BREAKTHROUGH

Big League Protection

EVOSHIELD REVOLUTIONIZES SPORTS SAFETY
by April James
baseball moms worst nightmare is watching her son fall to the ground after taking a ball to the chest. Her greatest relief: watching him get up. EvoShield knows that fear all too well; two of its founding members are former University of Georgia baseball players, including one who suffered a career- ending injury. CEO Bob Pinckney says, Our mission is to make athletics safer for all ages, from youth to pros. Today, the company devotes itself to making the best and most comfortable gear for youth and professional athletes, to keep them at their healthiest and in the game.

Commotio Cordis is the number one cause of death for young baseball players. Because kids bone density isnt fully developed, a balls impact affects them more. If the ball hits during the milliseconds between heartbeats, it can stop the heart and result in death. In the ten years between 1996 and 2006 there were 224 deaths from the condition, which yields a 64 percent fatality rate. In fact, EvoShield was born out of concern for a young boy who died of a heart attack after being hit by a baseball. With the help of former baseball players Stan Payne and Justin Niefer, and training facility owner Stan Kanavage, EvoShield created its
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first product, the Chest and Back Guard, which was designed to disperse impact and lower the risk of life-threatening injury. Since then, EvoShield has taken off, providing protective equipment for collegiate athletes and boasting major endorsements from several NFL players, most recently Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, more commonly known as RG3. On the baseball front, in 2009 EvoShield began partnering with Perfect Game, the worlds largest scouting service for youth and high school baseball players, and in 2011 it was welcomed into the MLB Authentic Collection, an exclusive group of equipment and apparel providers. This means that EvoShield is an official protective gear supplier of Major League Baseball. Athletes allegiance to EvoShield is a choice, and the ever-increasing number of professional endorsers and users makes a statement towards its dependability. Baseball players Andrew McCutchen, Alex Gordon, Troy Tulowitzski, Yadier Molina and Gordon Beckham are all on the list of loyal professional endorsers. EvoShields growth hasnt gone unnoticed. The University of Georgias Alumni Associations Bulldog 100 list, which acknowledges the fastest growing University of Georgia-owned businesses, placed EvoShield in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots from 2010 to 2012. The company proudly displays its trophies in the lobby of its corporate office, along with a drawing of the universitys mascot wearing an EvoShield compression shirt, obvious signs that the company remembers its roots and sees itself as a bulldog first.
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EvoShield recognizes that every body is different, and it stands out from other protective gear with its unique Gel-toShell technology. Athletes can simply remove the guard from its packaging and place it onto their body. In minutes the gel will mold to their bodies and harden, creating individualized protection. The pads are then inserted into EvoShields compression shirts to be worn under a uniform or jersey. At a quarter of an inch thick, EvoShields pads are not only user specific, but lightweight, so they dont interfere with performance. Players can run their fastest and play their hardest without being slowed down by heavy padding or fear of a game-stopping injury. Because theyre so lightweight, theres a variety of uses for EvoShields padding. The company even makes what it calls a Shooters Shield, which goes on the chest and provides protection for a guns kickback when hunting or out on the range. Along with football and baseball, EvoShield has gear for soccer, lacrosse and hockey, and in addition to the Chest and Back Guard, young baseball players can don EvoShield wrist, elbow and thumb guards for problem area protection all over. What else is special about EvoShield? Young athletes can have the exact same protection that RG3 and every professional baseball player have. The products sold at The Academy Sports and Outdoors, Dicks Sporting Goods and other sports retail locations are the very same pads and products that the pros wear. So although youth athletes may not play like pros, they are protected like them.
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