From traveling teams to schools, youth sports leagues can be a big business. Promo products are needed for athletes and their fans, who include everyone from the athlete’s family members to alumni. Let’s take a look at what products you can sell and how you can generate revenue from this market, which is expected to reach $77.6 billion by 2026.

Products for Teams, Athletes, Fans & More
When it comes to youth sports, there’s no end to the types of products you can pitch. Don’t forget to also suggest products that are highly customizable, allowing each sport to select a shape that works for them! Here are some general product categories to add to presentations:

• Team Uniforms

Uniforms across all industries are big business, but when you think about sports, they are a must-have. Teams need home and away gear. Coaches and staff need complementary team uniforms. Some teams need last names on the back. Then, some other teams need special uniforms for special nights (like black out or white out games, or even Homecoming). Then, there’s outerwear. Many teams want consistency when it comes to things like jackets and hoodies. Make sure you do your research and pitch high-quality apparel that can hold up to sun exposure and being washed again and again. Start by pitching a complete team uniform plan that includes every item from head to toe, and then allow your customer to adjust as needed.

• Athlete Accessories

Athletes need bags and reusable water bottles for games. Sometimes hats, gloves, scarves and even sunglasses are optional accessories to uniforms. Towels can be extremely useful too, and so can lip balm and sunscreen. Remind prospects these items can also be sold or handed out to fans, so they should order a larger quantity.

• Cheer Accessories & Fan Apparel

In addition to fans in the stands, alumni and the athlete’s friends and family will want to support their stars. Products like rally towels, inflatables, foam fingers and pom-poms can be great giveaways at a pep rally. Make sure the team also sells hoodies and tees to fans so they can support their team in all types of weather. Other items fans love include bumper stickers, necklaces, bobbleheads, mugs, posters, keychains, stickers and tattoos.

• Awards & Gifts

When seasons end, there is typically a banquet or some sort of gathering to celebrate accomplishments and standout players. Talk to coaches ahead of time to select elegant awards and gifts. It’s also not a bad idea to reach out to player’s parents to see if they want to chip in for coaches’ gifts. Even teams with low budgets can hand out simple, affordable items like lapel pins, which can be proudly displayed on jackets or bags.

Separate from banquets are regional awards ceremonies. These can be branded for the regional competition, and then further customized with team or athletes’ names. Your contacts for regional tournaments and competitions will be different than a team contact, so do your research early and find the decision-maker.

Bundles

Don’t forget that you can look for kits or even bundle similar items to increase order sizes. For example, if a team is interested in caps, suggest a kit with gloves and a scarf. If you’re looking for a more custom option, some suppliers will create custom kits. You can work with your client to design kits for fans or parents that include multiple pieces of complementary swag, like a custom cheer kit!

Present a Marketing Plan
Want your clients to see you as an expert? Suggest more than just promo products. Remind every client that promo products are fantastic marketing tools in sports, but they should also use social media, ads and SEO best practices to reach their audience. Ads and SEO can be especially good for recruiting, while social media is fantastic for engaging with fans. Running polls and contests on social media will also help with exposure.

When to Reach Out to Prospects
You don’t want to reach out to potential clients about uniforms when their season has already started. Not only are you too late, but they are focused on training athletes and winning games, not on buying uniforms. Do your research to learn when the different sports seasons run so you can coordinate your prospecting efforts. If you’re targeting a specific school because you want to sell cheer and rally items, you’ll want to plan around the actual school year, reaching out no later than 3-4 months before the year starts. For specific sports, a great time to start the discussion is when the season has ended, but always be prepared that staff and coaches can change before the next season. Stay on top of that communication and remain consistent so you can adjust contacts as new people are hired.

Here are just a few popular sports seasons:

• Football: August – November
• Basketball: October – April
• Soccer: February – May
• Baseball: March – June

Now, there is an exception to this rule: Travel teams. With youth sports becoming more competitive, youth athletes are seeing the need to play year-round to improve their skills. Community leagues are becoming less popular as kids gravitate to travel teams. If you can get in the door with these groups, you’ll have ongoing sales throughout the year, matching their lengthy seasons.

Checklist: Important Events to Consider
Be sure to ask prospects about what promos they need for these events:

• Season kickoff
• Pep rallies
• Homecoming
• Special games (remembrance, anniversary, etc.)
• End-of-season banquets and awards ceremonies
• Regional and national tournaments and competitions

Get, Set, Match
We discussed target prospects and the perfect promo products for the youth sports market. Now, we’d love for you to weigh in. What are some insights you can share about the youth sports market?

 

 

Sources:

“STAHLS’ Uniform Sales Guide.” Advertising Specialty Institute. 2019.

“Youth sports needs a reset. Child athletes are pushed to professionalize too early.” Hoynes, William and Bjork, Christopher. March 24, 2021. USA Today.

“The Commercialization of Youth Sports.” December 23, 2021. The University of Kansas School of Education & Human Sciences.

“Youth Team, League, and Tournament Sports: Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2019 to 2026.” MarketResearch.com.

“Youth Sports Marketing: How to Market Your Sports Program.” May 28, 2021. Creative.com.

“15 of the Best Promotional Items for Sports Teams.” Mertes, Alyssa. January 18, 2022. Quality Logo Products Blog.