How to Order Custom Merch for Your School Sports Team

Ordering custom gear for a school sports team sounds simple — until you're juggling 30 different size requests, a tight budget, a logo from 2003, and a coach who needs everything by next Thursday. We've done this hundreds of times. Here's the process that works.

Step 1: Know What You're Ordering

Most school sports programs need multiple types of garments for different purposes. Before you reach out to a vendor, get clear on which category you're ordering:

• Practice gear — lightweight, functional, doesn't need to look perfect
• Game uniforms — performance fabric, often sublimated or tackled-on numbers
• Warmups / travel gear — hoodies, sweatpants, jackets for arrival and departure
• Fan gear — spirit wear for students, parents, and community

Each category has different garment and decoration requirements. Mixing them into one order often leads to frustration. We recommend ordering fan gear and practice gear together (same decoration method) and handling uniforms separately.

Step 2: Collect Sizes Early

This is where most team orders fall apart. Waiting until the last minute to collect sizes creates chaos. Here's the system that works:

1. Create a simple Google Form with player name, number (if applicable), and sizes for each garment type
2. Set a hard deadline — "form closes in 5 days" — and stick to it
3. Order 5-10% extra in your most common sizes (usually M-XL adult, M-L youth)
4. Note that sizing runs different by brand — if you've ordered before, stick with the same brand

Step 3: Get Your Artwork Right

The artwork stage kills more timelines than anything else. Coaches often have a logo saved as a blurry JPEG from the school website. Here's what you actually need:

• Vector file (AI, EPS, SVG, or PDF) — this is the gold standard; scales to any size without quality loss
• High-res PNG at 300dpi or higher — acceptable for most decoration methods
• If you only have a low-res logo, a good vendor (like us) can recreate it — often at no extra charge

Also think through your design before you submit. Simple designs with 1-3 colors are faster to produce, less expensive, and more durable than complex multi-color artwork.

Step 4: Understand the Timeline

School sports orders almost always have a hard deadline — first game, picture day, or team banquet. Work backwards from that date:

• Standard turnaround: 7–10 business days from artwork approval
• Add 2-3 days for artwork approval back-and-forth
• Add another 3-5 days buffer for unexpected delays
• Total: plan for 3 weeks minimum from first contact to delivery

Rush orders are available but cost more and create stress. The teams that are happiest with their gear started the conversation 4-6 weeks before they needed it.

Step 5: Think About Payment

Schools and booster clubs often have specific payment requirements. A few things to know:

• We accept purchase orders from school districts — no problem
• If players are paying for their own gear, consider setting up an online store so we handle collection and sizing individually
• Standard payment is 50% deposit to start, balance before delivery
• Tax-exempt organizations — just provide your tax-exempt certificate

The Easiest Route: Online Team Store

For fan gear and spirit wear especially, we strongly recommend setting up an online store. Instead of collecting money and sizes yourself, we create a dedicated store for your team. Parents and fans order directly, pay online, and choose their own sizes. We fulfill everything and either ship to individuals or do one bulk delivery to the school.

Zero work for you, zero money handling, and no leftover inventory. It's how most of our school clients handle fan gear now.