Riverside FC Raised $14,200 in 30 Days Selling Custom Gear Their Players Actually Wanted

Riverside FC is a competitive youth soccer club with players ranging from U8 to U17. Like most clubs of their size, they had demand for gear — parents wanted hoodies, kids wanted hats, and every new season brought jersey orders. The problem was everything about how they sold it.

They tried selling at games: a folding table, a box of samples, cash only. Results were poor — parents were busy, they forgot their wallets, or the sizes they needed weren't in stock. They tried group buys: a shared Google Form, a Venmo link in the team chat, a promise to order "when enough people sign up." The sizing chaos was legendary. They tried one competitor's platform — and spent more time figuring out the interface than actually selling.

Director of Operations Marcus R. knew there had to be a better way. "Our families wanted to buy. We just kept making it too hard for them."

Riverside FC set up a SpreeShop storefront with their local apparel partner. They launched with 12 products across 4 categories — jerseys, hoodies, hats, and accessories. Fundraising was enabled at 18% on fan gear (not jerseys, which had fixed margins with the apparel shop).

For the seasonal jersey order, they used SpreeShop's group order feature: a 2-week window, roster imported, each player's family got a claim link. 100% of players placed their jersey order within 14 days of the link going out. The apparel shop got one clean batch order with every name, number, and size confirmed by the family.

For everything else — hoodies, hats, water bottles — the store stayed open year-round. Parents shared the link in team chats. Kids asked for gear for birthdays. New families joining mid-season found the store and immediately ordered.