Uniforms play a vital role in shaping the identity an AAU travel basketball team. Not only do they enhance the team’s visual appeal, but they also instill a sense of pride and unity among players. And most importantly, spectators and game officials need to easily identify players on the court using each team’s different uniform look.

Ordering uniforms can be a daunting task, especially for those new to managing a travel basketball squad or organization. In this article, we will provide you with a comprehensive guide on how to order uniforms for your AAU travel basketball team, covering everything from choosing the right supplier to design considerations and sizing guidelines.

By following these steps, you can ensure a smooth process that results in high-quality uniforms that reflect the spirit and style of your team.

1. Define Your Requirements

Before diving into the ordering process, it is crucial to define your uniform requirements. Consider factors such as team colors, logos, and any specific design elements you want to incorporate. Take into account the age group, gender, and sizes of your players as well. Clear requirements will streamline the ordering process and help you communicate effectively with suppliers.

Another important consideration is the need to estimate how much use your team will get out of the uniforms. Will players reuse these uniforms for several months, or will these uniforms be needed for less than a dozen games? Teams looking to play upwards of 40 games during the travel basketball season need uniforms that will hold up to the wear-and-tear of multiple basketball contests.

2. Research and Select a Supplier

Once you know what type of uniform you need, finding a reliable supplier is crucial to ensuring the quality and timely delivery of your AAU travel basketball team’s uniforms. If your organization will only play in 10-12 games during the season, visit a local sporting goods store or custom print shop to see what uniform options they offer. Chances are, you’ll find everything you need and folks who will work with you to ensure a quality outcome.

AAU teams looking for a custom jersey or sublimated uniforms (more information below) will need to broaden their search. While many sporting goods shops offer this service, few – if any – local retailers produce this style in-house. Most will contract another manufacturer to offer sublimated uniforms and tack on a commission, making this a higher-priced uniform option.

You can also search online for reputable suppliers that do not have physical stores yet specialize in custom basketball uniforms. Prices at these manufacturers will be significantly lower as online-only retailers often deal directly with an overseas manufacturer to offer such cheap prices. They also require a 4-to-6 week window to fulfill the order in most cases.

Regardless of which route you chose, it’s wise to check their reputation, customer reviews, and sample work before placing your AAU travel team’s uniform order. Consider factors such as pricing, turnaround time, customization options, and minimum order quantities. Request quotes from multiple suppliers to compare and choose the one that best fits your needs.

3. Material Selection

Selecting the right fabric for your AAU travel basketball team’s uniforms is essential for both comfort and durability. While almost all uniforms you’ll find today are made from polyester, other options exist, including nylon, cotton and hybrid blends of the three materials.

Polyester is considered the gold-standard for materials due to its strength and durability for basketball jerseys. AAU or travel teams looking to compete in more than 20 games each year should ensure their jerseys are made of polyester – or mainly polyester – thanks to the material’s breathability and endurance.

4. Designing the Uniform

NBA fans immediately will recognize the team’s uniform pictured above. Even casual fans or young AAU players will know the Boston Celtics uniforms are pictured above thanks to the distinct font and color scheme the team has employed for over 70 years.

Although your AAU basketball team’s jersey design may not be remembered 75 years from now, getting the look right is important. The design of your team’s uniforms should reflect their identity and create a lasting impression to help build both pride and unity among teammates. You do not need to be creative to achieve your goals.

One option you should consider is sublimation – the process of embedding dies to create images in the material – for your team’s uniform. This varies greatly from screen printing, which imposes images directly onto the material with adhesive. The use of sublimation will make your uniforms stand out from ordinary materials, but the process takes significantly longer than traditional uniforms will.

Collaborate with your supplier or hire a professional designer to design a visually-appealing look. Be sure to request digital mock-ups of the design before finalizing your order to ensure satisfaction.

Consider incorporating the team name, logo, player numbers, and any additional graphics or sponsors. It is required to have your player’s number on one or both sides of the jersey in order to help officials and scorers easily identify which member of your organization should be credited with fouls, points, etc.

Keep in mind any regulations or guidelines set by your league. If your organization plans to play in AAU tournaments at any time, AAU has a strict set of guidelines for team jerseys regarding colors and size of numbers on jerseys. Even travel basketball teams not entering any AAU tournaments should consider following these guidelines.

5. Sizing and Fit

Once you’ve decided what your travel basketball team’s uniforms should look like, the next step is to make sure they fit each player. Proper sizing and fit are crucial for player comfort and optimal performance on the court as well as ensuring your travel or AAU team looks its best.

