High School Letter Jackets

[luvsJack]

They're a big deal over here. You can't buy one anywhere, you "earn" it when you earn your first letter. The students do not have to pay for them here. But the kids all personalize them with patches from all of their clubs/extracurriculars. I think we spent over $200 on patches for DD20's when she was in high school. She earned hers during her freshman year so she got a lot of wear out of it.

Class rings aren't popular here anymore either. None of our kids have wanted one so I didn't push. We didn't see any reason to spend the money for something that they weren't going to wear.

Wow, wish the schools here could afford that. DD's hs pays so much on each jacket. Think it was like $80. They were all ordered together and you couldn't order one unless you had earned a letter or would received one that year. The letter was free, as was each bar added later for continuing in the activity/sport.

Class rings aren't too big here either. some of the kids got them but most opted for something else instead.

 

[*3*Mouseketeers]

I graduated in 1988 and for some reason my high school didn't let band students letter. I thought only athletes got them. FF to my son lettering in band...I made sure he got one! (since I never got one...waaaah!) When the representative came for them to order them he told my son he needed an XL. I told him I would order 2XL but he listened to the guy. Of course it didn't fit (well, it kinda fits but he likes things loose). He has never worn it. The band paid for the jacket and I paid for all the personalizations. It's hanging in my closet. LOL Maybe if/when my daughter letters she will want one and wear it and I can live vicariously through her.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

All three of our kids were in Marching Band. Letter jackets are very much the norm here, for all sports. All three of our kids got jackets.

I really can't recall how we found the place to get them, but I think we were directed there by the school. It's a small shop that does all the schools in the county.

For me personally, I'm glad the kids all wanted jackets. But, if they hadn't we wouldn't have gotten them. Yeah, they don't get worn much, but they were part of the whole high school thing.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

They aren't popular around here. Some HS students wear jackets with their school name and sport on the back, but not the letterman style, which honestly I haven't seen in decades.

The fact that you are asking where to get one tells me they must not be all that popular there either, or you would know from the school and/or his teammates. For that reason, and more importantly since you don't think he would even wear it much, I would not buy one. It's an unnecessary status symbol. Save the money you would spend and put it towards his senior year expenses- photos, prom, etc., or into college savings.

I don’t know from his teammates because, while DS was invited to play/suit up with Varsity for games as a Freshman, he had a season-ending injury that required surgery and 9 months of PT/recovery
the 3rd day of Varsity Camp his sophomore year and didn’t come back until the last 4 games his Junior Year. He was rostered so he will earn his letter as a Junior instead of a Sophomore since he didn’t play his entire Soph year. It was a bit of a mess, and I have 2 other kids and work/life outside of them to worry about, added to the fact that we moved here when DS was in 6th grade so we don’t have the automatic parental connections that we had before or have now with the younger two (especially having a kid who has always played up with kids who were older than him), AND he is my oldest so I don’t have the Been There experience that I so value with my younger two, so there are more reasons to me not knowing from his teammates than it just “not being popular”. I see kids all the time at the school with letter jackets. DS would like one.

So, I guess as I think about it more, it is worth it. DS has trained, practiced, worked his rear off and sacrificed birthday parties, school/peer events, weekend vacations, and sleep since he was 7 years old to earn that “unnecessary status symbol” in the sport that he loves more than anything, so if he wants to wear a jacket that says “this is what my (literal) blood, sweat, and tears has gotten me”, then he should have one.

 

[AppleDumpling]

So, I guess as I think about it more, it is worth it. DS has trained, practiced, worked his rear off and sacrificed birthday parties, school/peer events, weekend vacations, and sleep since he was 7 years old to earn that “unnecessary status symbol” in the sport that he loves more than anything, so if he wants to wear a jacket that says “this is what my (literal) blood, sweat, and tears has gotten me”, then he should have one.

If you feel it's worth it, then it is. I'm sorry if my comments offended you; that was not my intention. From your previous posts, it was not clear that your son even asked for or wanted the jacket, or that they are commonplace at his school.

Truth is, it is a status symbol. That's not a bad thing if it is meaningful to your son (and you can afford it). We all treat ourselves and our loved ones to special things that make us happy. Sounds like your son will wear it proudly after years of dedication to his sport.

 

[dennis99ss]

http://www.hjgradcenter.com/

 

[mnrose]

We got ours through the local sporting goods store (which stocks them from all the area high schools). The coat itself was around $150. But, then, of course, you pay for the schools lettering, the letter itself, and then the grad year. By the time I was done, it was around $250.

We needed absolutely nothing from the school. Went to the store, said what she'd lettered in (to pick the right letter logo), and bam, done.

I get the impression, right or wrong, you could buy as many letters as you want have put them on the jacket and no one would care.

