Every year around this time, people talk about the “must have” accessories, but this back-to-school there really is a Must Have accessory: face masks. Whether you’re going to class, practice or the game, you’ll almost certainly be wearing something you’d never thought to wear a few months ago.

If you’re designing custom face masks for your school sports teams, here are a few ways to make the best of the situation by putting some school spirit into them.

1. Make your face masks in the school colors

Face masks are functional before anything else, which is why most of them are drab grays, black or maybe that surgical scrub blue. Not exactly what anyone wants to be wearing to school, let alone when they’re trying to get themselves or their friends pumped up for a game.

Customize your team’s face masks in the school’s colors. Take a look at the teams’ jerseys and see what patterns are used, where the accent colors show up and how the colors reflect the brand. Then match that on the masks.

If the school colors are yellow and black and the football jerseys are either black with yellow stripes or white with black and yellow stripes, do the same on the masks. You could even make home and away masks to match the home and away jerseys. That way your travelling fans (not to mention the drumline, athletic trainers and team staff) look the part, and better than the opponent.

2. Put the school’s mascot or logo on the face mask

Many professional teams are back in action, and their face masks are usually simple affairs: the main team color with the team logo or crest on it.

You can take this “up-market” route, which may appeal more to your coaches and staff who’d rather not go all-in on a fashion statement. A simple mark of team identity, like they already have on their polo shirts and windbreakers, could be enough for them.

3. Let the face masks make everyone a team mascot

Do all the other schools in your district fear the Bulldogs, Hornets or Spartans? Don’t give them a moment’s rest. Every time they look over at your sidelines or student section, they should be reminded of how dominant, aggressive and passionate your team is.

If your team mascot is an animal, put that animal’s growling face, bared teeth or razor-sharp beak right on the mask. If your mascot carries a sword, put one on either side of the face mask. Maybe your mascot is an eagle in full flight? Each mask can show it coming for the opponent.

The most intimidating part of a stadium for the visiting team is the student section. Some are walls of noise, others of team colors. Basketball fans, in particular, use color, noise and motion to try to get in the heads of opponents taking free throws. Build on that by making the visiting team face a wall of your school’s loudest students, all looking the part.

Any design you have in mind, we can do it. The dye sublimation process makes it easy for us to precisely customize any item. Dye sublimation also has no additional charges for fill-in orders. Once the design is set up, it’s just as easy to make 1 more or a 1000 more. So, if we’re still wearing masks during the winter or spring sport seasons, you can order another round at a low price.

Back-to-school is stressful enough, especially when you might not know if your students are going back to school. If you need any help coming up with the best design for your sports team’s custom face masks, please give us a call and we’ll make it as easy as possible. This is what we do!

We’ll work with you to get the design exactly right, and will send you a mock-up so you can see what the actual product will look like before you commit to a full order.