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The August Kit Scramble
Every August it's the same message in a club WhatsApp group somewhere: "Does anyone know what size shirt Millie's daughter is? And are we doing skorts this year or shorts?" Twenty replies later, nothing is decided, the league fixtures are out, and the custom hockey kit order still hasn't gone in.
If that's your club, this guide is for you. Whether you're running a grassroots junior section, a university squad, or a full multi-team club, here's everything you need to order before the first whistle in September - shirts, shorts, skorts, goalkeeper gear, training wear - plus the ordering and sizing decisions that separate the clubs who start the season looking sharp from the ones still handing out mismatched spares in October.
Fast answer: How to order your custom hockey kit with My Club
My Club supplies fully custom hockey kits to clubs, schools, and universities across the UK and Europe. The process is built for volunteer coordinators, not procurement departments:
- Design online in the kit builder - templates, patterns, and colourways you can adjust in real time, no design software needed.
- Upload your club crest and sponsor logos, positioning them on front, back, and sleeves.
- Confirm colours and sizes for every player, juniors to seniors.
- Approve digital artwork from the in-house design team - mock-ups are sent before anything goes into production, and the team will redraw a low-resolution badge rather than print a blurry one.
- Place your order. Delivery in 5 to 6 weeks.
Minimums start at 5 items per garment for playing kit, with no minimums for repeat orders and top-ups - and if you're coordinating mixed age groups, one account manager plans across all your squads so the under-12s match the first XI.
Lead time: allow 5-6 weeks from artwork approval, and work to the top of that range in July and August, when every club in the country is ordering at once. The maths is simple: to be certain of kit for a September start, your artwork needs approving in July.
Hockey kit checklist: what every club needs for September
UK and European seasons start in early September, with England Hockey League fixtures typically beginning mid-to-late month. Use this checklist so nothing gets remembered the week before the first fixture:
Matchday essentials
- Home and away hockey shirts, fully numbered
- Hockey shorts or skorts in matching home and away colourways
- Home and away socks, colour-blocked to meet league regulations
Training and warm-up
- Training tops
- Base layers and quarter-zips
- Track pants
- Showerproof jackets - this is a winter sport played outdoors; someone will thank you in January
The extras clubs now expect
- Numbered warm-up tops
- Coach hoodies and polos
- Supporter wear: hoodies, tees, and polos for parents and students
My Club kits out entire clubs, under-10s to first XI, in a joined-up range that looks consistent on the pitch and in the clubhouse.
What clubs say about it
"Dean our account manager was very efficient and friendly when it came to designing and aiding with sizing of our tops. As a brand new Hockey club, My Club Group costs and quality of the tops were unique. We see no need to change our supplier in the future when we place orders again." - GRV
"Great quality bespoke kit at reasonable cost! Second year of using My Club to produce our kit. Good service, great quality product that lasts, and quick delivery. Thanks for the great service! See you next year for another Summer Hockey kit!" - Simon Stevenson
Designing your kit: what actually matters
The kit builder runs in your browser on desktop or mobile, so the committee can design together in the clubhouse or you can do it on the train. Choose from modern, classic, and retro patterns, match colours to exact club Pantones, and add player names and numbers across adult and junior squads.
Two decisions deserve more thought than they usually get:
Sublimation is the right call for hockey. Because the dye is infused into the fabric rather than printed on top, gradients, stripes, and complex patterns cost nothing extra - and nothing cracks, peels, or fades under shin pads, stick clashes, and weekly washes. My Club's guide to sublimation printing explains how it works.
Collar and sleeve choices affect your sponsors. V-neck, crew, and grandad collars each change how front-of-shirt branding sits, and long sleeves change what's possible on the arm. Decide sponsor placement before you fall in love with a collar style - the design team will flag conflicts at proof stage, but it's faster to get it right first time.
Have your crest, sponsor files, and colour references ready before you start; it turns an evening of fiddling into fifteen minutes.
→ Start designing in the kit builder
Shirts: fabric, fit, and performance
Hockey is repeated sprinting, low bending, and sharp rotation - the shirt has to work with the body.
