In recent years, every sport at Lane has their own twist to the representation of the myrtle and gold colors the school wears so proudly. The baseball team wears bright yellow under armour jerseys while the basketball team has a retro green look and wear strictly Nike. With different brands and colors, it’s hard to keep track.

The different uniforms may not be really paid attention to, but they all have an effect on athletes’ experiences at Lane.

Arnel Sinanagic, Div. 874, has been a varsity soccer player since his sophomore year. He remembers some of his best days as days when he was wearing a Lane jersey.

“You sit in the locker room with all your teammates, some of them are messing around, some nervous and some excited,” Sinanagic said. “You put on the uniform in the green colors and come out to a big crowd cheering for you, that’s when you wear the school gear with the most pride.”

Most Lane athletes will likely find this description to be very similar to their own experiences as an athlete. Older athletes may relate too but wearing a different uniform and this is because the uniforms change have changed more often.

The story behind how uniforms at Lane have evolved comes from a desire for better gear from coaches and athletes as well as changes in CPS Policies. Athletic Director Mr. Hofman explained how policies have changed and how they can affect the uniform for a team.  

“What happened before was that they left it up to the coach where they would want to order the uniforms from,” said Hofman. “Now CPS requires that if it is a school-bought uniform, then it can only come from CPS approved vendors.”

One of the methods some teams use to get more gear without it having to be CPS approved is using booster clubs and money from athletes to order different gear.

“The uniforms are worth it when it comes to playing your best,” Sinanagic said. “You have to feel confident to play your best, and looking good has a lot to do with that. I like our uniform, but the basketball team has the best gear — I think they are creative with their uniforms and get quality brands.”

Sinanagic credits the basketball gear to head basketball coach Nick Logalbo, who also often orders gear and teaches students in his sports communication class about the process.

Mr. Logalbo has been coaching at Lane for 12 years and has known the importance of uniform pride from the start.

When I first started here there were different rules about who we ordered from and how to do it, and since I was not head coach, I didn’t have much say,” Logalbo said. “But when I became the head coach, I felt like it was an important part of the program to have program pride, and I thought we should have the best gear, so we strictly ordered Nike products for the team.”

Kevin Jack, Div. 879, plays for the varsity hockey team and also recognizes the pride he feels  “A decent part of our fee we pay to be on the hockey team is the uniform, but I still love how it looks and getting to play in it,” Jack said. “I will be paying less for hockey in college but I look forward to one more year of representing Lane.”