Case Study

Custom Team Sportswear for a US Youth Basketball Program

A returning client, two team identities, one production window, and a size range that ran from small players to grown coaches.

This was not our first order with this program, and that changes how a project runs. They knew our process, we knew their standards, and that trust let us take on something with more moving parts than usual. The job was a full kit across nine styles, built around two separate team visuals, produced in the same window, sized for everyone from young players to adult coaching staff.

The challenge

Two visual identities in one production run is exactly where this kind of order goes wrong. It is easy to mix up colorways, drop a logo onto the wrong style, or let the two designs drift out of sync on the pieces they share. Add a size range that stretches from small youth to adult and the number of variants climbs fast. Every one of those variants is another chance for a small mistake to slip through.

The client also expected the same fit and feel they got last time. Repeat business raises the bar instead of lowering it. You cannot coast on the relationship, you have to keep earning it.

Our approach

We treated the two team visuals as two parallel tracks that happened to share a production line, each with its own proofs and its own checkpoints, so nothing crossed over between them. For the jerseys we used full sublimation on moisture-wicking polyester, which lets the team colors run edge to edge and keeps names and numbers sharp without adding weight or trapping heat on the court.

Pre-production samples went out for both visuals before anything moved to bulk. We confirmed color against the program's spec, checked the sublimation registration, and ran the sizing set across youth and adult so the grading held at both ends of the range.

Timeline

Quality control and shipping

Here is the part we are most willing to put in writing. During production, our team noticed that a chest logo on one of the styles had been scaled slightly off the approved spec. The client had not flagged it. They had not even seen it yet. We caught it ourselves, pulled that style, and re-ran it correctly before anything left the floor.

That is the difference between a vendor who ships what is in front of them and one who checks the order against what was actually approved. We would rather absorb a re-run than send a program a box of kit with a logo that sits a few millimeters wrong.

Final inspection ran to AQL 2.5, with name and number accuracy checked against the roster on every personalized piece.

We keep coming back for a reason. They catch things before we even know to ask. This time they fixed a logo issue we never would have spotted until the season started. That is the kind of partner you hold onto. Program director, US youth basketball program

Specifications