Uniforms

With the increased coverage of professional sports, younger athletes have received more attention as well. In particular, high school football players get more of the interest with two all-star games held annually in the month of January. During this time, college recruiters have the opportunity to scout out future talent for their programs. At the same time, with plenty of national exposure, companies such as Under Armour can exhibit their latest innovations.

For the Under Armour All-America Football Game in 2011, the company unveiled a uniform technology comparable to Nike's Pro Combat used by top football programs across the nation. Branched off its original compression shirts, Under Armour's uniforms were equipped to be a tight-fit on the players. The concept behind this was that players would have fewer probabilities to be grabbed and dragged by an opponent. Also, the jerseys were thirty-three percent lighter than the previous year's uniform--making the players faster. Furthermore, a mesh-fabric integrated on the interior of the pants allowed for more breathability and reduction of heat. However, what made the Under Armour uniforms distinctive from Nike's were the Muscle Performance Panels across the hamstring. From the looks of it, the MPPs are made from a different material than the rest of the uniform. No details could be found other than Under Armour's statement of, "it provides the muscle with stability." In the future, expect other brands to put out uniforms with similar designs and Nike and Under Armour to develop more lighter uniforms.