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Wilson Footballs and Wilson Prep Kit


Use the Wilson Ball Prep Kit  

27 members have voted

  1. 1. Does your program use the Wilson Ball Prep Kit?



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So I would like to get an idea of how many teams are using the Wilson Ball Prep Kit on their balls? 

I would like to get coaches to respond to this Poll.

We were told last Friday that this was illegal by our officiating crew.  This is not a foreign substance.  It is recommended by the manufacturer of the Wilson footballs and is made by the Wilson company.  There are videos made to show it is used and applied to make the balls last longer.  

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Our guy uses the kit, but not until he goes through a three day process of removing the retail wax, coating the leather in shaving cream, and then mudding them like they are major league baseballs.  I have never seen game balls hold up the way ours have thus far.  From my vantage point, his hard work on ball prep has been totally worth it!

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10 minutes ago, eschnur66 said:

Our guy uses the kit, but not until he goes through a three day process of removing the retail wax, coating the leather in shaving cream, and then mudding them like they are major league baseballs.  I have never seen game balls hold up the way ours have thus far.  From my vantage point, his hard work on ball prep has been totally worth it!

I couldn't agree more.  They come out of the box unusable to me.  They are very slick and after they are used for any extended period of time, they are hard and slick.  We are using the same game balls as last year because of the use of the prep kit.

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7 minutes ago, Punttheball said:

I couldn't agree more.  They come out of the box unusable to me.  They are very slick and after they are used for any extended period of time, they are hard and slick.  We are using the same game balls as last year because of the use of the prep kit.

Do you guys clean, cream, and mud them as well?

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I have a somewhat related question. Has anyone had issues with the footballs being flat coming out of the package? What I mean is we"ll take the ball out of the package, make sure its properly inflated (never over inflated) and then the next day it's flat again and wont hold air. If we get 10 brand new footballs 2 or 3 won't stay inflated. It's happened more over the past 2 years and I'm wondering if it's a issue anyone else has run into?

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1 hour ago, eschnur66 said:

Do you guys clean, cream, and mud them as well?

We just clean and apply the wax bar and buff them with the brush.  

41 minutes ago, CoachVeatch said:

I have a somewhat related question. Has anyone had issues with the footballs being flat coming out of the package? What I mean is we"ll take the ball out of the package, make sure its properly inflated (never over inflated) and then the next day it's flat again and wont hold air. If we get 10 brand new footballs 2 or 3 won't stay inflated. It's happened more over the past 2 years and I'm wondering if it's a issue anyone else has run into?

Not really, but we have not touched any of the balls we ordered for this year.  We don't need them.  The process we are using keeps the balls great for a few years.

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1 minute ago, gonzoron said:

George Brett preps ours. Never had an issue.

It's when Tom Brady preps them that it often presents an issue.

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I agree, the footballs straight out of the box are unusable for the last couple of years. I have started using their prep kit and it makes them better. Scrub them with hot water to get the factory wax off of them then was the bar wax. Tried to get baseball mud online and it is impossible to find right now. My question is the Original question, is it legal??? I have never had an official say anything? 

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I use the same process: Brush off the factory wax, Shaving cream, baseball mud, Wilson Prep kit. Like NPFB says, something about the manufacturing process in the last few years is definitely different. The balls show up looking more like basketballs than footballs the last few seasons.

I've never had a crew comment on the balls being "illegal." Would be interested to hear an official chime in on this. 

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2 hours ago, NPFB said:

I agree, the footballs straight out of the box are unusable for the last couple of years. I have started using their prep kit and it makes them better. Scrub them with hot water to get the factory wax off of them then was the bar wax. Tried to get baseball mud online and it is impossible to find right now. My question is the Original question, is it legal??? I have never had an official say anything? 

 

1 hour ago, Cheez said:

I use the same process: Brush off the factory wax, Shaving cream, baseball mud, Wilson Prep kit. Like NPFB says, something about the manufacturing process in the last few years is definitely different. The balls show up looking more like basketballs than footballs the last few seasons.

I've never had a crew comment on the balls being "illegal." Would be interested to hear an official chime in on this. 

This crew was adamant that it was illegal.  Bobref on the GID believes it is legal.  So there you go.  This was the first crew that has said anything.  They did not back off on the idea that it could even be considered.  It was not a great experience as you are in the middle of warmups and the crew says your balls are illegal.  I was told several times that they have worked state finals games and no one has ever used this on balls that they have officiated the game in.  I stopped trying to reason with them.  They even said the National Federation outlaws anything like this.  So I believe there needs to be a clarification.  Not sure how that process works.