One of the easiest ways to ensure proper sizing and fit is to ask for sample uniforms from the manufacturer. While it may cost over $100 or more to have sample jerseys and shirts sent to you in advance of an order, the extra money spent can save on reorder costs should you order your travel basketball players the wrong size(s).

If the manufacturer is unable to provide a sample uniform, obtain accurate measurements for each player. These measurements include sizing each player’s chest, waist, hips, and inseam. Review the supplier’s size charts and guidelines to determine the best size for each travel basketball player.

6. Choosing a Package

In addition to travel basketball uniforms, your team may want additional gear they can wear to and from games. This can range from team shirts, warm up gear, matching sweatsuits and/or team back packs. Other items that might be included are customizable head gear, wrist bands or polo shirts.

These additional pieces may seem unnecessary, but creating an unique style for your team will help you to attract other players and parents to your organization (more on this later). The added apparel can also instill pride in your players as they enter their game fully representing your organization, even before the tip-off.

Most manufacturers will offer several package options for your travel basketball team. Popular options will include adding a back pack, warm-up gear, or both to your uniform order. While this does add to the overall costs, parents or players are willing to pay for these items and exhibit unity.

7. Selecting Fan Apparel

Travel basketball teams have followers, and most fans want to wear your team’s gear while cheering on their favorite players. Asking your manufacturer to produce fan gear is a common request and one you should consider in advance of purchasing your AAU or travel uniforms.

Soliciting pre-orders from your players and parents will help you determine how many you should purchase. Before obtaining pricing, be prepared to answer what quantity your organization will order. Pricing is often reduced when you order in bulk, but customizations (such as adding a player’s number or name to the back of the shirt) will increase costs while helping these items sell faster.

Finally, your organization should determine if it will use these shirts as a fund-raiser. Asking followers to pay 10-20% above the cost is not uncommon. Some manufacturers will aid you with this effort, setting up online stores or directories that allow fans to purchase directly from the manufacturer while passing along a percentage of the profits to your organization.

8. Placing the Order

Once you have finalized your design, it’s time to place the order. This is another area where coaches or travel team organizers should pay particular attention to every detail in order to save headaches before the order is placed and ultimately shipped.

At this point, you should begin collecting payments from travel basketball parents for each player’s uniform if you have not already began the process. You know every detail of the associated costs, and your travel organization decide to split all costs equally with each player, or you can add fees above the purchase price.

You should also consider ordering extra uniforms for your travel basketball team. It’s not uncommon to have replacement players occasionally join your organization for a specific tournament, filling in for your regular players. Having additional uniforms to outfit these guests players is a common practice, and ordering 2-3 extra jerseys is an inexpensive solution.

Before you hit the submit button on an online order, review all the details again, including quantities, sizes, design specifications, and delivery timelines. Once ordered, ask for a detailed invoice showing quantity for both sizes and costs, especially if you do not have a written agreement or contract that will help you avoid any potential misunderstandings.

9. Delivery and Quality Assurance

If this is your first travel basketball team uniform purchase, you should track the progress of your order and maintain open lines of communication with the supplier within 3-5 days of placing the order. This is especially important if you are not familiar with the manufacturer or they do not have a local storefront.

You can insist on receiving photographs of the final product before shipment to verify that they match your expectations. Examine the stitching, printing, and overall finish as well as checking jerseys for misspellings or inaccurate information. Address any concerns or discrepancies with the supplier promptly and preferably before receiving the finished product.

10. Reordering and Maintenance

As your travel basketball team continues to grow and evolve, you’ll need to reorder uniforms. In addition, you should regularly assess the condition of each player’s uniform and anticipate that replacement jerseys could be warranted. While basketball isn’t as physical as other sports, expect jerseys to sustain wear and damage if your season extended beyond 8-10 weeks.

Keep a record of your order details, including design files and specifications, to simplify the reordering process. Educate your players or their parents on proper uniform care and maintenance to ensure their longevity. Spending two minutes explaining how to care for uniforms may seem unnecessary, but doing so shifts the burden of maintenance to the user.

Finally, have a quick conversation with the uniform manufacturer to assess the minimum quantity or purchase price necessary for secondary orders. You don’t have to wait until you receive the first shipment to arrive to have this conversation. Knowing how many or how much replacement jerseys costs is a question that will arise in the near future.