As summer 2021 comes to an end, schools all over the country are about to start again… and that means school sports are almost back, too! From football to soccer to tennis to volleyball and more, many coaches and players alike are looking forward to returning to their favorite activities as a team – especially since many school sports have been canceled or adjusted due to the pandemic over the past year and a half. School spirit may have been placed on the back-burner for a while… but now’s the time to give it a serious boost.
If you’re a coach or school administrator, now’s a great time to boost both team spirit and school spirit by creating custom products for your high school sports team. Custom products like patches, pins, socks, hats, stickers, lanyards, keychains, masks, and medals are perfect for uniforms, loyal fans, fundraising, and more.
No need to rely on generic options or unimaginative templates – nowadays, it’s possible to create products that are 100% custom, featuring your school colors, mascot, year, or even inside jokes only your team will get. And it’s easier than ever – no DIY, mad art skills, or sky-high budget required. With the help of online platforms like The/Studio, all you need is a laptop and an idea to customize every last inch of your custom products, whether you’re planning on using them as part of your team uniforms or selling them to raise some extra money for a tournament you have coming up.
Read on to learn how to create custom products for your high school sports team, from deciding which type of product is the best fit to bringing your fun ideas to life.
Custom Products for High School Sports Teams: Football, Soccer, Basketball, and More
Whether you’re a football coach, a soccer coach, or a basketball coach, your players could use some awesome gear to help them play better, stay out of the sun, and rep the team they’re so proud of. But not all high school sports are created equal – certain sports may require specialized merch. Here are a few great custom product ideas for the top most popular high school sports: basketball, baseball/softball, soccer, track and field, tennis, swimming, volleyball, and football.
Custom Products for High School Basketball Teams
Help your team shoot hoops in style by creating custom athletic socks, complete with school colors and your team’s mascot. Alternatively, help your players rep their team spirit off the court with custom hats, then sell any extras at the concessions stand during games to raise some extra money for the team. You could also create patches, coins, pins, or keychains commemorating a big win or especially successful season.
Custom Products for High School Baseball/Softball Teams
For baseball and softball teams, custom baseball hats are always a total home run. Whether they wear them during games, in the pit, or off the field to rep their team spirit, they’ll be a total crowd-pleaser – even among casual fans! You could also create custom athletic socks designed for outdoor play to boost performance.
Custom Products for High School Soccer Teams
Custom athletic socks are a must for soccer! Create custom socks to boost performance and add pizzazz to team uniforms. You could also create fun soccer-themed stickers, patches, or pins to help your team members accessorize and show off their love for the game.
Custom Products for High School Track and Field Teams
Custom patches for high school track and field teams are sure to be a runaway hit! They’re a great way to customize uniforms without adding any extra weight. Or you could always ditch the generic medals and create beautifully customized medals complete with the specific info about the event and the accomplishment. Custom hats with wide brims to protect from sun damage during long outdoor practices are also a great idea.
Custom Products for High School Swim Teams
When it comes to swim team, the uniforms are pretty straightforward… but that doesn’t mean you can’t spice things up with custom products. Create custom hats so your swimmers can rep their love for the pool even outside of practice, or custom patches or pins to help your swimmers personalize their swim bags.
Custom Products for High School Volleyball Teams
Create athletic socks to help boost performance and level up your team uniforms. You might also want to consider creating masks with a volleyball pattern or your team mascot – since volleyball typically plays indoor, they might be great for wearing whenever your team isn’t actively playing or for selling to spectators. You could also create patches, coins, pins, or keychains to commemorate a major win or an especially successful season.
Custom Products for High School Football Teams
Create custom-made athletic socks to improve both individual performance and your team uniforms. And if high school sports are especially popular in your community, consider creating custom merch like keychains, patches, pins, or hats to sell to fans and spectators at the ticket booth. Or you could even create custom hats to help your team members hide their helmet hair after a big game!
How to Create Custom Products for Your High School Sports Team
While many factors about the products you create may depend on the type of sports team you’re designing for and your design vision, the creation process is relatively the same no matter what, from brainstorming to product selection to design to receiving your custom products in the mail. Plus, it’s made even easier when you partner with a company like The/Studio (instead of relying on a factory that requires you to order enormous quantities or attempting to do everything yourself with a screen printer and a prayer!)
Here’s a quick look into the process of creating custom products for your high school sports team:
- Identify what your team is looking for
- Find a manufacturer
- Choose the product
- Customize the product
- Design the product
- Approve a prototype
- Distribute your custom products
Read on for a more in-depth look at how to create custom products for your custom sports team, step-by-step.
1. Identify what your team is looking for
First up, figure out why you’re seeking to create custom products for your team in the first place. Who will be using these products – fans, coaches, team members, or a mix? When will they use or wear these products – during games, on the bench, or outside of game days? How will they get these products – will they be for sale separately, sold as part of the uniform the team purchases, shot out of a cannon to the crowd during games, or given away to every student to boost school spirit? All of these factors can (and should!) influence the end product.
