sportstyle

started offering shorter shorts, and the other brands started following along. It's probably going to go back the other way." e broader trend is the shi towards subli- mation that Markey notes can offer some pain points. e turnaround time for sublimated uniform can take three to six weeks, while a traditional in-house screenprint option takes a day or two. He says fulfilling add-ons can be a "big challenge" with sublimation, noting that the parents that oversee travel organizations oen find themselves short on jerseys because they underestimate the turnaround timeframe. As a result, "people like us get yelled at when it's really not our fault." A challenge with working with brands such as Adidas and Under Armour is that it's often difficult to replenish stock with them when the dealer's inventory runs out, explains Markey. Oen a team can't replace a style that's been discontinued. On the positive side, Markey senses schools and travel teams are "coming back local" for service aer facing the hassles of working with online competitors. "If they have to send something back, that's a pain. You can't call them on a weekend. Nobody answers the phone. So, I think you'll see it come back local even more." Medallion Sports, based in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, is finding a boost to its basketball business from a major recreational program established in nearby Jupiter. "ere's proba- bly 900 kids in it," says manager Kevin Licata. Medallion Sports also does a healthy business in basketball with middle schools and high schools while driving some revenue serving adult men's leagues, police athletic leagues and smaller colleges. Says Licata, "It's not off the charts by any means. But basketball's definitely a worthy sport to get involved with because we'll wrap it up in the end with the awards as well." Not selling basketball sneakers can present some obstacles for teams looking for a dealer to support all their needs. A bigger challenge, how- ever, is increasing online competition offering sublimated uniform options. "Whether they're doing it out of their garage or a warehouse, there's a plethora of people doing sublimation," Licata laments. "Some are doing a good job, some are not." Andy Nickerson, owner at Wight's Sporting Goods, Hampden, ME, says basketball remains a "pretty traditional sport" in Maine and a "very important" source of growth for the dealer. "We're a full decoration shop, so customized uniforms are a big part of the basketball busi- ness," he says. "But we cover all the aspects, whether it's a ball, whistle, scorebook, even some of the equipment in the gymnasium, to the off-court apparel, whether team travel wear or spirit wear. It's one big category to us." He believes sublimation has been a game changer in what dealers can bring to uniforms. "Sublimation is certainly allowing programs to have a lot of creativity to their uniforms." Middle schools and high schools are "very strong and our traditional, loyal customer base," adds Nickerson, while travel teams are increasingly offering a year-round opportunity in basketball. "At the travel level, it's a little more hit or miss because this year's coordi- nator or buyer is probably a parent that next year might not be participating." Nickerson believes the pandemic provided a boost to participation, with the youth level now "very strong." He sees a trend toward many kids dropping out of the sport at the high school level either because they're specializing in another sport, or they weren't selected on younger age for the travel team. "I think there's pros and cons to that pro- cess," says Nickerson. "You've given the kids an opportunity at a younger age to get started developing skills in a specific activity. At the same time, some late bloomers are never going to bloom because they've already walked away from the sport because they weren't selected at a young age." Mike Bodart, owner of Hoosier Sporting Goods in Columbus, IN, says his business remains "steady" in basketball, finding success working with elementary schools as well as middle schools for uniforms. With a store in downtown Columbus, Bodart derives much of his new business from walk-ins and that presents hurdles competing with other dealers sending road reps to local high schools. He says not partnering with one of the shoe companies also creates obstacles in landing a high school relationship. "We can still get them a really nice uniform from one of the other brands, but if it doesn't have a shoe logo on it, they're oen not interested," he explains. Hoosier Sporting Goods now offers only sublimated jerseys and Bodart highlights how the turnaround times from its core vendor partner has significantly improved over the years. "We'll see a promised three- week turnaround show up in two weeks. It's phenomenal," he says. In hard goods, the dealer sells a wide range of items, ranging from basketballs to nets and scorebooks. One frustration is the low margins on basketballs: "We bring the inventory in, sit on it, and when we sell it, we only make a few bucks." Bodart believes participation in his region on the boys' side remains "steady," but girls' participation has dropped off aer seeing a boost due to the exploits of Ali Patberg, who earned 2015 Gatorade Indiana High School Player of the Year while playing at Columbus North High School before playing for Indiana University and recently becoming an assistant coach for her college team. He's hoping Clark, entering her second season with the Indiana Fever, "gets girls reju- venated again to play basketball." n Photo: TonyTheTiger / Wikimedia Commons 40 • January/February 2025 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com TEAM A challenge with working with brands such as Adidas and Under Armour is that it's often difficult to replenish stock with them when the dealer's inventory runs out. Often a team can't replace a style that's been discontinued.

• Cover