- Fabric: interlock or pindot polyester fabric for perfect sublimation printing, sweat wicking, and comfort.
- Fit: athletic fit for performance squads, regular or relaxed for social teams and schools, women's-specific cuts where appropriate. Youth shirts are cut looser to fit over protective equipment.
- Sleeves: short sleeve as standard; long sleeve earns its keep from November onwards.
Shorts, skorts, and socks: where mismatched kit shows first
A squad in perfectly matched shirts and three different shades of navy shorts looks sloppy - and it's always the lower half where colour-matching goes wrong when clubs buy from multiple suppliers. Ordering everything from one place is how you avoid it.
- Shorts: lightweight, breathable, adjustable waistbands, lengths for different age groups. From £13.25 ex VAT.
- Skorts: built-in shorts and stretch fabrics for women's and girls' teams, colour-matched to the main kit.
- Socks: cushioned soles, arch support, and ankle protection, colour-blocked to meet league regulations for home and away.
Shirts start from £19.50 ex VAT.
Goalkeepers and training kit: the two things clubs forget
Almost every last-minute kit panic we see involves one of two garments: the goalkeeper's shirt or the winter training layer. Plan both alongside the playing kit, not after it.
Goalkeepers need an oversized numbered shirt in a distinct colour that still belongs to the club's identity. Because GK kit is a one-off within the order, it's the easiest line to overlook - and the hardest to rush later.
Training wear - training tops, base layers, showerproof jackets, track pants - doesn't all need to be bespoke. Mixing sublimated match kit with stock-colour training garments is a smart way to hit budget and delivery targets while keeping the core look intact. Coaches and support staff can match too: padded jackets, gilets, and polos in club colours tie the whole matchday presentation together.
Ordering and sizing: how to get it right first time
- Collect names, numbers, and sizes early - before the summer holidays scatter everyone. Use the online size guides and order physical size samples before committing a full squad.
- Juniors grow. Allow room for one to two seasons; a shirt that fits perfectly in September is tight by Easter.
- Order buffer stock. A couple of spare shirts in common adult sizes and extra junior sizes covers late sign-ups and mid-season replacements.
- Approvals kill deadlines, not production. In our experience the biggest cause of missed September starts isn't manufacturing time - it's a design proof sitting in a committee inbox for three weeks. Get sign-off authority agreed before the proof arrives.
- Payment flexibility: the club, school, or parents can pay directly through a dedicated online shop, so the volunteer kit secretary isn't chasing forty bank transfers.
Built to last more than one season
Hockey kit takes sliding tackles, stick clashes, and relentless washing. What to look for: durable polyester knits, reinforced double or flat-lock seams at stress points, and sublimated printing rated for regular washes. Sublimated names, numbers, and sponsor logos are in the fibres, not on them, so they withstand shin-pad abrasion without peeling.
From one kit to a club identity
A matchday kit is the start, not the finish. The clubs that get the most from custom teamwear build a joined-up range - match kit, training wear, leisurewear, and staff apparel in the same colours and fonts - and put it in a dedicated online club shop via My Club's client portal, where players and parents order approved items directly.
Two knock-on benefits coordinators underestimate:
- Reorders stay consistent. The design team can produce brand guidelines - logo usage, text fonts, colour codes - and your design files and Pantone references stay on record, so next season's new age-group team matches this season's kit exactly.
- Sponsors notice. A professionally consistent club is an easier sponsorship conversation; My Club's guide to securing sponsorship in grassroots sport covers how to use it.
The coordinator's timeline
- Late spring: finalise design ideas and get a quote.
- June: confirm squad lists, gather sizes, get committee, bursar, or sponsor sign-off. Don't wait for stragglers - that's what buffer stock is for.
- Before the school summer holidays: place the order. A July order lands comfortably before September fixtures; an August order is a gamble you don't need to take.
- All season: keep your final design files and Pantone references on record for top-ups and new teams.
The clubs that plan ahead play with confidence. Start in My Club's kit builder, visit the custom hockey kit page, or talk to an account manager who'll walk you through the whole process. Your team deserves to look and feel the part from day one.