If you’re creating custom merch specifically for your team, don’t be afraid to involve team members in the decision-making process. Ask them whether they’d prefer custom patches, pins, socks, hats, stickers, lanyards, keychains, masks, or medals, and what sort of designs, materials, or functionalities they’d like to see in them. You could bring this up during your next team meeting or send out a quick survey to players and parents.
2. Find a Manufacturer
As a high school sports coach or administrator, you’ve got plenty on your plate without having to worry about DIYing high-quality merch from scratch. The fastest and most cost-effective way to create custom products for your high school sports team is to partner with a trusted manufacturer. The/Studio partners with leading factories to bring top-quality manufacturing capabilities to small-scale creators and schools all over the country.
As you research custom product manufacturers, keep an eye out for the following:
- Many custom product options
- Extensive customization capabilities
- Design services
- Proven quality
- Excellent customer service
- Quick turnaround time
- Great reviews
- Competitive pricing
- Free shipping
- No or low minimum order quantities
- 100% Satisfaction guaranteed
The/Studio is a great option that checks all the boxes, with an easy-to-use product creation process anyone can navigate. Start with our DIY online product creation tool here.
3. Choose the product
Armed with your knowledge about what your team members would love most, it’s time to choose which custom product you’ll create. Here’s a list of the custom products you can create with The/Studio:
- Custom patches
- Custom socks
- Custom hats
- Custom beanies
- Custom pins
- Custom keychains
- Custom masks
- Custom labels/packaging
- Custom coins
- Custom lanyards
- Custom medals
- Custom stickers
- Custom tie bars
- Custom money clips
- Custom cufflinks
Of course, you don’t have to choose just one! With free shipping and no minimum order quantities, you can place as many separate orders as you’d like without worrying about additional charges. You’ll just go through the online product customization process one product at a time.
4. Customize your product
Time to make your products your own! Beyond the design you include, you’ll have the chance to customize all sorts of aspects of your product, from size to materials to colors and so much more. Here’s a brief overview of what you’ll be able to customize by product:
- Custom patches – patch type, material, thread, backing, border, and more
- Custom socks – fabrication method, size, cuff length, material, thickness, and more
- Custom hats – bill, structure, pattern, paneling, closures, materials, embellishments, and more
- Custom beanies – hat type, materials, style, patterns, embellishments, and more
- Custom pins – pin type, finish, color, backing hardware, size, and more
- Custom keychains – size, keyring style, materials, finish, color, and more
- Custom masks – size, material, pattern, printing style, borders, and more
- Custom labels/packaging – size, material, color, printing style, thread, and more
- Custom coins – size, material, color, finish, engraving, weight, and more
- Custom lanyards – size, clips, material, weave, fabric colors, and more
- Custom medals – size, material, color, finish, printing, ribbon style, and more
- Custom stickers – shape, size, material, embossing, backing, and more
- Custom tie bars – shape, size, material, finish, color, width, clasp, and more
- Custom money clips – size, shape, material, finish, color, clip, and more
- Custom cufflinks – size, shape, material, finish, closure, and more
5. Design your product
Next up, it’s time to upload the design you’d like printed, embroidered, or engraved on your custom product. If you’ve already finalized your design, great – simply upload a photo or PDF of whatever you’ve got and our design team will be sure to turn it into a beautiful product.
If you aren’t really the artistic type or don’t have a clear idea of what you’re looking for, that’s okay, too! When it comes to creating custom products for your high school sports team, there’s no real need to do everything from scratch – you could always use an existing design, like a school crest, team logo, or mascot incorporating your school colors. Or you could even ask team members to submit their own design ideas to both take care of design concerns and involve them even more!
Have a totally different design idea in mind but aren’t sure how to bring it to life? Hey, that works! Simply describe your idea in as much detail as possible and our expert team of in-house designers will create something beautiful for you. (All design services are included free with every order!)
6. Approve a prototype
Our expert designers will take whatever you’ve given them and turn it into a beautiful custom product. But before moving forward with the production of every product you’ve ordered, we’ll send a physical prototype in the mail or detailed photographs for your approval. If all looks perfect, we’ll manufacture the rest of your products in the exact same way. If you see anything you’d like changed, just let us know and we’ll make as many tweaks as necessary to make it right. (All revisions are included free with every order!)
7. Distribute your custom products
After you approve the prototype, we’ll move forward with your quoted production and shipping timeline. You’ll enjoy free shipping on your entire order and have your custom products delivered straight to your doorstep. Then, what you decide to do with them is up to you – whether you sell them to high school sports fans at a profit, distribute them among your team as a gift, or add them to your team uniform!
Ready to start creating custom products for your high school sports team? Start the process here.
