Athletes frequently have the need to store balls and other objects within their clothing during athletic activities and sporting events. In tennis, for example, a player may wish to store an extra ball for future use in the event the player misses his or her first service attempt or hits the ball into an inconvenient area of the court. Access to a readily available ball may allow for the match to continue seamlessly. Athletes may wish to store other types of objects as well. Runners, bikers, and yoga practitioners may wish to store portable electronic devices for playing music, GPS tracking, or for functioning as a timer or stopwatch.
In the past, athletes, especially racquet sport athletes, have stored balls and other objects within their clothing in a number of different locations, including but not limited to: front-thigh pockets, under compression clothing along the side of the leg, hip, and/or lower buttocks, and in elastic bands disposed about the waist. Many times athletes struggle to insert or retrieve objects from these areas and sometimes an athlete may inadvertently expose body parts not intended to be exposed when inserting or retrieving an object from the stowage location. Moreover, sometimes these locations impair the movement of an athlete, especially in tennis and other racquet sports where a player's swing path may be compromised by inadvertently brushing or bumping into a stored object. Additionally, bands and waistbands may slip out of position during play or when an athlete goes to insert or retrieve an object for use. This slippage can be very distracting to an athlete when engaged in a competitive game or match.
Thus, there is a need for an athletic garment that addresses these noted challenges.