xprotex softball blog

What? You aren’t flexible enough? Oh. You need a ‘tougher’ workout? You don’t know how to do it? Well guess what…you and about a million other athletes feel the same way, but I am here to encourage you to try it out. I absolutely love practicing Yoga and I want to share my passion of it with you all.

My name is Megan Willis I am 26 years old and I play in the NPF (National Pro Fastpitch) for the USSSA Florida Pride. I have been playing softball since I was 9 years old and I have yet to come across a workout or ‘practice’ that has been more useful than Yoga. I have trained my hardest while playing for The University of Texas; weight lifting, speed training, and hours of practice. However, even with all of that I was still not at my peak performance. After taking a year off of softball in 2008, I began working for a company called ‘lululemon athletica’ and it changed my life forever. One of my tasks  there was to take 3-5 Yoga classes a week. Because of this, I was awakened to a whole different universe of practices. I was now practicing strength (holding the poses), awareness (complete concentration), flexibility (stretching), meditation (complete stillness and awake) and confidence all in one class instead of a weeks worth of training!

Why would this make you a better Athlete?

You can begin taking your sport off the field and begin practicing on the mat. You begin to have complete awareness of ‘Eagle’ pose and every breath you take will holding it. Which helps with that same concentration you need during every pitch of your at-bat. After all the ‘Chaturangas’, ‘Up-dogs’ and ‘Down-dogs’ your muscles and tendons in your shoulders will have become so strong that you will no longer feel fatigued as quickly from throwing, pitching or hitting. Working on your flexibility will help keep you muscles nice and limber which will aid in lessening the chances of getting injured. Lastly, by taking a ‘Savasana’ at the end of every practice you allow your mind to ease and focus on that one intention you set for that practice. Which is comparable to taking your focus you have that day at practice and staying in tuned to it the entire time.

Though I am completely grateful for my new found flexibility, awareness, strength and meditation, I couldn’t be more happy with my new found confidence. Every class I took I left feeling incredible happy, refreshed and rejuvenated. Nothing but positive encouragement is being shared and you can’t help but want to be a part of that environment.

Yoga has totally reshaped my game and I have been much more successful over the past two years then my entire college career. I might be considered ‘old’ in the softball world, but I am just now tapping into my real potential and I can’t wait to see what’s in store!

“Do one thing a day that scares you.” That is a quote from lululemon athletica’s manifesto and I love living by this, so I dare you to try it as well. Go ahead, grab a mat and hit the floor,

Namaste

‘The light within me honors and respects the light within you’

Megan Willis #5

visit www.meganwillissoftball.com to stay up to date with Megan and get more information on her camps and clinics

Check out the REAKTR that Megan wears at www.xprotex.com

XPROTEX softball athlete, Taryne Mowatt takes some time to share the highlights of her summer, playing in the NPF and her road trip back home.  Taryne uses the XPROTEX Raykrs when she hits, and the Reaktr when she’s pitching!

Well, this is my first blog in a long time and so much has happened recently I don’t know where to begin. I just got back from a whirlwind summer where I was playing in Akron, Ohio for the Akron Racers. I was fortunate enough to get back into the NPF after being out of it for a year and made some new friends while playing the sport I love. Some really good memories, like the time we held a funeral service for Micaela Minner’s broken bat. Definitely one of the funniest things I’ve ever experienced…burying the bat in the front yard of our apartments while the neighbors are watching us and wondering what the heck we were doing!

After the season ended I went on a very long road trip, across the country! I got to visit some very cool places that I’ve never been to. My first stop after championships was Minneapolis, Minnesota. What a gorgeous place it was! I was there when the weather was beautiful and got to enjoy a week’s worth of Twins games while they made their run for postseason. The new stadium was amazing! Then it was off to Michigan to watch my boyfriend, CJ, play in his playoffs and to celebrate my 24th birthday. Well, he hit 2 homeruns on my birthday and they won their division which was exciting!

Next stop, NEW YORK! After visiting there, I’m convinced that I could live downtown in the city…I had so much fun! Walking around Times Square and shopping and Central Park, it was all so…perfect! Except that it smelled sometimes, but I can look past that. When we went down to Little Italy for lunch, they were having their celebration fest with food vendors and some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had. Then, we got to go to Yankee Stadium when they were playing the Rays. Two of the best pitchers in Sabathia and Price going at it, I loved it! Unfortunately that trip had to come to an end, but I told myself New York would see me again! Next stop was Atlantic City, then on down to Texas where we watched the longhorns being cattled along. It was really scary being that close to them because they were huge! After surprising my little brother, Anthony, for his birthday it was finally back to Tucson after being gone for 6 months. All in all, it was a great road trip, but I don’t think I’ll be driving long distances for a while!

