ZionEagle Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 WELCOME TO THE PRL. Hey everyone. I’ve recently been inspired to start a series from a sport I don’t think anyone has done before. The idea started when my dad and I were playing racquetball. I didn’t know if there were any professional leagues for watching that sport (Turns out there are two), but I wanted to make a fictional league with my own spin on it. As a result, the Pro Racquetball League was born. The brief history of PRL began in 2015 when a few professional players, splintered from the IRT, wanted to create a new racquetball league. The idea was to make it a sport that everyone would want to watch and enjoy. Generally, my series don't last too long, so I'll see how this one goes All of the information about the league is contained below.RULES: Spoiler The game is played in the same manner as racquetball, although there are always four people on the court for this league (known as doubles). Which I believe is not as common in professional racquetball, but hey, this is fantasy . The rules for racquetball are kind of extensive, so instead of writing them all out, I’ll post a link: http://www.racquetballrules.us/basic-racquetball-rules/ . The PRL’s version of racquetball matches are split up into two halves. Each halves (known as rounds) are 25 minutes long of nonstop playing with a 5 minute break in between. During that time the other two sets of players will come on to the court. SCORING: Spoiler Scoring is exactly like regular racquetball, based on a one point system. To make it short and sweet, after the serve, if the person next in line doesn’t hit the ball before it comes into contact with the floor twice, the person who last hit the ball gets a point (In this case, one member of a team would hit, and if either member of the other team doesn’t hit it, then the first team gets the point.) Once I have all of the teams set up, I might start season simulations LEAGUE FACTS: Spoiler -The players for all teams are some of the best in the country, and rosters occur in the spring after the regular season. To get on the roster, people who would like to play have to tryout and meet the league’s specifications. -All teams have 6 players (possible jersey numbers being 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20) which consists of two first round players (known as a set), two second round players, and two subs in case of injuries to either of the sets. -The regular season takes place from September to December, with the playoffs and final match being held in January. Since it is an indoor sport, the owners of the league thought it would be a perfect winter game. - The courts (Referred to as the ‘box’ ) are similar to the standard racquetball courts of the IRT. The front wall is a standard white with the hosting team’s logo on it. The side walls are durable glass from floor to ceiling, and on the non-court side of the glass, there is room made for bleachers. The glass is also the location for sponsors’ logos. The back wall is the same as the front, with the exception of having a door for the players to enter in and out of. -There are two conferences in the PRL: Speed and Power. Each conference consists of 6 teams, 12 in total. -Teams only have one jersey kit, so the team colors are not allowed to be similar in any way. -The official uniform and supplier sponsor for the League is Head. -Each team competes in a total of 5 matches within their conference during the regular season. Then the best two teams from each division face off in the semi-finals with the two on top competing in the Grand Final. -Teams alternate hosting games every season. For example, if Team A hosts Team B one year, the next year Team B would host Team A. During the playoffs the team with a worse record would host the team with the better record. I.E. if Team A was say, 3-2 and Team B was 4-1, then Team A would host. -This league is based solely in the US. TEAMS: Spoiler Here is a list of all of the teams currently in the PRL. Speed Conference Flagstaff Lumberjacks Madison Mongoose Erie Locomotives NYC Liberty Salem Pronghorns Detroit SpeedPower Conference Durham Lions Austin Spartans Louisiana Gators Chicago Howlers California Quail Charleston Mariners LEAGUE LOGOS: Spoiler Alright, we finally have the first team. I’m proud to present to you the Durham Lions! #HearUsRoar Durham is a relatively large city in North Carolina, and I thought it had an English vibe to it, which ended up working great for the Lions. The team is currently based in Brightleaf Court. I wanted these logos to be clean, almost like soccer crests. Not sure if I’ll hold up on that or not. For the jersey I had to make the template myself. I tried to emulate the athletic tanktops I’ve seen some racquetball players wear. I included customized gloves, armbands, and a headband. The jersey only features numbers and logo on the front. I included a subliminated league logo on the side, not sure if it works. I was kind of inspired by England’s cricket team for this team. What do you think? I will have rosters, maps, and other fun stuff once all the teams are up. "Winners never quit, and quitters never win." ~Vince Lombardi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionEagle Posted December 20, 2016 Author Share Posted December 20, 2016 Any suggestions/feedback before I start on the next team? Also I made a mistake with the conferences in the first post. It's actually supposed to be Speed and Power, not Strength. "Winners never quit, and quitters never win." ~Vince Lombardi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelman Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Now this is something unique and creative. I like what you've done to set it up. Just off the bat, I think your league logo could be tightened up. I thought the player in the main was throwing a discus or a Frisbee. It's hard to tell he's a racquetball player. The circular