Every basketball order we quote starts with the same item, and coaches describe it three different ways: shooting shirt, warm-up top, pre-game tee. It's the shirt the team wears over the jersey during layup lines, the one that's on camera when the starters are announced, and the one every player keeps after graduation. Here's what coaches actually order, and the decisions that make it work.
Long sleeve or tee?
Both, usually — but not for the same reason.
- Long-sleeve shooting shirt is the traditional look: lightweight performance polyester, loose enough to go over a jersey, easy to pull off at the bench. It's what varsity orders for game night.
- Short-sleeve performance tee doubles as the practice shirt and the warm-up for JV and freshman teams. One shirt, two jobs, less for a parent to keep track of.
- Quarter-zip pullover is the third option for programs that want the bench to look like a staff. Heavier, usually embroidered, worn over the shooting shirt on the road.
The fabric matters more than the sleeve length. A shooting shirt is worn for twenty minutes and pulled off sweaty; it needs to be light, wick, and take a print without the print stiffening it. We'll steer you to poly blends that print clean and away from the ones that crack.
Home and away: the reversible question
A lot of programs want a light and a dark. Three ways to get there, cheapest first:
- One shirt in a neutral color — gray or black with the program logo. Works with both uniforms, one print run.
- Two shirts, two colors — a white and a school-color, same artwork. Costs more in garments; still one artwork approval.
- Reversible practice jerseys — for practice, not warm-ups. Great for splitting scrimmage teams without a bag of pinnies; not a shooting shirt.
What goes on it
Front: program name or logo, one color, chest-center or left chest. Back: player number, and a name if the program wants it. Keep the front print to one color — it looks sharper on camera and holds up better than a four-color design on lightweight poly. Sleeve prints and shoulder logos are popular add-ons; they cost setup, not much else.
Bench warm-ups and the coaches
The walk-in look for away games is a fleece hoodie or quarter-zip and joggers — embroidered left chest, program name on the back. Coaches' gear rides along on the same order: polos for game night, quarter-zips for the bus, all on the same artwork approval. If the athletic trainer and the managers get one too, the bench looks like a program.
The tryout problem, and why a team store solves it
Basketball's calendar has a trap in it. Ohio tryouts run at the end of October; the first game is a couple of weeks later. Order in bulk before tryouts and you're printing a name on a shirt for a kid who gets cut. Order after tryouts and you're rushing.
A team store handles it. Artwork is approved by mid-October; the store opens the week of tryouts and stays open about two weeks; players who make the team order, in their own sizes, and pay online; the coach never collects a check. Run it as a straight store at your quoted pricing, or as a fundraiser with $5 from every item — standard — back to the program. Parent and student-section gear go in the same store, which is how boosters end up with more than they expected.
Timing
- Now – mid-October: logo, colors, rough roster. Mockup and quote in a few business days.
- Mid-October: approve artwork; store opens around tryouts.
- Late October – mid-November: production, sorted by player, delivered or picked up in Delaware.
- Opening night: the bench matches.
The full sport-by-sport calendar is in the winter sports ordering timeline. Practice-only packages for middle-school and youth programs are on Team Practice Gear.
If this is your program: basketball team apparel has the sample package and the quote link. One email, one person, one answer.