Ron Kenney started RYR Sports Inc. back in 1987 in an attempt to create a hockey pant that protected Canadian backsides better than any other pant on the market.

Slowly but surely, Kenney designed, built, then patented and trademarked the `6000 RYR Tailbone Pant` for girls, boys, men and women.

While his pant looks similar to almost everything else you`ll find on the sports store shelf, Kenney says his patented one-piece tailbone protector makes his brand of pant a safer product than the rest.

"My tailbone pant is much superior to anything on the market," says Kenney. "We monitor our pant pretty closely and in the last 16 years we haven`t found a middle-body injury, so something`s got to be working there."

In fact, it`s working so well, Kenney is proud to point out that 80 to 90 minor hockey organizations in Canada are wearing his RYR pants, including a number of triple A clubs in the Greater Toronto Hockey League.

"The top minor midget team in Ontario this year would be the York Simcoe Express and that whole association wears my pants," says Kenney.