Do the HS kids wear varsity letter jackets where you are?

[shoney]

I don't think I've seen a letterman jacket outside of a Halloween costume. I got a ring in the Late 80's but they were not that popular then. My teens laughed about getting a ring. The school sells then but I guess not popular

 

[EMom]

They have never stopped being popular here. Our school pays for the jacket and one letter. By the time you add their other patches, get their name on the back, etc., most people are still in for over $300. We have one more patch to add, and the end total will be $350-360. At least she's cold natured and wears it often. She skipped the senior ring because she said they were ugly.

 

[rastahomie]

I don't think I've seen a letterman jacket outside of a Halloween costume.

To me, they do seem like kind of a relic.

Reminds me of a funny scene in Modern Family. (For those not familiar: Manny is a high school senior, a boy of about 18; Jay is his stepfather, a tough-as-nails man's man, about 65.)

MANNY: [blah blah blah, some minor problem at school]
JAY: When I was in high school, I would have had your cigarettes and your dice by lunch hour.
MANNY: Where did you go to high school, Guys & Dolls?

 

[kimmar067]

Back when I was in high school (late 70's/early 80's) varsity jackets were everywhere.....do the hs kids wear varsity letter jackets where you are......

....only the jocks....

 

[Lilacs4Me]

Your post made me curious about my children's high school. Wealthy school, about 1000 students in grades 9 to 12.

The sports offered are soccer, hockey, basketball, volleyball, rugby, badminton, track and field, and cross country running. Happening somewhere off campus is apparently swimming, rowing, snowboarding and skiing (the school doesn't have the facilities for any of these, but they're still listed in the athletic program). No football!

I would think soccer, given how inexpensive it is to equip students for it, would be a natural fit for your school. All you really need is a field and a ball. Every school in my city offers it for that reason, because even the poorest kids can get out there and play. But it might not be familiar to the school administration in your town, or to the parents who'd be required to volunteer their time.

Football I consider basically on par with Hockey - stupidly expensive and if you have any regard for your childrens' brain health, you probably don't want them playing it.

Not just responding to you Magpie....just generally.....

We should cut out soccer, gymnastics, and cheerleading, too, since those sports also have extremely high rates of concussion.

Or, we can just relax a little....despite the negative press (concussion talk and football is the "in vogue" thing right now with the media) the percentage of players who get concussions is not very high, and ALL high impact sports are continually looking for ways to play the sport safer, whether ( I can talk about football specifically) that's by using better equipment or changing game rules, or eliminating kick of and punt returns which is the most dangerous time of the game, or by better training the kids in proper technique (ie. hitting with their shoulder, and gator rolling when tackling so the heads not hitting the ground, etc)

But of course, the "good stuff" doesn't make for good headlines, so all anyone hears about is the horror stories.

Ironically, my son who has played football since he was a little kid, has bum shoulders now because of the "concussion-free" tackling techniques. He can't keep those darn things from being injured since he leads with them on every play.

And the one time he had a concussion in his life was from some jerk kid goofing off and swinging DS around and landing on top of him when he was about 13 - nothing to do with the course of football play.

Eta: Both my boys play lacrosse now too, and DS11 is goalie....he had to be taken out of the game and concussion evaluated because he got hit with the ball at close range twice on his head within about 10 seconds. He blocked the first one, it ricoched back to the kid who then blasted him a second time. DS11 staggered for a few seconds and they immediately pulled him.

There's not really a "safe" sport - there's always a risk. It really doesn't have anything to do with being concerned about brain health...of COURSE there is no parent is out there saying they don't give a hoot about their kids brain. thats a ridiculous statement.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

Participation jackets?

My high school gave out letter blankets. In college I received a letter sweater.

