Letter Jackets

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by catiebug

This thread is inspired by AGDee's post in the new random thread.

My oldest son started sixth grade this year. This is the first sixth grade class at the school (it was previously just seventh and eighth grades). He made the Cross Country team, one of only a handful of sixth graders to do so.

I want to get him a letter jacket. When I was in junior high (1979-1982 - back before the wheel was invented), all the kids had letter jackets, not just the athletes, so I thought this would be a good idea for my son.

I spoke with the principal and she said it had never been done at the middle school before, but they were a lot smaller before with just the seventh and eighth graders there. She said it might be "neat" to start a new tradition. I asked the coach and he said he had not seen it at the school, but really didn't say yes or no to the idea.

What do you guys think? Should I get him one for Christmas? It would be simple, just a dark green jacket with a chenille "S" on the front (his name embroidered on the letter), the XC symbol on the sleeve and the school's name (done in tackle twill" on the back - just like my old jacket.

I still have both my junior high and high school jacket, and both my sons think they are cool. While also think it would be neat to start something at this school, if my son is the only one with such a jacket, I don't want him to face any flack from other kids, as we know kids at that age can be cruel.

Thoughts?

I would hesitate on doing it, for the reasons you mentioned. Kids can be cruel, and I think that if your sons are the only ones walking in with letter jackets, it could open them up to some not so nice comments.

It's a nice idea, but if they don't have letterman jackets at the school, I think your sons could face some flack.

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

I would hesitate on doing it, for the reasons you mentioned. Kids can be cruel, and I think that if your sons are the only ones walking in with letter jackets, it could open them up to some not so nice comments.

It's a nice idea, but if they don't have letterman jackets at the school, I think your sons could face some flack.

I agree with this, if the school starts to do it for everyone, like your experience was, that's one thing. But if a 6th grader comes in wearing a letter jacket that other kids may only be used to seeing on their brothers or sisters who are juniors or seniors in high school, I can imagine it getting a poor reception. Particularly from some 8th graders who may have been on the track team for longer and don't have any kind of letter jacket to show for it.

[Munchkin03]

Wow...I didn't realize that letter jackets caused so much anxiety! Before this thread, I had almost forgotten about letter jackets!

We had them in middle school and high school; usually people bought them during their first year so they could get the maximum amount of wear out of them. I didn't have one because I wasn't in band or any sports, so I'm not sure how expensive they were.

[catiebug]

Let me clarify something - in junior high, no one was given a letter jacket by the school, not even the athletes. Parents bought the jackets, the chenille stuff and tackle twill lettering themselves. In high school, parents bought the letter jackets and paid for the lettering, but the chenille letters and emblems were provided by the school (if you lettered in a sport or were a cheerleader - non-lettering athletes paid for everything themselves).

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by catiebug

Let me clarify something - in junior high, no one was given a letter jacket by the school, not even the athletes. Parents bought the jackets, the chenille stuff and tackle twill lettering themselves. In high school, parents bought the letter jackets and paid for the lettering, but the chenille letters and emblems were provided by the school (if you lettered in a sport or were a cheerleader - non-lettering athletes paid for everything themselves).

That's kind of similar how it was in my high school. Students got the letter as an award after their first varsity season, and pins (for each sport) for each successive letter. You had to buy the actual jackets at a local awards shop, and someone (either parent or student) would have to sew the letter onto the jacket.