If you are in a marching band at your high school or college, there is a good chance that you identify strongly with the section that you are in. You might make jokes about how piccolos and clarinets can never be heard if you play a brass instrument or about how trumpet players are so full of themselves if you play saxophone. This gentle ribbing helps bring your section together and can make you work together more easily. Another way to foster togetherness is to get custom shirts that are designed specifically for your sections. There are many places online that will allow you to submit your shirt design and get it custom printed on a shirt. However, coming up with that design can be difficult. Here are some tips.

1. Include an Inside Joke

The best way to make a shirt that people will actually like is to include an inside joke that your section actually recognizes. People like inside jokes because it makes them feel more included and more part of a group, as opposed to feeling loosely connected in the world. For example, if you force your younger members to carry a pineapple at practice if they are ever late to a game, consider getting a pineapple on the shirt. 

2. Put Names and Nicknames on the Back

The next thing that you should do is put names and nicknames on the back of the shirt. This will help you honor your section members' role in the section and help them feel more at home. If your section members have nicknames that are inappropriate for the back of a t-shirt, then you might want to figure out an alternative, family-friendly version of their nickname. You probably don't call them that nickname in front of band management, so see what name they are naturally called during those times. Talk to the section member to see what he or she would like to do.

3. Keep it One Color

Finally, try to use silhouettes whenever possible because they tend to be one color. If you are in high school or college, chances are good that you don't have a ton of money. Getting extra colors on a shirt is going to increase the amount of money that each shirt costs. Try to keep it to one color.

For more information, talk to a company that specializes in custom shirts, such as ShirtWorks.