Haha

 

[Kellydelly]

Varsity jackets are still popular in my area (SE MI). I bought oldest daughter one last summer to wear junior and senior year. She put her marching band varsity letter on it, along with her varsity dance team info and a advanced school program she is in. Younger daughter will be a sophomore next year and I am going to get her jacket a year earlier than her sister, she already earned her varsity letter for dance team and track freshman year. She will put her performing arts program on the back of the jacket along with the varsity stuff. The jackets are expensive, around $300 with all the embroidery and patches sewn on. I want to get my money's worth the next three times I have to buy one.

 

[Magpie]

Not just responding to you Magpie....just generally.....

We should cut out soccer, gymnastics, and cheerleading, too, since those sports also have extremely high rates of concussion.

Or, we can just relax a little....despite the negative press (concussion talk and football is the "in vogue" thing right now with the media) the percentage of players who get concussions is not very high, and ALL high impact sports are continually looking for ways to play the sport safer, whether ( I can talk about football specifically) that's by using better equipment or changing game rules, or eliminating kick of and punt returns which is the most dangerous time of the game, or by better training the kids in proper technique (ie. hitting with their shoulder, and gator rolling when tackling so the heads not hitting the ground, etc)

But of course, the "good stuff" doesn't make for good headlines, so all anyone hears about is the horror stories.

Ironically, my son who has played football since he was a little kid, has bum shoulders now because of the "concussion-free" tackling techniques. He can't keep those darn things from being injured since he leads with them on every play.

And the one time he had a concussion in his life was from some jerk kid goofing off and swinging DS around and landing on top of him when he was about 13 - nothing to do with the course of football play.

Eta: Both my boys play lacrosse now too, and DS11 is goalie....he had to be taken out of the game and concussion evaluated because he got hit with the ball at close range twice on his head within about 10 seconds. He blocked the first one, it ricoched back to the kid who then blasted him a second time. DS11 staggered for a few seconds and they immediately pulled him.

There's not really a "safe" sport - there's always a risk. It really doesn't have anything to do with being concerned about brain health...of COURSE there is no parent is out there saying they don't give a hoot about their kids brain. thats a ridiculous statement.

When I was a kid growing up, people took knocks to the head as a matter of either pride or comedy. I knew a fellow who had one pupil smaller than the other for awhile, until whatever was wrong sorted itself out. We just laughed about it.

So, I do think there are a lot of parents who dismiss the seriousness of brain injury. Who still think it's a matter of pride or comedy. These people do not care about their children's brain health, because they don't believe there's anything to care about.

I know one little boy who is now on a year's suspension from playing sports at his school, due to getting his third concussion. I know a grown man who had to relearn how to walk and who is still severely disabled, due to a brain injury acquired in a bicycle/car collision. His helmet saved his life. I also know parents who STILL think hockey and bike helmets are "stupid" and all this concussion talk is just a fad and people being overprotective.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Not often - only on the coldest days. Otherwise it's too hot. Hardly anyone buys them other than the football and basketball players.

Class rings aren't popular either.

 

[rastahomie]

When I was a kid growing up, people took knocks to the head as a matter of either pride or comedy.

My stepbrother told me an amusing story following one of his football games. A teammate got his clock cleaned during a play, and was out for a few seconds. The coach, Medical, and his mom all ran to him. When he came to, he still wasn't clear where or who he was. His mom, wailing "Jeff! Jeff!" tried to hug him. He screamed "Who the [eff] are you?!?"

They laugh about it now.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

I know you're joking, but... Mine had skiing and so did my kids'.

It's pretty common here. I remember my mum found me a pair of enormous wooden skis with metal spring bindings at a yard sale, and a horrible seventies-era brown-and-tan snowsuit with a cropped top and flared legs. She was pretty proud of herself, though in 1987, I was dying every time I had to put that snowsuit on. Not even sure how those skis were allowed on the slopes, either. Eventually, I managed to snap my skis taking a tumble on a downhill, and my relatives took pity on me and bought me proper fiberglass skis and a decent snowsuit. Whee!!

Also, equestrian was definitely a thing at my husband's school, in Northern Ontario. Tiny community, tiny school, but they do love their horse events.

