A Business of Basketball Fanatics
It was always about basketball, even if we didn’t have access to hoop. We started out in a small section of a small fitness center in Illinois training basketball players. We literally had a 12′x12′ area, just enough room for squats, lunges, and a few other staples. It wasn’t miserable, but it was pretty darn close. Fast forward 3 years, and we’ve grown into an 8,000 square foot sports performance facility and sports apparel printing company. Not only do we have one hoop, but 3 hoops in our building. And best of all, the aroma of sweat and sneakers fill the hallways, while the sounds of dribbling basketballs and bank shots echo off the walls.
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The birth of the shooting sleeve
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The shooting sleeves were born by accident, the offspring of marriage between our basketball training facility and printing company with a nudge from behavioral psychology.
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During our basketball training sessions, we were constantly reminding our athletes to hold their follow throughs. Shots were repeatedly short-armed, and straight as an arrow. No arch. No follow through. No chance of going in the bucket. Frustrated at the apparent disregard of our coaching cue, up and out, we set out to find a new way to teach our athletes the proper shooting form. Being fans of behavioral psychology, we found a solution in the shooting sleeve: environmental cues.
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Colored shooting sleeves provided the gentle, visual reminder the athletes needed to shoot correctly. The athlete could see just enough of the sleeve out of the corner of their eye to remind them to get enough arch on their shot (up and out) and to hold the follow through. And it worked. We still have to verbally cue the athletes every so often, but not near to the same degree as we did before the sleeves.
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After taking a deeper look at the benefits of compression gear, we realized the shooting sleeves were doing more than just perfecting shots; they were aiding in preventing injuries and improving recovery. Our sessions sometimes last up to 3 hours. During those sessions, we’d alternate between periods of high intensity (lots of sweating) and periods of low intensity (zero sweating). Because of those fluctuations, our athlete’s shooting arms would get cold, and would need to be warmed up again prior to increased activity. What we found was the sleeves actually kept the muscles “warmed up” even during periods of low intensity. Not only that, but during periods of high intensity, the sleeve actually aided in keeping the shooting hand dry. They actually had functional benefits too. So why not mass produce the sleeves, and add a “customizable” touch to them. In today’s world, everything is about customizing items and making them unique. So, why not make your shooting sleeve unique too! Our third business was born, and we haven’t looked back since.. Not only that, but we’ve also been slowly adding additional basketball training tools and performance aids.
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Don’t buy from an apparel company. Buy from a basketball company; a company that eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball. Buy from Chameleon Bball!
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