The fun didn’t stop there…As soon as I got back, I hit the road again with the NPF Back to School Tour. Got to play against Arizona and be back in Hillenbrand Stadium in front of the best fans in the country! The place was packed and I was so proud to be back there and show off the amazing traditon Arizona softball has.

The tradition was present again when we had our Alumni Game and over 60 alumni softball players showed up! That is an unbelievable testament to what Coach Candrea has done for this program. The game was a blast!!! All smiles, all laughs, and catching up with old teammates and the players before us. I got to start the game in the circle and I couldn’t have asked for a better infield…Toni Mascarenas at 3rd, Kristie Fox at short, Chelsie Mesa at 2nd and Jennie Finch at 1st! Talk about an awesome defense!!! Being on the same field as some of these players was one of the best things EVER! The weekend was so much fun and I can’t wait to do it again!

And for some news…. drum roll please….. I am now a Chicago Bandit! Yay! I’m super excited about this and I can’t wait for next summer!!

I’ll leave this blog at that, but stay tuned because this next month is about to be insane! Lots of traveling and hopefully some great stories that go along with it. Until then, stay awesome and Beardown!!!

<3, Taryne

Stay up to date with Taryne at her website www.taryne.com and on the Xprotex Softball Facebook page!

Company to Provide All World Series Players with Protective Batting Gloves

Valencia, Calif. (PRWEB) August 12, 2010

XProTeX, the company redefining sports protection, today announced their sponsorship of the Little League Softball World Series. As part of the sponsorship, players from all ten teams participating in the World Series will wear XProTeX batting gloves, which are designed to protect players from injury to their hands and wrists. Utilizing A.I.C. (Advanced Impact Composite), a patented material specifically developed for use in impact applications in sports, the gloves significantly decrease the risk of injuries to the hand and wrist area by reducing the impact of a 70 mph fastball down to the equivalent of a 28 mph ball.

“The Little League Softball World Series is a huge opportunity to showcase our batting gloves and underscore the importance of injury protection within softball,” said Sue Enquist, former coach of the UCLA Softball team and one of the founding members of XProTeX. “These players are tomorrow’s future leaders in the sport and we want to do everything we can to help protect and enhance performance, while elevating player confidence.”

The Little League Softball World Series will take place in Portland, Oregon from August 12-18. The semi-final games on August 17 and championship game on August 18 will be televised on ESPN2. Teams from the Phillipines, Puerto Rico, Canada, Poland and United States will vie for the World Series title. XProTeX will meet with all ten qualifying teams on August 10 and 11 to fit players for batting gloves and catchers will also be fitted with Strykr gloves, to protect the palm and fingers, wrist and back of the hand while catching.

XProTeX is ushering in a new era of innovation, safety and protection to the sports of baseball and softball, with a goal of achieving a culture where sports participation includes education around injury awareness and prevention. Launched after 30 months of research, development and testing, the foundation of the XProTeX line of batting gloves is A.I.C. (Advanced Impact Composite), a patented material that provides a lightweight, flexible, and non-restrictive solution to body protection with increased impact resistance. XProTeX’s A.I.C. also provides greater coverage of vulnerable body parts, which is key as athletes of all levels are currently under-protected in many vital areas, especially their hands and wrists.

XProTeX chose to harness its A.I.C. technology for batting gloves as the first product in their line of advanced sports protection not only because the hands and wrists are currently under-protected in batting sports, but also because they’re one of the most complex parts of the body and one of the most susceptible to injury. Small bones, blood vessels, nerve endings and tendons lie just underneath the surface of the skin without much muscle or fat to cushion them from an impact.

For more information about XProTeX and its line of batting gloves, visit: http://www.xprotex.com.

About XProTeX
XProTeX challenges traditional methods of sports protection with the latest in advanced materials and a cutting edge approach. Our designs bring technology and innovations from extreme sports to team sports, starting with baseball and softball. The foundation of the XProTeX products is our patented A.I.C. (Advanced Impact Composite) material. XProTeX’s AIC provides a lightweight, flexible, less-restrictive solution to body protection with greater coverage of vulnerable body parts and increased impact resistance. XProTeX is headquartered in Valencia, California.