text is not quite on axis and also feels lost in the roundel. Your conference logo is much stronger and more visually appealing. I would consider making a version of it your primary league mark instead of for conferences. On to the team. I like this a lot. The overall design of the uniform design and template is excellent. I like the large front logo. I feel the three elements in a row at the top is a bit much though. As-is, the Head logo and jersey number seems sufficient, especially with the logo on the back. If this league has numbered players, it seems odd that the back would not have a number as well. Especially for a sport where I'd assume the viewers would be primarily from the back and top/side angles. I would consider adding a back number and flipping the logo and the nameplate, so the logo is centered just below the collar. I like the headband and gloves. What if you added the number to the wristbands as well? Anyway, just a few thoughts. Seems like this will be quite an interesting and creative series. Props. Fictional Baseball Series: Torland Star League Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smzimbabwe Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 I know this is fantasy and all, but don't you think the real life New York Liberty and California Bears would take issue with your team names if this was real? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan O'Mac Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Out of curiosity, why don't they have numbers on their back? I like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItDoesntMatter Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 This is looking really good so far. I would echo @Steelman on all of his points, especially that the front of the uniform is cluttered and the back feels really empty. As for the conference logos, I think they're fine if you want to keep them, but I do think those could work better as a league logo, maybe even the primary. If you do keep those, I would suggest doing something to differentiate between the two conferences, even if it's just swapping the colors on one of them, but if you're going to be recoloring those, I'd suggest going a different direction. (Also, you managed to misspell conference in both of your revised wordmarks.) The Lions look great, really no complaints there (other than the layout of the uniform). I'm excited to see where you take this. National Dashball League on AHSports || US Quidditch Redesign on CCSLC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionEagle Posted December 20, 2016 Author Share Posted December 20, 2016 4 minutes ago, Steelman said: Now this is something unique and creative. I like what you've done to set it up. Just off the bat, I think your league logo could be tightened up. I thought the player in the main was throwing a discus or a Frisbee. It's hard to tell he's a racquetball player. The circular text is not quite on axis and also feels lost in the roundel. Your conference logo is much stronger and more visually appealing. I would consider making a version of it your primary league mark instead of for conferences. On to the team. I like this a lot. The overall design of the uniform design and template is excellent. I like the large front logo. I feel the three elements in a row at the top is a bit much though. As-is, the Head logo and jersey number seems sufficient, especially with the logo on the back. If this league has numbered players, it seems odd that the back would not have a number as well. Especially for a sport where I'd assume the viewers would be primarily from the back and top/side angles. I would consider adding a back number and flipping the logo and the nameplate, so the logo is centered just below the collar. I like the headband and gloves. What if you added the number to the wristbands as well? Anyway, just a few thoughts. Seems like this will be quite an interesting and creative series. Props. First off, thanks for the in-depth critique! I really appreciate it I agree that the player might be a little hard to distinguish. Perhaps if I make the pose look more like he swinging the racket above his head that would help? As for the text, that's partially my fault and my programs fault. PowerPoint doesn't have an effective warp tool for circles, so I have to slightly rotate each letter individually. It's incredibly time consuming, and I'm not sure it I could fix it. But I'll try to come up with something. Thank you! I love the templates myself but wasn't sure if they would work since this is my first time trying. I get what your saying, but I wanted the league logo to be somewhere on the jersey, and as most leagues (i.e. NFL) put their main logo on the front of the jersey I thought that would be best. Perhaps I'll relegate it to the pants, or since I already have it sublimated on the side I'll just remove it. I guess that makes sense for the numbers. I kind of just wanted to set it apart from other sports by not having a number on the back, but yes, the back is usually what is seen the most I'll definitely add the numbers then. That wristband idea is good too. Thanks for the critique! Oh and here is what a jersey would probably look like for real, "Winners never quit, and quitters never win." ~Vince Lombardi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionEagle Posted December 20, 2016 Author Share Posted December 20, 2016 5 minutes ago, smzimbabwe said: I know this is fantasy and all, but don't you think the real life New York Liberty and California Bears would take issue with your team names if this was real? Huh, I didn't really think of that. I was pretty sure I had picked names that weren't used in real life. I mean, I know Cali already has the golden bears, but I was going to make it much different than that. Do you have any better name ideas? 