What Coaches Get Wrong About Youth Sizing (and How to Stop Re-Ordering)

Ask any team-gear printer where reorders come from and you'll get the same answer: youth sizing. Kids' sizes are chaos — a "youth large" ten-year-old in one brand is a "youth XL" in another, and whatever fits in August may not fit by playoffs. Here are the five mistakes we see, and the fix for each.

Mistake 1: Collecting Letters Instead of Measurements

"He wears a medium" is a guess about a brand the parent is picturing, not the brand you're ordering. A size chart with actual chest-width and length measurements — held up against a shirt that currently fits — turns guessing into measuring. Always distribute the chart for the specific garment being ordered.

Mistake 2: Ordering the Size That Fits Today

A season is three to four months of growing. For youth programs, the standing rule is simple: when in doubt, size up. A slightly roomy practice shirt in September fits perfectly in November. A perfect fit in September is a belly shirt by playoffs.

Mistake 3: Ignoring the Youth-to-Adult Transition Zone

Ages 11–14 are the minefield: half the roster is in youth sizes, half in adult smalls, and the two size scales don't line up cleanly. Make sure your order includes both youth and adult options for middle-school-age teams.

Mistake 4: One Person Guessing for the Whole Roster

The coach who fills out the size sheet solo — from memory, at 11pm — is a legend, and also the source of most wrong-size boxes. Sizing decisions belong with families, who can check the closet.

Mistake 5: No Plan for the Misses

Even good orders miss a size or two. A couple of extra shirts in the middle sizes turns a crisis into a shrug. Budget for the extras up front.

Or: Remove Yourself From Sizing Entirely

Every one of these mistakes shares a root cause — the coach sitting between families and the order. Two fixes. For required gear, order the package and collect sizes after the proof, with the size chart in hand, so nobody guesses in August for a kid who grows by October. For optional gear, a team store lets parents pick the size themselves. Either way the clipboard is gone. Set up my team's gear.