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Planning Next Season's Uniform Now
THE WEEK AFTER THE SEASON ENDS
Right now you remember everything. Which socks fell down, which colour didn't survive the mud, which sizes you ran out of, which parent complained about what.
In four months you'll remember none of it, and you'll place an order based on a vague sense that last year was "mostly fine."
This week is the most valuable week of the year for kit planning. Here's what to do with it.
STEP 1: WRITE DOWN WHAT WENT WRONG
Twenty minutes. Nothing formal.
- What did people complain about?
- Which sizes ran out, and which are still in the box?
- What failed first — cuffs, heels, grip, colour?
- What did you have to reorder mid-season, and why?
- What did the new players get, and was it the same as everyone else?
Every item on that list is a specification change or a quantity change for next year. Written down in September, it's a better brief than anything you'll assemble in February.
STEP 2: GET THE REAL SIZE SPLIT
The single most valuable number a club can have, and almost nobody records it.
Not what you ordered — what people actually wore. Count the leftovers by size, subtract from what you ordered, and you have next year's split.
Adjust for two things: juniors move up a size, and your registration numbers will change. But the shape of the curve stays roughly the same year to year, and it beats guessing.
STEP 3: DECIDE IF YOU'RE REDESIGNING
Be deliberate about this, because it has consequences.
Keep the design if it worked. You can carry leftover stock forward, top up in small quantities, and skip the whole approval circus. Most well-run clubs keep a design for two to three seasons.
Change the design if you've got a genuine reason — a sponsor change, a rebrand, an anniversary, or a design that genuinely didn't work. Just know that changing makes all existing stock obsolete.
Refresh rather than replace is often the smart middle: same base sock, same colours, one updated element. Feels new, doesn't strand your stock.
STEP 4: WORK THE TIMELINE BACKWARDS
From the date you want socks in players' hands:
| Weeks out | What's happening |
|---|---|
| 10 | Send logo, first mockup |
| 8 | Design signed off |
| 7 | Sample ordered |
| 6 | Sample approved, production starts |
| 3 | Production complete, shipping |
| 1 | Delivered, sorted |
| 0 | Handed out at training |
For a March season start, that means starting in December or early January. Which means the decisions above need to be made now, while you still remember the season.
STEP 5: SORT OUT WHO DECIDES
The single biggest cause of delay in club kit orders isn't manufacturing. It's committees.
Decide now, while nothing is urgent:
✅ One named person with final sign-off
✅ A budget per pair, agreed in advance
✅ A deadline for design approval, in the calendar
✅ Who collects the size data, and by when
A club that sorts this out in September orders in January and has kit in March. A club that doesn't is still arguing about a shade of blue in February.
THE THINGS WORTH CHANGING
If your list from step 1 includes any of these, here's the fix to specify:
| Complaint | What to change |
|---|---|
| Socks fell down | 1x1 cuff rib, elastic through the shaft, arch band |
| Holes too soon | Plated nylon reinforcement, higher needle count |
| Never came clean | Dark or marl foot section below the ankle |
| Colours faded | Direct knit instead of print |
| Players cut them up | Knee-high with silicone grip built in |
| Ran out of sizes | Use this year's real split, add 15% |
AND ONE MORE THING
While you're planning the playing kit, mock up a supporter version at the same time. Same design work, same free process, and it's a revenue line rather than a cost.
Have both in front of the committee at the one meeting rather than revisiting it in March.
START THE CONVERSATION NOW
Send us this season's order details and your list of what went wrong. We'll turn it into a specification for next season, mock it up free, and give you a timeline that lands before round one.
Free designs, free revisions, and a pre-production sample before full production. 24-pair minimum on our standard range, with free shipping from 30 pairs.