Are the worth it? Probably. It's a good solid coat. DD is on her second year with it, and it still is in great shape. She wears it as her primary winter coat. In that sense, not a bad deal.

They are a "thing" in my kids' school for sure.

 

[Hrhpd]

My kids all have them, they have all graduated HS and moved on to college, all of them are hanging in the closet. But they were worth it. When my kids were young, they loved to put on their father's jacket. Since they all inherited his athletic genes and not my klutz genes, it bonded them just a little bit more. Perhaps in the future, those jackets in the closet will bring the same joy to our future grandchildren. But while they may not have worn them a lot, they were proud of the jackets. Every time they looked at them they recognized their hard work and sacrifice.

In our high school, only the football players and band people wore their jackets regularly. 1 son lettered in a different sport and academics (minimum cumulative 3.6 GPA and no C's.) Since he was a skinny nerd (his self-description) he definitely wasn't a football player and he didn't want to be thought a band member. He had nothing against band, he just wasn't in band (was 1st chair in middle school so appreciated music) and didn't want to be misidentified. There was an undercurrent that if you weren't in football or band and wore your letter jacket, you were looked down on and trying to be part of the two big groups. Same with our other kids, liked their jackets but wouldn't wear them for academic letters and single sports that were not football nor band.

Last child was a 4 year football starter. His was all decked out with all the patches like the state championship and 4 years of league championships on it. He would wear it on game days, never on other days. He refused to put the academic letter or other sports pins on the jacket. It was a football jacket.

The school offered several days of fitting in the fall if you lettered the year before. Your child was fitted and you paid, jackets were delivered a few weeks later. You could choose different types, custom order the sleeve length and jacket length. The jacket came with the name and graduation year. There were plenty of other different ways to accessorize such as adding a large embroidered patch of the mascot.

The parents paid for the jackets, but patches for accomplishments such as the football championships, band championships, etc and the year and sport pins were given to the students by the school at a recognition ceremony beginning each fall for the previous year. Seniors had a year end senior banquet.

 

[Kellykins1218]

Letter jackets are really popular here. There's only one lettering/printing store in town where you can purchase them and you have to have the letter with you. They won't just sell them to anyone.

 

[deedeetoo]

They don't exist anymore here at all. My DD lettered in two sports. At one of the ceremonies when they were handing out the letters, the coach actually commented "I don't know why we hand these out anymore since there are no more jackets to put them on". I'm not sure if its a rule or whether they have just gone out of style but I have never seen anyone from our local high school wear one.

 

[Aliceacc]

In my school, they're part of the "spirit pack" that's available to members of a team. Each team gets a list of available merchandise they can order.

Generic school merchandise-- sweatshirts and stuff not tied into any particular team-- are available at the school bookstore.

In your case, I would contact the office of the school's Athletic Director.

Though you can probably google what you want and find someone not associated with the school who will manufacture it.

 

[PattnFmly]

They are big in our town! My older DS has his for Marching Band and they are also only available for Juniors and Seniors. The kid needs to complete 2 years of band including 4 parades in order to get the jacket. The jacket itself is paid for by the Band Booster Association and the kids get a certificate at their end of year banquet. Only one store sells them in our town and you have to have the certificate to get measured. My son practically lives in his jacket. He worked hard to get it and is truly very proud to wear it. Other DS is a sophomore this year and can't wait to get his next year!

 

[Lilacs4Me]

In my school, they're part of the "spirit pack" that's available to members of a team. Each team gets a list of available merchandise they can order.

Generic school merchandise-- sweatshirts and stuff not tied into any particular team-- are available at the school bookstore.

In your case, I would contact the office of the school's Athletic Director.

Though you can probably google what you want and find someone not associated with the school who will manufacture it.

Thanks! I will email him...he and I are tight lol I am the VP of operations for a local sports league and I had to deal with him for all of our scheduling needs with the facilities.

 

[mom2rtk]

They are big in our town! My older DS has his for Marching Band and they are also only available for Juniors and Seniors. The kid needs to complete 2 years of band including 4 parades in order to get the jacket. The jacket itself is paid for by the Band Booster Association and the kids get a certificate at their end of year banquet. Only one store sells them in our town and you have to have the certificate to get measured. My son practically lives in his jacket. He worked hard to get it and is truly very proud to wear it. Other DS is a sophomore this year and can't wait to get his next year!

That's great! I love that your son wears it so much. I actually wanted one of our kids to want a letter jacket. When I was in high school, you could only letter in sports. Not band. Not debate. Not academics. Thankfully that's different now and our kids would have lettered in a variety of areas. But nope. Nobody wanted one. I just think it's a different vibe here about wearing them. A lot of families can't afford them, so having fewer kids wearing them changes things.