3 minutes ago, ItDoesntMatter said: This is looking really good so far. I would echo @Steelman on all of his points, especially that the front of the uniform is cluttered and the back feels really empty. As for the conference logos, I think they're fine if you want to keep them, but I do think those could work better as a league logo, maybe even the primary. If you do keep those, I would suggest doing something to differentiate between the two conferences, even if it's just swapping the colors on one of them, but if you're going to be recoloring those, I'd suggest going a different direction. (Also, you managed to misspell conference in both of your revised wordmarks.) The Lions look great, really no complaints there (other than the layout of the uniform). I'm excited to see where you take this. Thanks man. Oh darn! How did I misspell that? I was using spellcheck. "Winners never quit, and quitters never win." ~Vince Lombardi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECUFan25 Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Aww man! I was just gonna start a racquetball series. As someone who actively plays the sport, I agree the guy in the logo looks like a ultimate player, rather than racquetball. Also, I would put a regular t-shirt on the template because some players opt for longer sleeves. Look forward to seeing more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionEagle Posted December 20, 2016 Author Share Posted December 20, 2016 Just now, ECUFan25 said: Aww man! I was just gonna start a racquetball series. As someone who actively plays the sport, I agree the guy in the logo looks like a ultimate player, rather than racquetball. Also, I would put a regular t-shirt on the template because some players opt for longer sleeves. Look forward to seeing more! Oh I'm sorry I stole your idea Great minds think alike! Although, if you want to start your own series, or possibly collab with me on this your more than welcome! Yeah, I was already contemplating a regular shirt idea. We'll see what I come up with. "Winners never quit, and quitters never win." ~Vince Lombardi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H11K Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Awesome series, Ill be looking to follow it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionEagle Posted December 20, 2016 Author Share Posted December 20, 2016 Just now, H11K said: Awesome series, Ill be looking to follow it!! Thanks! I'll try not to disappoint. "Winners never quit, and quitters never win." ~Vince Lombardi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionEagle Posted December 22, 2016 Author Share Posted December 22, 2016 Alright, so I came up with a league logo revision tonight. Yay or Nay? I'll be posting an edited uniforms for the Lions and releasing a new team soon. Feedback appreciated! "Winners never quit, and quitters never win." ~Vince Lombardi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItDoesntMatter Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 36 minutes ago, ZionEagle said: Alright, so I came up with a league logo revision tonight. Yay or Nay? [image] I'll be posting an edited uniforms for the Lions and releasing a new team soon. Feedback appreciated! It definitely looks a lot more like a racquetball player this time around. However, I think it could still use some work. First, I know the player is supposed to be in an athletic stance, but at first glance, he looked more hunched-over than anything. Maybe taking the size down a notch and having him stand up a little straighter would help. Also, I know fingers are hard, but his fingers (on the racket hand especially) don't look right. Finally, and this is minor, the silhouette overlaps the text a little bit, and I think it muddies up the look of the logo. Overall, I think it's an improvement over the first logo, at least conceptually; it just needs a little more work. National Dashball League on AHSports || US Quidditch Redesign on CCSLC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionEagle Posted August 29, 2017 Author Share Posted August 29, 2017 It's been a long time since this thread's seen the light of day, and I feel like I can't just leave it behind to fade into oblivion. (Although I do have a few other things I need to work on as well, one thing being my CAFL thread. I promise I'll post to that soon!) I figured I needed a fresh start, since I wasn't really ever happy with the league logo, and the Durham Lions could use some slight adjustments. So I've decided to clean things up a bit before moving on to the next teams. First up, the new and hopefully final league logo. I'm going to miss the roundel design, but in the end it wasn't really practical and I was having a hard time aligning the text right. This time around I made sure the player was dynamic and distinguished. I researched racquet shapes and tried to make it less tennis like. Overall I think the improvements are drastic but necessary. The three stripes aren't tied to anything symbolic; I just thought they pulled everything together nicely. Moving on to the slightly improved Lions. So, we have a few adjustments here. First off, I decided that I would add in the charcoal color that had been utilized in the racquet logo on the back of the jersey. I didn't want to make it overpowering though, so I only made the numbers grey. You'll notice I removed the league logo on the front to make it less cluttered. On the back of the jersey, the major change was that I added a back number as @Steelman suggested. I also swapped the position of the name and the logo. Other than that, I kept most of the original design. I don't have any sleeved jerseys yet, but when I edit the template I'll update. I also made a quick little merch advertisement. Nothing special, but I still think it's neat. That's it for now! Your critique and feedback is always appreciated Oh and, if anyone would like to post ideas for a new name for the NYC and California teams, I'm open for suggestions. Flagstaff Messengers are next! "Winners never quit, and