Team Insight

In general, women's sports are a huge benefit to team dealers, DeMotte adds. Those women's teams simply add numbers as participation declines in many other sports, he notes. Touching All the Bases Getting the sale requires more than just taking an order, dealers say. At the high school level, booster clubs are key, DeMotte says. They often help extend the budget, so roadmen tend to work with both the coaches and the key leaders of the booster clubs. "It's a more difficult sale," he notes, but well worth the effort. And team stores extend the sale as long as the numbers justify it. "You may only sell 16 shirts, so pricing becomes a big issue in setting up a team store," DeMotte says. Those stores work well for the larger programs. "We do encourage our reps to set up team stores, but they have to really assess the abil- ity for any school to use a team store." Those team web stores are a big answer, especially with those travel teams and clubs where the coordinators change as rapidly as lineups, Schuylkill Valley's Bohl notes. "That's where we have an advantage since we are tied into the local communities. "The struggle for us is to stay relevant," he adds. "There are a million options with e-commerce today." The team stores help the effort, Bohl says, because those club coordinators, not to mention coaches, like the convenience of team stores. "They want to talk to someone to work out the details on the front end," he says. "Pick out what the players need and then ask the parents to buy it through the team store." Ditto for player packs that the coaches want. Size Matters The web stores are great for travel teams and clubs, Relph agrees. "It's easy and extends the sale." The tough part is getting the right sizing when clubs cover a range of ages and body types. "It's a lot easier to sell the accessories." Players still want to try on the glove and test a bat or two before buying," he adds. Yes, sizing remains a key issue, especially consid- ering that many teams want fashion and function — and dealers have to make sure they all fit together when delivery is made. "The challenge with women's softball is similar to other women's sports — it's the fashion aspect and the color choices," DeMotte says. Besides splashier looks, they want fashion cuts, too, which leads to those sizing issues. "It's difficult to maneuver with a ninth grader who is tiny and the catcher who is bigger," he notes. Plus, mock-ups are necessary. "You can't make a sale without it. Technology makes it easier, but you may have to show six different color designs on the computer to make a sale," DeMotte says. He thanks suppliers for uniform builders that make this easier, but it is still time-consuming. While the boys' travel baseball teams are just as edgy as the women when it comes to a unique look, Bohl says, sizing does become problematic with the girls since it's often hit or miss with suppliers. Sizing isn't always the same from custom to stock, he notes. The solution often is to have players try on the fit. "We have to put the time in on the front end to avoid problems on the back end." By and large, sublimation has taken over the women's softball uniform business. It's probably 80 percent of sales when teams can afford it, Relph reports. "They have a better range of fabrics and designs," he says. Plus, sublimation also means the uniforms are half the weight of tackle twill and almost the same cost. Still, Denver Athletic does a fair amount of screenprinting to meet the budgets of clubs and schools. The challenge with sublimation is that it requires longer lead times, which isn't easy in today's Amazon- driven world where consumers think everything should be delivered in two days, Bohl adds. To combat this, Bohl and his roadmen are proactive in working with teams to allow time for sublimated uniforms. "You have to have those relationships to reach out so you can ensure that you have time to fill the uniform order," he explains. Sublimation is a big draw, Sledge agrees. "The only problem is that it takes time. We sell them tackle twill and screenprinting when we don't have the time to fill their uniform order." Q 22 Team Insight / March 2018 teaminsightmag.com GIRLS' & WOMEN'S SPORTS / SOFTBALL Softball offers all sorts of opportunities for dealers — from bats to protectives. Jack Lucas is more than a casual fan of women's softball. He's watched its growth and changes both as a supplier and the father of tal- ented players. As CEO of Bownet Sports, Camarillo, CA, his practice nets have helped hone the skills of many players. He also has a front-row seat watching one daughter, Leah, play at Temple University and now earning her Master's degree at Arizona, where she also coaches. His youngest daughter, Kelly, plays at Presbyterian College, a small D1 school in South Carolina. His company's nets have no doubt helped his daughters polish their skills in softball. Such experience has translated beyond softball, too. Bownet now supplies nets for everything from handball to hockey, from soccer to cricket. Team Insight caught up with Lucas before the Spring season started to get his thoughts on the state of the women's softball market. Team Insight: What's your impression of the women's softball market both in terms of sales and participation? Jack Lucas: The softball market is strong. Competition among the registration organiza- tions (ASA, USSSA and PGF) is crazy. They are all fighting for the top elite and the developing players with camps and clinics. The camps and clinics help to provide a pathway to college for many of these players. When it comes to sales, selling softball is very team-driven. They all use the same player bag, the same cleats, socks and in some cases the same bat brand. In contrast, baseball is driven way more by the individual than the team. As a supplier, how does Bownet cater to the female softball player? Bownet started out as a softball-driven brand. We changed the way the travel ball teams warmed up at practice and before the games. We developed many specific nets that allowed practice and pre-game to flow and to help develop the young women's skills. Now the nets and the practices we developed are crossing over to the younger baseball market. What drives the women's softball business – school, travel/select, recreational leagues – and why? High school does not drive the business — travel ball does. The path to college is through the travel ball experience. Besides being a supplier to softball, your daughters have given you an up-close view of the sport. What works? What needs to be changed? The young women and their parents have lost perspective. The kids don't love the sport any- more. It is being used as a path to further their education. The travel ball industry pushes col- lege recruiting tournaments to showcase the individual athlete's skills and not their drive to win games. Leah was developed to win, being the last team standing on Sunday afternoon. But the game has been transformed into five-game guarantees and not about defeating and elimi- nating teams to win the trophy. So what challenges do team dealers face and how can they overcome these in the women's softball business? Conversely, where are the opportunities? The softball market plays well into the team dealer's business. The travel teams purchase as a team, often from head to toe. Communication with the organizations and building team and organizational programs is key . Q FRONT-ROW SEAT

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