Play ball! The benefits of playing youth sports are well known: They keep kids physically active, promote teamwork and competition and strengthen ties within communities.

They’re also a massive economic engine. Wintergreen Research estimates the U.S. youth sports market at $15.5 billion, consisting of revenue generated from travel, equipment, team membership, facility construction, software and venue rental. The massive NFL market, by comparison, values at $14 billion.

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And yet despite its size, youth sports is going through an identity change. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association and the Aspen Institute reports that 36.9% of kids ages 6-12 played organized team sports regularly in 2016, down from 38.6% the prior year and 41.4% in 2012. Traditional sports (such as basketball, baseball and soccer) saw incremental decreases while others (tennis, gymnastics, flag football, hockey, lacrosse and wrestling) recorded slight gains. Low household income, e-sports and concussion concerns are all cited as contributing factors in the participation decline.

Despite those trends, the fact remains that some 45 million kids play team sports, and their families and teams are buying plenty of uniforms, bags, spirit wear and promotional items. We scouted out distributors and suppliers that specialize in this sector to get the play-by-play on how to score when selling to sports leagues.

Make It Simple
There’s plenty of blood, sweat and tears to go around when it comes to youth sports – not just on the sports field, but also among the people who toil behind the scenes, such as coaches, parents and the legions of volunteers who devote countless hours to the team while also juggling full-time jobs. (Not to mention supporting their kids who play on other teams.)

Ordering uniforms, collecting money and fundraising are just a few of the many hats that coaches and team parents wear. Coordinating everything and making sure the kids get the right size with the correct number on the back is a time-consuming and error-prone exercise.

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The gatekeepers in youth leagues are usually the coach or the parents who volunteer to help out and then are asked to help with the uniforms. “Youth teams can be labor-intensive, but if you can make the ordering process easy, you’re far more likely to get the business,” says Justin MacDonald, general manager of TJM Promos (asi/342485) in Ocala, FL. “We tell them: We’ll outfit your kid, help you fundraise and make it fun and easy!”

David Schmaeling, president of Proforma Color Press in Ventura, CA, suggests another possibility: starting with the president of the league for uniforms and spirit packs. “Some leagues use board members to make decisions,” he says, “but you should always gain the loyalty and trust from the president.” Some leagues will have stricter barriers for entry; for example, MacDonald points out that youth baseball leagues like Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken require vendors to register.

No matter the initial point of entry, simplification is a must. “We encourage teams to pick one contact person and offer a set number of options to simplify the process,” says MacDonald.

Part of the simplification is the migration to online team stores. It’s the fastest growing segment in the sports market, according to Rachelle Manning, sporting goods channel manager for SanMar (asi/84863). “Technology has finally come to the sports channel and is quickly removing the paper order form from the business.”

Brian Paskill, sales director for ADL Promotions (asi/491984), adds “The day of the coach collecting money for a team order is out!”

Leagues are gravitating toward a “pop-up” team shopping experience so the seller can set the length of time the online store will be open, encouraging groups and teams to order within a specified time frame, and to add other fresh merchandise throughout the season or the year, according to Ryan Wenkus, vice president of sales for OrderMyGear (OMG). This format also makes it easy to add items for special occasions, such as a state championship victory or a fundraiser.

Paskill enlists the team parent, coach, school administrator or athletic director to pick out eight to 12 popular items they want. Paskill’s staff mocks up the items and submits them to the online store, setting a specific time frame for it to remain open – usually one to two weeks, but sometimes as long as a month. Once the store closes, Paskill then orders everything and drop-ships to his decorator. When the customization is complete, he polybags each order with their player receipt. “I normally deliver every store within a two-week window from the team store close date,” says Paskill, whose company is based in Laurel, MD.

“We think the pop-up model is the way groups, teams and corporate will purchase. It’s not sustainable to take an inventory position,” says Wenkus.

To make that work, distributors need reliable partners who can deliver in a timely fashion. Leagues often have a relatively short window between participation cutoff and the start of the season, so suppliers need to have a deep inventory of related products on the shelf and ready to go, says Maria Brockhaus, GM of sports uniforms for Augusta Sportswear (asi/37461). She adds that many larger leagues also require value-added services such as quick decoration, numbering and bundling by team.

Even if the supplier does the decorating, Schmaeling advises to make sure to have some equipment for decoration, or someone close by who can handle quick decoration needs.

Here Comes the Pitch
Youth sports teams are a very discerning audience, according to Thomas Levin, western sales director of Hit Promotional Products (asi/61125). “They’re very aware of what they wear, and they want to look cool on and off the sports field and when they’re getting on and off the bus,” Levin says. Items like team duffle bags, caps, hoodies and earbuds for use on long bus rides, branded and in team colors, create a feeling of belonging.

Puff foam embroidery, flat-bill caps and matching warm-up suits and hockey equipment bags are on trend, says Carly Crow, president of Gear Group (asi/330148) in Muskegon Heights, MI. When it comes to fanwear, parents favor custom gear they can add their youth’s name or number to; hockey parents love the lace-up hoodies that look like mock jerseys, she adds.

Other popular related items, says Paskill, include hot/cold tumblers, as well as wristbands, car magnets and custom socks.

