Question re: youth jersey

Submitted by michgoblue on
So my son's 6 year old birthday party is in a few weeks, and, at his request, the party has a Michigan theme: Michigan cups, plates, balloons, hats, favors, etc. This past season, he was totally obsessed with the MBB team, hence his request for an all Michigan party.

He currently has a Novak (his all time favorite) zero jersey, but we want to surprise him and get him another MBB jersey. His favorite current player is Stauskas, but I cannot find an 11 in youth sizes anywhere. All I can find is 3.

Any ideas where I can get a youth 11 or get a jersey customized for him? Money is less of a concern than time, as his party is in 2 weeks.

pkatz

April 30th, 2013 at 7:29 AM ^

mden, amazon and/or google are your friends - if not, get a generic yellow tank top and a dark blue marker and create your own magic!

jmblue

April 30th, 2013 at 7:41 AM ^

To be honest, if he's only six, it might be a little early for him to be "collecting"  jerseys.   At that age, I don't think he really is going to care that no one is wearing jersey #0 right now.  I'd wait a couple of years before I got him another.

michgoblue

April 30th, 2013 at 7:44 AM ^

It's not about collecting, he just loves Stauskas so I think that it would be a good present for him. And he does know the difference between current and former players. He loves his Novak jersey and wears it pretty much every weekend. But he would enjoy another one and Stauskas will likely be on the team for at least 2 more seasons.

jmblue

April 30th, 2013 at 8:12 AM ^

I'm just saying, if he still enjoys the Novak jersey, why get him another?  They're not cheap, and you may not want him to start expecting to get new jerseys all the time. 

jmblue

April 30th, 2013 at 8:29 AM ^

Yeah, but eventually he'll be big enough to wear the adult size, and those are costly.

Personally, I'd let him keep on wearing that Novak jersey until it's too small for him or until he gets tired of it.  It sounds like neither is the case.

michgoblue

April 30th, 2013 at 10:47 AM ^

He will definitely keep the Novak and keep wearing it.  I don't think that he would trade it for anything.  I just want to get him a second one.  He wears the Novak to school probably once a week.  Now he can wear Novak one day and his new one on another. 

My view is that it's a birthday present, which is supposed to be a treat.  If this is what he wants as one of his main presents, I am certainly not going to discourage him.

Also, I can't even count the number of Michigan T-shirts that I have.  I get that the jersey is a bit more $$ (although the youth ones are only around $35, so maybe the price of 2 T-shirts), but I didn;t say "who needs another M T-shirt, I already have one."

Needs

April 30th, 2013 at 11:30 AM ^

And good lord, a new jersey has so many advantages over the flood of plastic crap he's sure to get. 

1. He will continue to use it.

2. It easily folds up and disappears.

3. You're not going to step on it in the middle of the night and destroy your feet (legos) or break your neck (anything with wheels).  

I now only want my kids to get jerseys. They're the perfect present. And as someone with 5-year-old twins, I totally get his obsession with wanting a jersey of a particular player. That seems the age that they pick up on differences, particularly in basketball where you can actually see the people. 

Unfortunately, they only seem to mass produce youth jerseys for one or two players, so you may need a custom job if you want a Stauskas.

 

jmblue

April 30th, 2013 at 11:32 AM ^

Obviously, it's a little different when you're an adult.  Your mindset and his are not going to be the same.

Maybe he will still wear the Novak jersey, I don't know.  But I think a lot of kids that age, when they get a new version of the same item, feel like the first one becomes devalued.  And then they may not embrace the second one the same way, since they know it's now "disposable".

michgoblue

April 30th, 2013 at 11:40 AM ^

He has a #1 football jersey that he got as a gift when he was 3.  It was too big for him until her was almost 4.  Wore it to watch every game with us.  But, he loved Denard, so we bought him a Denard jersey this past season, which he absolutely loved (it also served as his Halloween costume, along with a M helmet, yellow sweat pants and his soccer cleats worn untied).  He loved the Denard jersey, but he also still loves his #1 Jersey.  When I wear my #1 to watch the games, he wears his to be like me.  When I wear by #2 Woodson, he goes with his Denard. 

My point is that I think that there is enough Michigan love in his heart for both.  He is also the type of kid who would wear a jersey every day of the week, if it were up to him.

Needs

April 30th, 2013 at 11:45 AM ^

From observing my kids, it seems that obsolescence and obsession with the new is an attribute of teens and adults far more than young kids, who tend to continue to use and play with things they like even as they incorporate new things into their world.

randyfloyd

April 30th, 2013 at 7:42 AM ^

Unless you are McDonald all American(in most cases), the jersey makers will not make freshman jerseys. I would say you'll need to find a place that will iron it on a blank Michigan jersey, like Moes or Mden.

Padog

April 30th, 2013 at 8:07 AM ^

I got a Nik Stauskas #11 jersey at Mden. It was the blue away jersey(I don't know if that matters) It was 65 dollars. I got a medium and it was pretty big for the size.

You might have to get a small and it probably would fit him.

(I don't know how big he is)

michgoblue

April 30th, 2013 at 10:50 AM ^

I am a Michigan fan posting on a Michigan blog looking for a way to get my 6-year old son a SECOND Michigan bball jersey.  I can promise you that I have several Michigan basketballs.  And footballs.  And stuffed animals. Hell, we even have Michigan carpet in our basement (my wife's choice, as a surprise for me when we finished the basement).  :)

michgoblue

April 30th, 2013 at 11:31 AM ^

When we started dating, she had zero interest in football and certainly none in college football.  Midway through our first year of marriage, I took her to a M-ND game at the Big House in an obvious sales pitch.  About half-way through the walk to the stadium down state street, she was blown away and just became hooked.  Didn't hurt that we blew ND out 38-0 (I am pretty sure that was the score).  Now, 10 years later, she is as big of a fan as almost anyone on this site. 

Feat of Clay

April 30th, 2013 at 9:49 AM ^

I have seen Mr. Stauskus eating at Panda Express quite a bit lately.  How about I just ask for the shirt off his back next time?  It'll be big, sure, and it won't have the #11 on it, but hey.

DealerCamel

April 30th, 2013 at 11:11 AM ^

When I was younger I loved John Navarre, so I got a #16 jersey in an adult size that was hilariously large on me.  Nowadays it fits just fine and it also came in handy as another #16 made his magic happen. 

allintime23

April 30th, 2013 at 11:24 AM ^

As far as the new basketball jerseys go you can only get 3 and 10 in youth sizes and the smallest one is the (small) 8-10. My six year old has a normal kid body and he wears the size small fine.



I tried everything to get a number 11 jersey during the season for my nine year old and they basically told me it can't happen.

michgoblue

April 30th, 2013 at 11:34 AM ^

I have tried everything (MDen, Moe's, some other suggestions from this thread), and it just doesn't look possible.  I offered MDen extra $$ for a total customized job, and they said it is just not possible because the custom iron-on or stitch-on numbers are only available for purchase in adult size, which is way too big for a kids jersey.

Oh, well.  Looks like he is getting a Burke jersey as one of his presents.  I am sure that he will wear it proudly.