We Gave Away Free Custom Jerseys (Part 1)

A weeks ago, we had an idea.

What if we offered a set of fully custom jerseys, completely free, to one team in our community who truly deserved them? No catch. No fine print. Just us, wanting to do something meaningful for a team that needed it.

So we sent an email to our community with the subject:

One team. 25 jerseys. Tell us why yours deserves them.

We honestly didn't know what to expect.

The Responses

They came in fast. From Alberta, B.C, Ontario, all across the country. Coaches, teachers, parents, team managers, all writing in with their stories. And wow. Canada has some incredible teams out there. We read about teams that had overcome injuries, teams that had never had proper equipment, teams that had just found their footing after years of struggling.

Our whole team got involved. We passed the submissions around, highlighted the ones that stopped us, debated, argued (lovingly), and narrowed it down to three finalists. Three stories that each, in their own way, made us feel something.

The Morning We Picked the Winner

We do a morning meeting every day. It's usually pretty routine, updates, priorities, that kind of thing. But on this particular morning, we had one item on the agenda: pick the winner.

We read the three finalists out loud. Then we read this one.

It was written by Lindsay, a teacher and team manager at Forest Lawn High School in Calgary. She wrote about the Forest Lawn Titans, the Jr. Boys Soccer team. She didn't hold back.

"Forest Lawn is one of Calgary's most resilient communities. These soccer boys prove exactly why."

She told us about a team that grew together all season. About kids who showed up despite having adult responsibilities at home, no rides to games, and barriers that most kids never have to think about. They came anyway.

Then she told us what happened on the field.

"I would say we lost some not only because we hadn't played together much but because the boys didn't learn to build each other up yet. They'd criticize each other when one messed up. By the end of the season, they'd say things like 'that's okay!' and 'keep going!'"

By the time she got to the semifinals, where they beat a team that hadn't lost a single game all season, 4-0, the meeting had gone very quiet.

The finals. Tied 2-2. Penalty kicks. Their goalie saves a shot. The ref calls it back. He saves it AGAIN. Their player shoots. It goes in.

"We all rush the field. Parents come, who I can't easily communicate with, but we're all communicating our joy. These boys become the city champs for division 3. Amazing."

There was no debate after that. The room just kind of knew.

The Forest Lawn Titans Are Getting Their Jerseys

We messaged Lindsay that same day to share the news. We couldn't stop at 25.

These kids are city champions. They deserved to be fully set up for success. So we decided to double it. 50 fully custom jerseys. Two sets of 25, home and away, numbered 1 to 25 each, so the Forest Lawn Titans are completely equipped for whatever comes next.

This is going to be something special.