Yeah, I was joking, but I don't doubt that public schools in some areas have varsity ski teams. My school had a ski club; it was just an informal group interested in skiing during weekends. The closest facilities were about 2 hours away.

For the other sports I mentioned, squash, yachting, and equestrian, I'm thinking the schools that offer them are more of the private exclusive prep-school type.

Response to OP's original question: Varsity jackets don't seem to be popular these days in my area. I rarely notice any HS-aged kids wearing them. I had one because I was on my HS's baseball team, but really only wore it on occasions when the team gathered for meetings or other activities. To have worn it elsewhere would have ruined my punk/goth image.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My stepbrother told me an amusing story following one of his football games. A teammate got his clock cleaned during a play, and was out for a few seconds. The coach, Medical, and his mom all ran to him. When he came to, he still wasn't clear where or who he was. His mom, wailing "Jeff! Jeff!" tried to hug him. He screamed "Who the [eff] are you?!?"

They laugh about it now.

That is funny! Curious how old he was at the time? Because past a certain age, it's not "cool" for Moms to go running down or in there! So part of me wonders a little bit if he was trying to save face. Lol. Last summer I was in a stadium well up behind home plate when I watched my then-18 yr old son, as a batter, get hit in the helmet with an 85mph fastball, and go down. I resisted the urge to go down there myself, but watched the coaches and umpires attend to him. I could see he was awake and they were asking him some questions and holding up fingers and that sort of thing, so I continued watch with baited breath. He got up and they helped him over to the dugout. After that, his coach came over to the fence to update me and told me I could go see him in the dugout, so I did. I got over there and he looked up and said, "I'm fine, Mom. You can go now!"

As an athlete, we've had some things happen over the years with DS, naturally, and I had conversations with our pediatricians about perhaps laying off the sports. I was told, "No way! Sports are great for kids". And I agreed. I don't think that the vast majority of parents "don't care about brain health". It's just that when looking at the big picture, the benefits of playing sports often outweigh the risks. But that shouldn't be mistaken for parents, and even doctors, not caring. I've said this before on these types of threads but being part of a team, self-discipline, growth and development, leadership, physical fitness, aspiration to achieve, challenging yourself, etc., those aren't things to sneeze at. Sports are not the only way to develop those, but they're one of the most fun.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

When I was a kid growing up, people took knocks to the head as a matter of either pride or comedy. I knew a fellow who had one pupil smaller than the other for awhile, until whatever was wrong sorted itself out. We just laughed about it.

You've probably heard me talk here about my mother before. She's almost 92. She is walking around with one dilated pupil and let me tell you, it freaks medical personnel out! We sometimes forget it's there until we see the looks on doctors' faces when they don't know her and see her eyes for the first time. It cracks us up a little and here's why. So picture this. A cute little old lady is being seen in the ER for a slip and fall. They're examining her and whoops, there's the wide-eyed, freaked out look on the doctor's face! Usually they blurt out, "Is your pupil always enlarged like this?" and this is where it gets really fun. Right away she launches into one of her favorite stories of how when her grandson was four years old she was babysitting him one day, they were out in the yard hitting whiffle balls, he hit a line drive right to her eye, and it's been like that every since! Maybe you have to be there, but for us, it is really funny to hear her tell that story. Every.single.time. It wasn't so funny at the time it happened as we came home and found her with a reddened eye and I saw the dilated pupil and had to rush her into Mass Eye and Ear for evaluation. But 15 years later we can laugh about it. Oh, and nobody ever even once said it was related to concussion. It is simply an eye injury.

