you to drop a couple thousand dollars on uniforms but they canít guarantee the quality, timeliness or reliability of the product? And you still want to buy from them? Okay, next time youíre in town look me up because I have some timeshares Iíd like to sell you. Remember, not all team sports uniform companies are created equal. Don’t be too brand conscious that you get suckered into overspending your budget just to get a check mark in your uniform,†but at the same time, if you find a price that is too good to be true, remember that it probably is. Find a company that is backed up by legitimate testimonials of excellent products and trustworthy service, but priced a little bit lower than your name brands- it is a sign of great quality without the massive advertising expenses rolled into your price.  By:†Todd Marinshaw. Todd owns and operates a†sportswear†business based in Orlando, FL and recently founded†iPrevail, a non-profit organization focused on relief and rehabilitation for victims of disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan

When looking for the perfect uniform for your team, it’s easy to get confused and lost in the crowd. †It seems like every day there is a new company with the most atrocious website telling you their product is just as good and to “Trust them”…it kind of reminds me of that credit card commercial where the Russian guy says “Hello, how may I help you, my name… Betty”.Every year we are inspired by the latest and greatest in uniforms because everyone wants to look and feel great. Unfortunately, that has lead to an abundance of people trying to make a quick buck by promising the world but rarely do they ever deliver the goods. †More than 90% of the uniform industry has been overrun by re-sellers that have a “connection” to some factory in the middle of China, Philippines, Pakistan or Indonesia and put up a $20 website and voila! All of a sudden they are an expert and they will take care of you. If you are extremely lucky you may actually get your uniforms on time and †done right the first time; but for the majority of people, you will be left holding the bag and wondering what happened. It’s not that these people selling to you are bad, it’s just that they have no control over production, factory priorities or quality control. †Some factories overseas are pretty good but most of the factories these re-sellers are using are the bottom of the barrel and it shows.Ten years ago when I first started Allen Sportswear, I was much the same…re-selling uniforms and hoping to God the factory I outsourced the order to would do it right this time. What usually happened was the order would come 2-4 weeks late and/or be the wrong color, be misspelled and nearly always have sizing that was completely off. †It came to a point that I was either going to shut down my business or open my own factory; after looking at our customers and realizing we had a chance to do something special, I choose to open a factory of our own and it has made all the difference in the world.The statistics before and after opening our own factory are staggering. Using the same factories that 90% of the re-sellers in this country use, we had a return or replace rate of greater than 75% of all orders! You may think that’s crazy and my answer to you is YES, it is. It’s nuts actually and unfortunately that’s the biggest reason when a customer decides to “try someone else”, we know there is about a 75% chance we will get them back next year. I’m not saying we never make mistakes because we do, but since our factory has been up and running we have averaged over 95% of our orders done right and on time! So while the competitors are averaging 25 out of 100 orders done right and on time we are averaging 95 out of 100 done right and on time. The 5% you may wonder? Ironically, they are the most loyal of all our clients. It is because we have gone above and beyond to make it right, and have lived up to our core values of integrity and accountability.How do we do it? It’s not easy, but everything we have done to get these amazing results have been worth it and it’s made us the company we are today. First, we set our factory up to have multiple levels of accountability which makes it nearly impossible for an issue not to be traced back to the source. Most offshore factories can afford to sell their products dirt cheap because they do would not waste the time and money to pay quality control agents. In ours, we have one in every stage of production all the way up to packing and shipping.Second, we personally †have all our materials strength tested before ever using it on a customers order. We never use any material or thread that is not of the highest standards or are not appropriate for the corresponding sport. Something that looks great for basketball may not have the burst strength when your player gets pummeled in football.Third, Every new hire has to go through rigorous testing and training before they are allowed to touch an Allen Uniform. There are great cutters and sewers who can make the wedding gown of the century, but cannot put together a decent looking uniform. So no matter how much experience they come with, they have to get re-trained by our seasoned managers.Fourth, our Orlando based client advisers or account managers are former coaches, players or plain crazy sports fanatics who love what they do and take great pride in truly helping athletes look their best in every game. Add to that some great graphic designers and a customer service rep that ensures all the details are thoroughly checked, and who communicate DAILY with the production team, and you are assured that you have a full team working to make sure you get what you asked for when you asked for it.Fifth, we do not have to spend big bucks for big brand advertising, and have a pretty lean and mean team. This allows us to offer quality at par or dare I say even better (definitely way better, but that is another subject) than your big brands at much more affordable pricing. That and the fact that we own our own factory and have better control of costs ensures you that you are always getting more than what you paid for. Sure, we are not always the cheapest, especially if you’re googling shows you a slew of †plain stock jerseys or my-name-Betty factories, but we are always the best! But as they say “you get what you pay for”, so make sure this year you get the best and let us make you the hero of your team.  By: Todd Marinshaw – Owner and CEO of Allen Sportswear 

When buying new sports uniforms there are three main things you must consider if you are going to be completely satisfied with your purchase. I’m writing this assuming you don’t want pre-made printed jerseys (That’s a whole different subject I will get into later).The Look – †This is the most important part of buying a uniform. When you buy a basketball uniform, football uniform, baseball uniform or any other sports uniform for your team, that uniform is going to represent everything you want others to see and feel about your team. Is your team business like, professional, hard working, or are they crazy and just want to have fun all the while winning of course. These attitudes will go a long way in deciding which direction you want to go. Sewn on numbers look awesome when you are trying to tell the other team “we are not to be messed with.” They convey †hard work, hustle and a “we deserve to be here” attitude. Sublimated uniforms are awesome when you are trying to be brash and exciting. With sublimation, the uniform is the canvas and you are the painter, any crazy design you want to have is in the palm of your hands, but †be careful because you could end up looking like a †bunch of clowns if your design gets too outlandish.The Feel – Sewn on uniforms have a solid, reliable feel to them. They are a bit heavier but once the game starts, you can’t even tell. †For some people though, weight is everything and if this is the case for you then you †might want to consider sublimation which is a little lighter because there is no additional fabric sewn on the uniform. From personal experience I have found that the weight is not a huge difference and has no in-game effects one way or another.The Price – Traditional sewn on uniforms do cost more than the cheap heat press pre-made jerseys but are still less than Sublimated uniforms. Sublimation is a process of literally painting a design on the fabric and heating it to a point that it becomes part of the fabric. All this takes a lot†of time and money to make so the uniform will generally cost an additional 20%-30% more than a sewn on uniform. If the perfect look is worth a few dollars more than this might be your choice.So which one is right for you? Once you answer these three questions you will know..      By: Todd Marinshaw