Customization is key. “I recently presented to a middle school, and they wanted everything custom – bags, socks, apparel. We’re way beyond screen-printed T-shirts,” MacDonald says.

Creativity has begun to ramp up the past few years, thanks to the increasing popularity of performance materials combined with digital decoration. Crow recommends distributors embrace that creative spirit with uniforms. “Teams like to layer decoration methods, such as appliqué and sublimation,” she says.

Certain sports are attracted to unique styles. “Youth softball teams go nuts for designs and colors. They try to outdo each other,” says Schmaeling, adding that these teams look to universities and professional teams for inspiration.

With color, gray has replaced black as “the hot neutral color,” says Paskill. “Whether it’s carbon, ash, heather gray or graphite, grays still rule with online stores and team uniforms.”

The thinking is different when outfitting an entire league. In that scenario, styles need to be deep in color to be relevant to leagues and clubs, says Maria Brockhaus, GM of sports uniforms for Augusta Sportswear (asi/37461). “Leagues typically want one jersey that works for all of the age groups in the league, so a minimum of 15-18 colors is ideal,” she says. Versatility helps too. The Augusta Attain wicking T-shirt (2791) comes in 22 colors and all gender fits.

Distributors should offer their leagues and customers the same styles in youth sizing as well as adult, says Manning. “If you only have adult,” she says, “leagues have a difficult time supporting customers with everything they need.” SanMar also offers color guides, which display every item from the supplier in specific colors, allowing teams and distributors to build a collection around a team color.

Selling Trophies & Awards

The “everyone gets a trophy” approach to youth sports may have its detractors, but for promo distributors, it’s a welcome opportunity. Click here to get three takeaways on selling trophies and awards.

Make a Play
In the sports world, some products may be universally popular, while others are only in-demand within their individual sport. Even within a sport, there may be a broad range of requirements and tastes.

Take uniforms, for example. Some leagues have strict requirements on the type of uniforms they require, while others are much more flexible. As one example, Manning says Little League baseball uses licensed apparel from Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. Distributors need to be aware of uniform rules and ensure the products offered conform to regulations as mandated by the governing body for the sport. Any time you want to do business with a new league, MacDonald advises, find its website and look up the requirements.

Though not a necessity, it helps to be knowledgeable about the sport. Distributor AMgC (asi/548902) does so much work in the athletic arena that its website is amgcsports.com. The Chapel Hill, NC, distributor’s three most lucrative sports are lacrosse, baseball and soccer, and co-owner Glen Jusczyk attributes part of the company’s success to its hands-on knowledge of, and passion for, sports. He employs reps who have played each particular sport at a high level, and still love it. “It’s hard to fake if you don’t know the sport,” he says. “Our expertise is an advantage in recommending promotional apparel and gear.”

Jusczyk adds that “this sector is price-sensitive, so it’s key for us to have educated, experienced people to help our teams make the right decisions.”

Even with price concerns and overall declining participation, sports still remain big business. They present new opportunities too – athlete specialization has turned baseball and basketball into year-round sports, says Hit’s Levin. “Summer leagues, travel teams, school teams – it’s consistent business. It’s not seasonal anymore.”

And don’t forget about adult recreational teams. The Physical Activity Council says 32% of millennials and 18% of Gen Xers play on sports teams, ranging from softball to cornhole. Just know they typically aren’t big spenders and aren’t very organized when it comes to their promo buying. “Their budgets are a lot smaller,” Paskill says. Typically these teams are looking for a jersey or a cotton or wicking tee with their name and number on it, he says.

Hot Markets

Lacrosse
From 2008 to 2016, an additional 0.6% of U.S. children ages 6-12 participated in lacrosse, one of the highest individual sport increases. What was commonly viewed as a preppy, regional sport is now a nationwide activity. “We’re in Michigan, and LAX is growing quickly, including the addition of girls teams,” says Gear Group President Carly Crow. “Ten years ago, you wouldn’t have seen it in our district.”

Hockey
The coolest sport on ice grew 0.6% in the last decade. Justin MacDonald of TJM Promos has seen a big jump in hockey product purchases the past two years, which is notable because his distributorship is based in Florida. Gear Group offers try-on sessions for leagues with 18 or more hockey teams. “The jerseys are expensive, with appliqué and sublimation decoration, so it’s really important to have the player try it on to make sure they get the right size,” Crow says. “You don’t want to do it twice!” The hockey leagues like their jerseys to mimic the style of the National Hockey League, she says.

Pickleball
“Pickleball is starting to make a splash for us,” says Glen Jusczyk of AMgC. This paddle sport, which combines elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis, is being embraced by all ages, from kids to senior citizens. It can be played in school gyms and after-school programs, but is also popular for adults, from 20-somethings to ages 65 and older. Bags, sweatbands and embroidered shirts are hot promotional items for the pickleball crowd.

Allied Sports
Many schools are incorporating “Allied Sports” into their programs, says Brian Paskill of ADL Promotions. These teams allow students with disabilities to play interscholastic sports with their non-disabled peers. Since these teams are relatively new, they don’t have a budget, but they typically order T-shirts with a Special Olympics logo on the sleeve and a number on the back, he notes.

Jean Erickson is a contributing writer for Advantages.