A Little League® uniform is one of the most meaningful items your league will purchase each year, and is often a large budgetary consideration for your league. Here are some tips for uniform purchasing:
Budget
- Understand your league’s per-player uniform budget going into the season.
- Approach different vendors knowing what your “out-the-door” budget is per product
- Consider the cost of customizing uniforms
- Little League Official Shoulder Patches (required per Rule 1.11)
- Full color logos
- Embroidery vs. screen printing of your league and/or team names (please note that the Little League Official Shoulder Patch cannot be screen printed)
- What will your league be able to provide and what are parents/guardians going to be responsible for. Remember, a league must provide a conventional uniform, which typically is a shirt/jersey, a cap/visor, and socks.
Uniform Size
- At in-person registrations, have a size run of jerseys and hats available for players to try on. This will help reduce reorders.
Vendor
- Contact a vendor with a budget and delivery timeline that is based on your game schedule.
- Know the first games/delivery dates for each division in the league
- Provide the vendor(s) with an order schedule
- Create a template for managers that includes last name and number using an excel template to minimize personalization/customization errors and provide clear instructions for the vendor(s)
- Understand lead times for blank jerseys to arrive
- Print a sample uniform
Sponsors
- Highlight sponsor names on the uniforms to provide sponsor value. By placing your league name on the front, with a sponsor name on the back of the jersey for the nameplate, you can provide great exposure for your sponsor, while limiting the expenses and coordination that comes with player customization, especially for regular season jerseys.
- Trade league advertising for services offered by exchanging signage, a team sponsorship, or both to help offset the cost of uniforms
Tournament Uniforms
- Be sure to budget for tournament team uniforms, in addition to regular-season uniforms.