Get it in gear: a compendium of hot, new football equipment.

To best of Chuck Forrest, Sr.'s knowledge, he has patented nearly 40 pieces of football equipment and designed about 150 more that haven't seen a patent office.

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"I have a book with drawings in it," said Forrest, Sr., the owner of World Sporting Goods, Inc. "I have probably designed more football equipment, according to my patent attorney, than any one person in the country."

Don't tell Forrest that he can't invent a better mousetrap because he just might prove you wrong.

Blessed with a mechanical mind, the former World War II aircraft mechanic began building equipment for his three sons, who were all linemen at Fairhope (AL) High School, including Chuck Jr., World Sporting Goods' general manager. The genesis of Chuck Sr.'s inventions occurred when he went to a junkyard and took the back end of a Chevrolet car and built a blocking machine on wheels, with brakes. That product, the Wheel Trainer, has been sold for 40 years. The late, legendary Bear Bryant bought one while head coach at Alabama.

At age 82, Forrest says he continues to enjoy tinkering with the hope of inventing something new. He still follows the game of football very closely and is cognizant of what today's coaches and players need. That's his inspiration.

"I listen to coaches," Forrest, a former quarterback/running back at Sumner (MS) H.S. "I am always listening to what they try to teach and then I build something to help teach it."

The latest invention is the Singletary Monster, a football sled designed with input from Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary, who is now a linebackers coach with the San Francisco 49ers. "It is a monster," quipped Forrest.

Forrest originally designed the product when Singletary coached for the Baltimore Ravens. But the former member of the vaunted Chicago Bears 46 defense wanted some revisions, so Forrest added a few tackling dummies. A coach can stand on the sled and make the accompanying dummies move in the direction he wants the player to move. Although it was constructed for the pro and collegiate player, a scaled down version is available for the high school market.

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Said Forrest: "The whole concept was to design something that focused on back to the basics and fundamentals."

Two other new World Sporting Goods products include a new chute, which is a piece of equipment designed to keep players low as they come off the line of scrimmage, and a portable goal post with a net that when opened, reaches 18-feet in height.

"I've built a lot of pieces of equipment and if it wasn't safe enough, if I thought kids might get hurt on it, I'd junk it," said Forrest. "I try to design stuff for more than one drill. The one thing we're known for with our equipment is our versatility."

While Forrest has been inclined to invent more conventional football equipment, Tom Moore really thought outside the box when it came to the introduction of his D-Cleater, one of the most exciting breakthroughs in football training in years, according to the company.

The D-Cleater from Grand Hall USA was designed to help players maximize their blocking and tackling skills by hitting and driving the D-Cleater's dual pad cart back and forth on its 12-foot rail. The D-Cleater's resistance can be adjusted from 0-840 pounds to challenge players from the junior level to the pro ranks.

Tom Moore, inventor of the D-Cleater and assistant football coach at Northridge H.S., in Layton, UT, saw a need for the product as an alternative to traditional football sleds, but more importantly, as a training option for linemen. He also wanted something that was mobile and could be used indoors and outdoors. But it wasn't until he met up with Troy Jergens, an engineer who had played football, that he had a finished product. Jergens introduced a solution for adding resistance to the D-Cleater.

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"The typical sleds slide across the ground, with the ski on the front," said Moore, who has coached football for 33 years, including 20 with offensive linemen. "It's just too easy. Especially if you get five or seven guys on a 5- or 7-man sled. To me, players weren't using their legs enough to gain anything from it. There hasn't been a whole lot of equipment designed for linemen in the off-season. Quarterbacks, running backs, and receivers can always throw, run, and catch. They can work on their fundamentals. But for offensive linemen, or even defensive linemen for that matter, there are just not a whole lot of things they can do but lift weights and run. There was nothing available to actually work on technique and fundamentals."

Primarily designed for football, the D-Cleater is also an ideal training device for basketball, track, and wrestling.

Said Moore: "It's just a great workout for any athlete. There are a variety of drills you cannot do with a traditional sled."

The D-Cleater is available in two versions: four-foot wide and six-foot wide. It comes with two blocking bags, but users can add tackling bags for tackling drills.

"Our business is helping kids get better and perform better," Moore said. "It's all about going out and executing on game day. So if you're looking for something that simulates actual game action, this is the ultimate piece of equipment on the market."

Following is a sampling of the latest football innovations coming to a field near you:

TELEX COMMUNICATIONS 

Telex, the company synonymous with the NFL and NCAA coaching communication systems designed a PA system for Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne, in 1931. It is now launching the Legacy series, a 2.4 GHz encrypted wireless intercom, specifically designed for the high school coaching ranks at a buyer-friendly price point.

Employing the IEEE 802.11 wireless standard, the Legacy offers full duplex communications over three audio channels with a convenient push-to-talk button. The beltpack control panel is easy to use and is modeled after the ones designed by Telex that are used by the NFL and 97% of NCAA Division I college football teams.