 

[Magpie]

You've probably heard me talk here about my mother before. She's almost 92. She is walking around with one dilated pupil and let me tell you, it freaks medical personnel out! We sometimes forget it's there until we see the looks on doctors' faces when they don't know her and see her eyes for the first time. It cracks us up a little and here's why. So picture this. A cute little old lady is being seen in the ER for a slip and fall. They're examining her and whoops, there's the wide-eyed, freaked out look on the doctor's face! Usually they blurt out, "Is your pupil always enlarged like this?" and this is where it gets really fun. Right away she launches into one of her favorite stories of how when her grandson was four years old she was babysitting him one day, they were out in the yard hitting whiffle balls, he hit a line drive right to her eye, and it's been like that every since! Maybe you have to be there, but for us, it is really funny to hear her tell that story. Every.single.time. It wasn't so funny at the time it happened as we came home and found her with a reddened eye and I saw the dilated pupil and had to rush her into Mass Eye and Ear for evaluation. But 15 years later we can laugh about it. Oh, and nobody ever even once said it was related to concussion. It is simply an eye injury.

That's hilarious! But, my friend's was definitely a concussion. He was flattening beer cans on his forehead, and drunkenly grabbed a full one and drove it right into his head. Knocked himself on his buss, gave himself a heck of a goose egg, and it was several days before his eye went back to normal.

From everything I've read since, he was lucky to live through that. We were incredibly ignorant, back then!

(I've lost touch with him, so I don't know if there are any delayed effects, like Parkinsons or neurological damage showing up in his fifties.)

 

[Krissnaps]

Back when I was in high school (late 70's/early 80's) varsity jackets were everywhere. Athletes (boys and girls) wore them with pride.

They don't seem to be wearing them these days. I wouldn't have noticed, except a few days ago we actually saw a couple boys from a rival school with theirs on. They were the only ones I've seen in this area in the last 12 - 15 years.

So, what gives? Around here sports are very popular. That makes the absence of letter jackets even odder...to me at least.

Can anyone explain?

I graduated in 1998. I would not say that too many kids wore them back in a day. My kid goes to high school and we just got him his letterman jacket from www. varsitybase.com

The colors of our schools are the same. He could have had mine (it's still in top condition) but he wanted his own. He did get patches from his school for free.

It seems that letter jackets are back in the trend. I see people wearing them more often, not just high school and college kids. Maybe I should get mine out of the closet too

 

[FlightlessDuck]

They were big in the early 90's. I don't really notice them now. Then again, my kids didn't hang out with varsity sport players.

I don't know if they were back in 2007, when this thread started.

 

[firefly_ris]

I live in a different state than where I grew up, and my kids aren't in high school yet so I'm unsure what they do here yet (WNY). But my DH grew up here and I don't think varsity letter jackets were a thing when he graduated high school in 1998. He also does not have a class ring. However, he does have the varsity letters in a 'memory tote'.... but they just aren't attached to anything. I'm guessing he just used to display them in his room or something.

I was not in any sports in high school so I could be wrong, but I went to a very large high school in suburban Baltimore County, graduated in 2001 and I have zero memory of anyone wearing a letter jacket at all. However, the class ring was a bit of a deal. Everyone I knew (including me) ordered one, and we even had a dance (Ring Dance). However we did not have a "Junior Prom" so I think this was sort of in place of that/same thing. I still have my class ring in my jewelry box, of course I haven't worn it since probably my first year of college. My dad also has a class ring from a different suburban Baltimore County school, and he graduated in 1967.

 

[mjkacmom]

Hmm, brand new poster bumps up a zombie thread with a varsity jacket website... Four of my kids got them sophomore year, very popular here, ds16 is lucky he got one since he lost last year’s winter jacket and I refused to buy him a replacement.

 

[lovin'fl]

My DDs (now age 20) got letters for playing softball in HS but never had a jacket and really didn't care about getting the letter anyway.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

Our school offers them, but they're so expensive now. My kids were/are 3 sport varsity athletes for all four of their respective years. It would cost over $400 for a jacket after all the add on's. Now we pay for them to play sports, pretty much supply their own equipment too. Travel and club play and now college camps....its just not a good way to spend our money. And its a jacket they're never going to put on again the second they graduate high school.