Tips on ordering basketball uniforms for AAU leagues and tournaments

The AAU is one of the most prestigious athletic organizations in which you can participate. High school coaches and college scouts alike recognize the talent that comes from the Amateur Athletic Union and its members. Joining a team or forming an AAU team to participate in competitive tournaments and tournaments is easy. However, there are some requirements that you must follow when ordering a uniform. The next few paragraphs provide a basic outline of what to follow when designing and purchasing basketball uniforms:

Home and away groups:
This is where the initial cost comes in first. The AAU requires teams to have a “home” and “away” jersey to participate in league play. This is quite surprising, given that the high school I played at only had one uniform for both of them. There are ways around this to make better use of the team’s budget when two separate uniforms are needed:

1. Request reversible! As long as one side is light and the other dark, it will be sufficiently reflective in most AAU area tournaments. Usually, reverse garments can get a little heavy, although a reputable uniform company will have the means to manufacture a lighter uniform to solve this problem. You can also choose sublimation or screen printing on the jerseys instead of twill warp to take some weight off.

2. Order a standard cropped reverse shirt. Some uniform companies offer the option to purchase a reversible jersey with a standard short on one side that matches the design of the jersey. This is the cost-cutter versus ordering a full reversal because single-sided shorts are usually much less expensive than having reversible shorts.

3. Order two shirts and one short to match both. If weight becomes an issue, or the participating age group falls below the 9/10 range, you can always order two separate shirts and shorts to match. You can have a color short that matches the color scheme of both shirts, or have a reversible color short with either. Guarantees that the shirts won’t be as heavy as the reverse shirts and can be a relief to not having to wash the same outfit over and over again!

personalization
Customization is an important part of an AAU uniform. Unlike middle and high school play, most AAU areas allow a team to have unlimited customization of uniforms. Kids feel great, look professional, and for the most part this translates to them playing a little better! Basketball is the most “joyful” sportswear, so get creative with piping, accents, sublimations, and logos. A reputable company should be able to provide you with a unique design from scratch, and allow you to add anything you want to your uniform.

Numbering:
Numbering can generally be either a long process, screen printing or sublimation. But, again, regions vary, but most follow the following rules (excerpt from the NJ AAU girls’ basketball website): “Each player must be numbered on the front and back of the jersey in simple Arabic numerals.

The following numbers are legal: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 00, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55. 4 inches wide.”

I hope this helps all AAU coaches and interested participants out there!