by Sam Watters ’18
Adding another star will not be the only change to the soccer team’s uniforms next year. Just like in years past, their kits (a more technical, “European” term for uniform) will be undergoing a drastic facelift. But this is not at all surprising, considering the ‘Cats have had their look changed every year for the past several years. As it turns out, quite a bit of work goes into designing and producing these sweet threads.
The first step involves the true visionaries, the Steve Jobs of the uniform world, the juniors. According to Mr. McLaughlin, head soccer coach and director of Sophomore Service, next year’s senior players are the leaders when it comes to creating prototype unis. Hunter Gordon ’16, a member of the design group, said that next year’s uniforms should be “some variation of this year’s,” a clear indicator that the 2015 uniforms will bear a strong resemblance to the 2014 versions.
After the juniors have a proposed model, they present it to Coach McLaughlin and the rest of the coaching staff. If it gets administrative approval, the designs are sent to UN1TUS, a national brand that sponsors the soccer program and graciously allows them to design school personalized gear every year.
As for what to expect to see in 2015, Coach McLaughlin was not giving many hints. “There will be an all white kit for home games along with a blue kit and a gold kit, but aside from that I can’t get into too many specifics.”, he said. Note that he did say “all white”, so perhaps the jerseys seen in the State Championship in November could see some sort of comeback.
No matter what the final product looks like, the players and coaches for the soccer team look to win a seventh state title this year. So next time you are at a game and you see the Wildcats with that extra state championship star on the jerseys, remember all the work it took to get both the star and the jersey.