quitters never win." ~Vince Lombardi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelman Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Literally all of this is huge improvement, excellent adjustments and work! Everything looks much cleaner. I double-taked the league logo because it looks so much more like it belongs in this league. Love the way it's like the other major league logos and could be a player in both directions, nice! Fictional Baseball Series: Torland Star League Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionEagle Posted August 29, 2017 Author Share Posted August 29, 2017 20 hours ago, Steelman said: Literally all of this is huge improvement, excellent adjustments and work! Everything looks much cleaner. I double-taked the league logo because it looks so much more like it belongs in this league. Love the way it's like the other major league logos and could be a player in both directions, nice! I really appreciate the support That's kind of what I was going for with the league logo, so I'm glad it reminds you of other major league logos. Moving on to some new concepts. First of all, the Durham Lions is the only team as of yet that has a kid's program, known as the Cub Club. They recently unveiled a new ad inviting little Lions fans to join up. All proceeds from the Cub Club go to benefit the Duke Children's Hospital. Kids that sign up for the club get exclusive behind the scenes content, team season passes, and a few basic racquetball lessons from the Lions players themselves. Next up on the agenda, I'm proud to present to you the first Speed Conference team. FLAGSTAFF LUMBERJACKS Originally I had named this team the Flagstaff Messengers, but the name didn't really make any sense. I decided to go with a name that held some significance for the city, so I chose the name Lumberjacks, a tribute to their extensive lumber industry in the past. For the colors, I went with colors that are similar to the Arizonian flag, although I went for more pleasant shades. Although the Lumberjacks have a mascot logo, featured above, they only utilize it on the gloves of the uniform. I felt like the Legend M54 typeface provided a perfect balance between a rough yet sleek wordmark. The jerseys feature the team's technical "alternate" logo on the front. The side pattern on the pants and shirt is perhaps my favorite part of the uniform. I again paid homage to the Arizonian flag by making a sunbeam pattern stripe. Lastly, here is a small ad featuring possible merchandise: That's it for now folks! Also, I don't know if anyone noticed, but I cleaned up the top post a little and updated the team name list. I changed the California Bears to the California Quail, which seemed more fitting and original. Your thoughts are appreciated! "Winners never quit, and quitters never win." ~Vince Lombardi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItDoesntMatter Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Wow. The league logo looks so much better. I guess third time was the charm. I love the merch, especially the Cub Club. The Lions feel like a bit of a lateral move to me; while I like the charcoal, I think I liked them better in just blue and white. The Jacks look great as well. The one complaint I have with them is that the sunburst pattern looks a little unbalanced. It looks like you just took a slice out of the Arizona flag, but the stripes are all different widths and it doesn't quite look right. I'm not sure how to fix that, though. Keep up the good work! National Dashball League on AHSports || US Quidditch Redesign on CCSLC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionEagle Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 15 hours ago, ItDoesntMatter said: Wow. The league logo looks so much better. I guess third time was the charm. I love the merch, especially the Cub Club. The Lions feel like a bit of a lateral move to me; while I like the charcoal, I think I liked them better in just blue and white. The Jacks look great as well. The one complaint I have with them is that the sunburst pattern looks a little unbalanced. It looks like you just took a slice out of the Arizona flag, but the stripes are all different widths and it doesn't quite look right. I'm not sure how to fix that, though. Keep up the good work! I suppose so! Thank you so much for the feedback, I appreciate it as always. I'm glad to know the merch serves its purpose. I feel you on the Lions. I just figured since I had it in the color scheme I should utilize it. Perhaps if I just made the name charcoal it would work better? Either way, I'm fine with both jerseys. Perhaps I should just go back to the blue. Funny you mention that for the Lumberjacks. I did just crop the flag and adjust the colors I think the main issue with it is that the pant stripe isn't the same, which makes it uneven. I'll try to fix that the best I can. Thanks again! If anyone has any critique or ideas for what team they want to see next, just let me know! "Winners never quit, and quitters never win." ~Vince Lombardi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardsblues02 Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 On 12/20/2016 at 1:44 PM, ZionEagle said: Huh, I didn't really think of that. I was pretty sure I had picked names that weren't used in real life. I mean, I know Cali already has the golden bears, but I was going to make it much different than that. Do you have any better name ideas? Thanks man. Oh darn! How did I misspell that? I was using spellcheck. I think that maybe you should change California and New York's team names. How about the... California Rush California Prospectors California Gold Panners California Surf California Waves California Sea Monsters California Battleships New York Immigrants New York Minutemen New York Revolutionaries New York Colonials Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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