According to the present disclosure, a leg guard is provided with a splint connector that connects a knee guard with a thigh guard. The splint is made of a material and shaped in a way that allows the connector to hold tension like a rope, to hold compression like a support beam, to bend in one plane like a single hinge through the full range of the knee joint, to twist slightly and to create and maintain a consistent separation distance between the knee guard and the thigh guard while the leg guard including the connector is being worn.

Systems and methods for sensing and monitoring various athletic performance metrics, e.g., during the course of a game, a practice, a training session, training drills, and the like, are described. These systems and methods can provide useful metrics for players and coaches relating to athletic performances in various sports, including various team sports.

A pad protecting a pitcher's thigh has a tube containing a flexible pad around a front of the tube but not between the pitcher's legs and at least a portion of the back of the tube. A belt encircles the pitcher's waist and a padded top portion and connecting strip connect to the belt and extend laterally from the pitcher's navel to just past the pitcher's hip and extends downward to connect to the front of the tube. The padding covers a strike area where the pitcher's glove arm and glove hit the pitcher's hip and thigh when throwing a fast pitch softball.

An article of manufacture and a method are disclosed including a multi-layered knee pad including an outer shell and other layers forming high sidewalls, the height of which depends on the internal width of the knee pad. The outer shell may also have an array of recesses on its outer convex surface. The other knee pad layers include one or more foam layers on the concave side of the outer shell, one or more gel layers surrounded by the foam layers, and a fabric sheet covering the foam layers on the concave side of the outer shell. The knee pad is manufactured using an injection mold to form the foam layers. The knee pad is customizable with respect to size, firmness, and structure. The knee pad may be customized by varying the layer's characteristics such as material and dimensions as well as the size and location of the recesses.

A leg pad for a hockey goalkeeper playing hockey (e.g., ice hockey) is provided. The leg pad comprises a frontal portion, a medial portion, and a lateral portion respectively configured to be positioned adjacent to a front, a medial side, and a lateral side of a goalkeeper's leg when the leg pad is worn on the leg. The leg pad comprises an outer shell comprising an outer surface of the leg pad, an inner liner for facing the leg, and protective padding disposed between the molded outer shell and the inner liner. The outer shell may comprise molded foam.

A garment of the present invention comprises a closed tensionable loop for stabilizing a human knee. The loop is arranged to freely move along a conduit within the garment and is provided with a tensioner. The conduit crosses over itself between the lateral and a medial side on the anterior of the leg at least one of above and below the knee to provide compression on the ligaments of the knee when the loop is tensioned. The conduit circles the lower leg at a distal region of the triceps surae, thereby providing an anchor to the lower leg. An anchor is provided at or above the thigh. A method for stabilizing the knee using the tensionable loop involves positioning the garment so as to ensure that the conduit follows a predetermined path on the leg that places the loop over at least one of the two collateral ligaments of the knee and the tensioner is operated to adjust the compression on the ligaments.

Sport boots have an outer shell and an ankle compression system attached to and positioned within the outer shell to apply selective compressive force against an anterior ankle portion of a person's foot when wearing the boot. The ankle compression system includes an ankle compression member positioned forwardly adjacent to the anterior ankle portion and at least one medial positioning band having a lower terminal end immovably fixed to a medial edge portion of the strobel and having an opposite end operatively associated with the ankle compression member. An adjustment lace is connected to the ankle compression member and is operatively connected to a tightening member positioned on a lateral side of the outer shell so that operation of the tightening causes the adjustment lace to forcibly draw the ankle compression member toward and exert a selective compressive force against the anterior ankle portion of the person's foot.

Articles of sports equipment, such as striking implements (e.g., sticks) and wearable articles (e.g., skates, helmets) for playing hockey or other activities, in which at least one of the characteristics (e.g., stiffness) of the articles of sports equipment is adaptable and can be altered during use of the sports equipment, such as by comprising an alterable component coupled to a controller, by comprising an alterable component that is autonomously alterable, and/or by an alterable component that can be altered in response to a command of a remote device.

A hockey goalkeeper leg pad includes a core, a skin covering the core, a lateral leg flap and a medial leg flap defining a leg channel, and a lacing member. The lacing member includes lower tabs and upper tabs. The lower tabs and the upper tabs each defining apertures with a front inner surface of the skin covering the core, and the lower tabs and the upper tabs being attached to the front inner surface at lateral outer ends thereof. The upper tabs are laterally offset outward of the lower tabs relative to a longitudinal centerline of the lacing member. A lace extends through the lower apertures and the upper apertures, as well as through the core to secure the core to the lacing member.

A shock absorbing system for force attenuation, impact modification or reduction, employs an envelope having a chamber containing a first working fluid, the envelope deformable in response to the impulse to attenuate impact force. A plurality of resilient supplemental absorber elements dispersed within the chamber. The plurality of resilient supplemental absorber elements are deformable in response to the force to assist in attenuating impact force and provide additional resilient restoring force to return the envelope to a pre-impact shape. In alternative implementations, a unitary cell for energy dissipation employs an envelope having a chamber containing a first working fluid and an inner element contained within the chamber and having an inner chamber containing a second working fluid.