Tuesday: Pro Level Jerseys on a Beer League Budget!

Hi everybody. Steve M here for another glorious Tuesday post. I've got a real treat for all of you today. My main story talks about two things: Youngstown State's outdoor game jersey currently on pre-order and the manufacturers of the jersey, Rebirth Sports from Saginaw, Michigan.

PART 1

Most of us have been in that spot where you're on a hockey team with your buddies and your team needs jerseys. You have the option of either paying a ton of money for replicas of your favorite hockey team or spend $50 and get practice jerseys with a one-color number on the back. Enter Rebirth Sports.

Founded and owned by Doug Greene, Rebirth has been making they're mark in the college level of club hockey. They've worked with schools such as Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan, Florida State, etc, but have also worked extensively with much smaller schools like Youngstown State and Appalachian State, giving these club teams pro level jerseys, socks, shells, and anything else they need at a fraction of whatever you would pay from other companies.

After talking with Doug, a former club hockey player in college himself, it was clear to me that Rebirth is all about giving the average Joe a look that they can be proud of. He explained to me how that when he was in college, most club teams didn't have complete matching uniforms because of the costs for the season (travel, ice time, uniforms) and it didn't help the teams out in any way. Also, schools would have to find jersey that matched the colors of their schools, which was a hassle all on its own.

At Rebirth, they use a standard modern template for most of their jerseys, and will do mockups of jerseys for teams free of charge. They want any team, whether it be a beer league team in Pittsburgh or the University of Oregon's club Ice hockey team to be satisfied with the jersey design. They will give you the pro level treatment at a much lower cost because they believe that everybody should be able to have their own custom jerseys instead of having to spend outrageous amounts of money on a replica of a Red Wings jersey that might not match you schools colors.

Another interesting thing about them is that they don't have an official website. Instead, they use Facebook, Twitter, and John Buccigross from ESPN's SportsCenter (No joke. He's worn numerous Rebirth jerseys on there). They do all this so they can keep the costs down.

So, if you guys ever need hockey jerseys and want to go full custom (we know you do) then look up Rebirth on the web or email them at RebirthSports@gmail.com

PART 2 

Photo From Rebirth Sports

This is the jersey that the Youngstown State University Club Ice Hockey team will wear during their outdoor game next season. They actually unveiled this on April Fools Day with "This is not a joke" attached to the picture. Once again rebirth, good job on the jersey. When I heard you guys were making a vintage style jersey it caught me off guard when it was grey. Then it made me think about all the old photos of hockey players out on ponds so that was pretty clever. The hints of red are just small enough to where they don't draw a large amount of attention and using the scarf as the script tail was genius!

Voting for the Pairs Competition is going on, as well as the usual COTW. Now, all of us who participated in the Pairs Comp worked really hard so please vote for you think deserves your vote (cough cough me and Phil).

COTW Mar 27-Apr 2 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Pairs Competition vote (ends Friday @ 10:59pm Eastern)

To the concepts we go!

Brooks Freeman- Chicago Express

Positives: Very unique arm stripping going on with this one. Similar to your Toronto Maple Leafs concept a few weeks back. That extra color on the arms just gives them a new dimension. Also, the curved hem stripe was a nice touch to go with the bottom of the jersey.
Negatives: While the arm stripes are unique, they give the yoke of the jersey a really strange and unappealing look. They just draw way too much attention to the arms and don't draw my eyes to the whole jersey.
Overall: 7.75/10

Daniel Lowry- Grand Rapids Griffins

Positives: The stripping pattern on the sleeves and chest is very interesting. Also, the back numbers are fairly easy to read, something that can be difficult with a waist stripe.
Negatives: While I do not have a problem with the waist stripe, I have a problem with the two different colors. If you made the white a little less on the bottom and made the waist stripe a hem stripe then this would be a solid design. Also, I'm not so sure that you design with the sleeves out would match your design with the sleeves next to the jersey itself.
Overall: 6.25/10

 Josiah Bosch- Finland (World Cup of Hockey)

 

Positives: While the white jersey was a solid design already, adding the yoke and making the dark jersey the same as the away were both good ideas. While the yoke is square, it works with the rectangular logo and horizontal stripe across the chest. The red numbers with the gold outline also look really sharp on both jerseys.
Negatives: Those stripes on the sides of the jersey still don't look that good with the jersey at all. Also, you really didn't change the white jersey all that much other than giving it a blue yoke, different collar and different cuffs and hem bottom, but I'll let it slide because I think you tweaked it just enough to give it an improvement.
Overall: 7.5/10

Lucas Daitchman- Anaheim Ducks 3rd

Positives:  Good use of the current numbering and updated Mighty Ducks logo.

Negatives: Just like Daniels, the two color jersey just isn't working for this. Make the black a little less like it is on the current third with that stripe or have some separation under the white stripe and black to make it black towards the bottom of the hem instead of half of the jersey. Also, your number 3 on the back of the jersey is too low.

Overall: 6.75/10

Ryan Christensen- Montreal Canadiens 3rd

Positives: Wait! Ryan using a different template? Well ok then. Anyways, the vintage "Old English C inside the maple leaf" logo looks really nice on this jersey. Also, the simple stripping works really well on this jersey overall.

Negatives: I'm not a fan of the different hem stripe. I know it's suppose to be from the white jersey but if you're going to do that then add the red bottom with it because the body just looks bare with that little double stripe. I also see some spacing issues with the "2's" on the sleeves.

Overall: 7.5/10

Ryan Christensen- Peoria Rivermen

Positives: This looks just like a design I did years ago on the old Puckdrawn website. It also has a bit of a Penguins vintage 3rd feel to it, but it's not a complete copy. Very good use of keeping the stripping consistent with both jerseys.

Negatives: the sleeves on the dark and white have different looks to them. Maybe if you followed the hem stripping on the white jersey then there would be a cohesive feel to it but the sleeves give me two different jersey design feels, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it looks like you were trying to match them. Please correct me in the comments section if I'm wrong.

Overall: 7.75/10

 TG- Calgary Ice

Positives: Thank you for adding a back story to your concept. It really helps when looking at it. Both designs are very clean and altering the current logos don't bother me. You did a good job of making the colors work on both jerseys as well.

Negatives: all that being said, you should have cut off more of the 2 on the sleeves. Also, the angle of the middle stripe on the arms looks slightly off compared to the outer two stripes. Also, it would have been nice to see the socks match each other in some fashion.

Overall: 7.5/10

Well that's all the concepts I have for you guys today. I'm really at a crossroads between who should get COTW so help me out guys.

Once again, I'd like to thank Doug Greene for taking the time to talk with me so I could write about his company. Doug and the guys that work at Rebirth all have a passion for making custom jerseys affordable to anybody and are also big fans of HJC so if anybody from Rebirth is reading this, keep up the good work.

That's all the time I have for you guys this Tuesday. Have a good rest of the week and I'll see you all this time next week. Steve M over and out.