Soccerpro.com 2009 review

My friends at Soccerpro.com contacted me a few weeks back and asked if I would be interested in trying some of the gear out as I did last year and letting my readers know about them and their products here in Bollocks. Of course I was delighted to oblige and swiftly went through their online catalog and chose a couple of items as you will see below.

I should preface my comments by mentioning a couple of things. I was recently diagnosed with a bulging disk in my lower back so I have perhaps not had the opportunity to put these items through an intense training schedule, however I believe I have used them a least as hard as any member of the general public would, outside of actually playing a soccer game in the clothes. The doctor did release me for training activities last week so I hope this is sufficient as to give you a good idea of these particular items. Secondly it has been 95 degrees in Tucson this week so I have had to train indoors more than out, so that should give you a different perspective to consider.

The first item I chose was a short-sleeved T-shirt. You can view it at this link, so as you can see it is manufactured by Nike,is colored navy and is emblazoned with the words "Property of U.S. Soccer Federation, EST. 1913" in red.
I really liked this product for a number of reasons. It has no annoying tag in the back, the Nike emblem is printed on the shirt. It is 100% cotton, but has the wicking quality that many work out shirts do these days, and neck is wide and stretches without losing its shape. I took a four-mile hike up Sabino Canyon over the weekend in 90 degree temperatures and worked up a good sweat (actually since this was my first distance hike since my injury I turned around just a little before the two mile-marker, so in actual fact the shirt did better than I. I was comfortable and relatively dry and cool, the shirt did not soak up sweat like cotton shirts normally do. I also wore it work on Casual-Friday ab d it solicited a couple of comments as to being a good-looking shirt.

The second item is a training suit from the LA Galaxy. I was surprised by how heavy the material was, but impressed with the flash colorful yellow and blue. The jacket is nice enough to wear as a jacket with jeans with a nice t-shirt (or at least would be somewhere other than Arizona); perhaps the temperature might be cold enough for a couple of weeks in February! I don't know if it's ever cold enough in California for this outfit to train in, perhaps more suited to the mid-west or back East. I tried on the pants and have to say if you have nice long muscular legs - like my wife who immediately stole them from me saying they would suit her me then me - (I did nick them back when she left the house) - but if you have calves like grapefruit from years of long distance running as I do, then they clip a little uncomfortably around the lower leg. Their is an option to pull open the zipper to mid-calf, however that looks kind of dorky when running or cycling, however the zipper does allow enough room to take the pants on and off with out removing your training shoes if you are so inclined. Adidas does have the tag in the back but it did not seem to itch or bother me at all. The material is 100% polyester, and it has two zippered side pockets voluminous to lose your car keys in.

The top also is equipped with two zippered side pockets and two inner open pockets. It was in these inner pockets that I sequestered my car keys when I went down to the gym and rode the stationary bike for an hour - long enough to work up a slight sheen of sweat, probably because I was wearing the trainer! Somewhere over Random Hills however in this recumbent seating the keys fell out, so use the zippered pockets or spend an hour or so walking back and forth over the soccer filed mumbling cuss words as you try to find your missing car keys.

I wore the outfit to work today as it was casual Friday and the bright yellow top raised some eyebrows from a couple of the more conservative types (including my boss!) but I loved it. The top all though being long sleeved is fashioned, at least length-wise, like a bowling shirt. The only problem I encountered was that, along with the draw-string that tightens the pants, the length made standing at the urinal a little inconvenient!

As it turns out SoccerPro.com is getting serious about Facebook and Twitter and are
spending a lot more resources trying to get people informed. Check out their
Facebook page here which has various contests on a continual basis.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/SoccerProcom/28805721020

http://www.twitter.com/SoccerPro