Edited by Punttheball
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1 hour ago, Dolts said:

Last year I remember seeing a video with IHSAA Assistant Commissioner Robert Faulkens instructing coaches on how to clean and sanitize footballs related to the COVID Pandemic.  In the video he not only recommends the Wilson Prep Kit but shows you how to use it. 

https://youtu.be/3A4UtLaOnkg

Thank You!

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6 hours ago, Dolts said:

Last year I remember seeing a video with IHSAA Assistant Commissioner Robert Faulkens instructing coaches on how to clean and sanitize footballs related to the COVID Pandemic.  In the video he not only recommends the Wilson Prep Kit but shows you how to use it. 

https://youtu.be/3A4UtLaOnkg

Thank you!! We can’t get a better answer then that! 

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22 hours ago, Punttheball said:

 

This crew was adamant that it was illegal.  Bobref on the GID believes it is legal.  So there you go.  This was the first crew that has said anything.  They did not back off on the idea that it could even be considered.  It was not a great experience as you are in the middle of warmups and the crew says your balls are illegal.  I was told several times that they have worked state finals games and no one has ever used this on balls that they have officiated the game in.  I stopped trying to reason with them.  They even said the National Federation outlaws anything like this.  So I believe there needs to be a clarification.  Not sure how that process works.

I would recommend to reach out to the crew chief and share that video from Robert Faulkens. 

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On 10/7/2021 at 10:22 AM, LCCAlum said:

I would recommend to reach out to the crew chief and share that video from Robert Faulkens. 

I did.  He apologized and said he was not aware of the video or the suggestion from Mr. Faulkens to use it.  The most frustrating part of the whole thing was the unwillingness of the crew to listen to reason.  Everything was matter of fact.  I was wrong and they were right.  They had worked a state championship game and that was that.  It wasn't even about the balls. It was the arrogance of two of the crew members.  There was no way the prep kit would make the balls tacky.  They accused me of spraying an illegal substance on the ball.  I felt I maintained a professional approach to it and they called a great game.  They are for sure a top notch crew, but the night started rough for sure.  I am glad it is something that has been brought up and hopefully the message spreads among the crews.  

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2 hours ago, Punttheball said:

I did.  He apologized and said he was not aware of the video or the suggestion from Mr. Faulkens to use it.  The most frustrating part of the whole thing was the unwillingness of the crew to listen to reason.  Everything was matter of fact.  I was wrong and they were right.  They had worked a state championship game and that was that.  It wasn't even about the balls. It was the arrogance of two of the crew members.  There was no way the prep kit would make the balls tacky.  They accused me of spraying an illegal substance on the ball.  I felt I maintained a professional approach to it and they called a great game.  They are for sure a top notch crew, but the night started rough for sure.  I am glad it is something that has been brought up and hopefully the message spreads among the crews.  

Most of everything you say sounds perfectly reasonable. The process you use, the video, everything seems right on the up and up except what caused them to question the balls in the first place. What made them different then any other ball that has been used or is brand new? Why did they ask you about them or the process? 

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1 hour ago, Huge Football Fan said:

Most of everything you say sounds perfectly reasonable. The process you use, the video, everything seems right on the up and up except what caused them to question the balls in the first place. What made them different then any other ball that has been used or is brand new? Why did they ask you about them or the process? 

The balls were tacky!  That's it.  They also stated they have never felt balls like that and that I must have done something illegal.  They had never even had a team that has used the prep kit on a ball before.  

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53 minutes ago, Punttheball said:

The balls were tacky!  That's it.  They also stated they have never felt balls like that and that I must have done something illegal.  They had never even had a team that has used the prep kit on a ball before.  

I’m not sure how anyone would even know if you have or haven’t but if they are a state finals crew they have worked 100’s if not 1000’s if games so for them to pick out something with the balls is sort or a red flag that something was unusual with them. I wasn’t there and didn’t feel them but you would think they had to be sticky for someone to say something?

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20 hours ago, Huge Football Fan said:

I’m not sure how anyone would even know if you have or haven’t but if they are a state finals crew they have worked 100’s if not 1000’s if games so for them to pick out something with the balls is sort or a red flag that something was unusual with them. I wasn’t there and didn’t feel them but you would think they had to be sticky for someone to say something?

Not sure what part of this you are not getting?  They were tacky/sticky...whatever term you want to use.  It has been established that they have worked a state finals.  They stated that nothing can be used on the ball!  Must be taken from the box or bag and used.  Nothing could be done to the balls. They were wrong.  They admitted they were wrong.  Does this clear it up for you?

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