The Legacy system offer fast and easy setup, complete wireless solutions for two to seven coaches per sideline, durable beltpacks, 64-bit audio encryption, professional grade headsets, and a three year warranty. In addition, the Legacy base station offers a state of the art automatic channel selection feature called ClearScan that automatically sets the Legacy to best and clearest channel for operation.

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"Everyone in football knows who Telex is and what we do," said Marc Archer, director of strategic marketing for sports communications. "But now we have this new technology, a much better price point, and a much better product for the high school level. So we need to tell the Telex story, because booster clubs and athletic directors will be buying the product."

Affordability is the key word for high school programs on a tight budget. Whereas, purchasing a system for the Division 1 collegiate ranks or the NFL would set you back anywhere from $40,000 to $80,000, the price point for the Legacy is just over $5,000.

"We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't have the right product," Archer said. "With this new technology, we're really confident going forward that it's going to make a big splash."

SCHUTT SPORTS

The Advantage shoulder pad is designed to be much lighter than traditional air management shoulder pads, as much as 20% for some models, according to Schutt. The company adds that the incorporation of the high-tech materials helps players manage both heat and moisture as the materials breathe to circulate air, keeping the body cool and help transport perspiration away from the body so it evaporates quickly, keeping the body dry.

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Today's players want lightweight and comfortable equipment that enhances their performance. Schutt is confident that the Advantage shoulder pad gives them what they want while providing the protection they require.

"In a lot of respects it's pretty much along the same lines as our Typhoon shoulder pad," said D.J. MacLean, Schutt's product and brand manager for football. "But there is a specially formulated compound in the over the shoulder area we call the Schutt Shield. It does a really good job of absorbing the blows to the clavicle. That's a new material for us."

Schutt is touting its Football Kicking and Training Net as the first ever pop-up training net for football. According to the company, the product helps build a variety of football skills including kicking, punting, passing and long snapping. The lightweight and portable pop-up design allows players to use it anywhere. It includes a target net that can be moved to different positions for specific skill development. Available in varsity and youth sizes.

Finally, Schutt continues it's tradition of faceguard design innovation with the new Motocross. This unique design offers an aggressive and cool new look specifically for the youth football market.

REEBOK 

Reebok introduced its full line of inflatable products last year, including its VR6000 leather football. Recently, the company launched the VR5000, a composite football that features Reebok's Gryptonite technology, which was initiated with its NFL receivers' gloves. The VR5000 has a urethane covering that gives it an extremely tacified feel, according to Chris Waldeck, Reebok's director of marketing.

"It plays great in both dry and wet weather," said Waldeck. "Obviously, it interfaces well with our Gryptonite gloves. The ball has a real nice playability. It's not so much an all-weather ball as it an enhanced grip, enhanced performance product."

An ideal game ball for the high school level, the VR5000 is available in four sizes: from Pee Wee to Varsity.

WENGER CORPORATION

OK, you have your helmets, shoulder pads, and footballs. But where to store it all? The Wenger GearBoss Sports Storage Systems just may provide the ultimate solution.

According to Greg Nelson, Wenger product manager, the company consulted with athletic directors, coaches, and equipment managers from all levels--professional, university and secondary--and were brought up to speed as to their needs, challenges, and frustrations with athletic equipment storage. What Wenger came up with is high-density storage that saves space, requiring half the storage space of traditional shelving. GearBoss carts roll along a fixed aluminum track in the floor, minimizing wasted aisle space and allowing easy access from both sides.

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Carts are constructed of 16-gauge, 14-gauge, and 12-gauge steel, with upright support tubes built of 2" diameter, 16-gauge steel. All are finished with durable powder-coat paint. Helmet hangers are made of heavy-gauge, powder-coated steel wire and can accommodate eight helmets. A 32" X-Cart can hold about 56 helmets and a 48" X-Cart can hold 112 helmets on hangers. Shoulder pad stackers can accommodate 20-25 pads, and are made of durable steel tubing.

GearBoss X-Carts and Team Carts come in two widths--32" and 48". The other dimensions are 78" long and 79" high. Storage attics, which attach to the frame of a 48" X-Cart, are available in 26" and 38" heights. The Team Carts can be easily rolled into the gym and back, making equipment more mobile and accessible at the practice site. Rolling X-Carts remain in the storage room.

Furthermore, sanitation and odor issues are improved with GearBoss.

"We knew that the first thing to do was to increase the airflow around the gear," said Nelson. "This drove us to use grill-work on the cart ends and shelves. It also led us to develop ways to store specialty items like shoulder pads and helmets so that airflow is encouraged. By contrast, equipment that is boxed up, or in laundry bins, or stored on plywood shelves cannot dissipate moisture adequately."