The ESK Board has decided to move to new uniforms for the 2007-2008 season. We realize that many parents invested in a uniform in the last couple of years and this presents an additional expense, but there are many reasons that switching this year makes sense for the club.

- The old uniforms are completely out of date and very expensive.
- Kids are complaining about the current black uniforms - they're just too hot during outdoor games in warm weather.
- We have to do this sometime, and it will be slightly painful no matter
when we do it. Right now, our stock is low and we have almost no Black
jerseys, so we'd have to order a whole bunch of new jerseys for the new
kids.
- The new uniforms are Climalite fabric, MUCH nicer and MUCH, MUCH less
expensive - $40 for a complete kit (2 jerseys, shorts, and socks)
including logos and numbers. Also, instead of 12 weeks to order a new
uniform, we can get them in 2-3 weeks, and we can order online and have
them shipped.
- We are beginning the process of a change in the 'brand' of the club, to reflect our community base, and the new uniforms will reflect it. The logo will say 'Eastside Kickers Heights United Soccer'. There is some confusion in the leagues that Eastside Kickers is not a community-based club, since our name doesn't have the name of a city. The reasons are historical - when ESK was founded, we were one of the first soccer clubs on the East Side, and we drew players from many communities. Although we still have players from communities outside the CHUH school system, league rules mandate that we be community-based and that a certain number of our players reside within the school system boundaries.

The new uniforms are Adidas Entrada. The kids who have seen them are
completely thrilled at the look and feel. The new uniform can be seen (without logos) at http://eastsidekickers.org/files/uniform.jpg - but the picture doesn't do it justice. It's a great look. (The kit includes socks, not pictured).

So we'll be asking parents to buy a new uniform - we're ordering in bulk to start with to save on shipping costs, so team managers will be distributing them. We thought about staying with the old jerseys for some of the teams, but every team has a bunch of new kids and we can't mix and match uniforms. Each "kit" (As a complete uniform is called in soccer) is $40 including the logos and numbering. Team managers will be responsible for collecting payment. ESK will purchase uniforms for all scholarship players, but these must be returned to the club if the player drops out of the club. If scholarship players would prefer to purchase a uniform to keep, that is fine.