Soccer cleats. Basketball shoes. Baseball glove. Lacrosse stick. Shin guards. Batting helmet. Mouth guard. Practice jerseys for every team. A bag for each sport. And somehow, all of it needs to fit in your garage.
Multi-sport kids are supposed to be healthier, happier, and more well-rounded. But nobody warned you about the gear situation.
Here's the good news: playing multiple sports doesn't have to mean buying multiple complete equipment sets. Smart families share, borrow, rent, swap, and buy versatile basics that work across activities. They spend less, stress less, and still have everything their kid needs to show up ready.
This isn't about cutting corners or sending your kid to practice with subpar stuff. It's about being strategic. Because the alternative, buying premium everything for every sport, isn't sustainable for most families. And it's definitely not necessary.
The Gear That Transfers (More Than You Think)
Before you buy anything sport-specific, look at what your kid already has. A surprising amount of gear works across multiple sports.
Base layers and compression gear. That moisture-wicking shirt your kid wears for soccer? It works for basketball, lacrosse, baseball, and pretty much everything else. Same with compression shorts, athletic socks, and cold-weather base layers. Buy quality basics once and use them everywhere.
Practice shorts and athletic wear. Unless the team requires specific practice uniforms, generic athletic shorts and t-shirts work for every sport. Your kid doesn't need a different practice outfit for each activity.
Water bottles, bags, and accessories. One good water bottle. One solid sports bag (or two if you're juggling overlapping seasons). These don't need to be sport-specific. They just need to function.
Protective basics. Mouthguards work across all contact sports. Sliding shorts with padding transfer between baseball and lacrosse. Knee pads for volleyball can double for basketball or other court sports.
Cold and warm weather gear. Jackets, beanies, gloves, rain gear. None of this needs to be sport-specific. Buy versatile athletic outerwear and use it year-round.
The stuff that actually needs to be sport-specific is a shorter list than most parents realize: footwear matched to the surface, and equipment required by the rules of that particular sport. Everything else is flexible.
The Borrow-First Mentality
Before you buy any sport-specific gear, ask one question: can we borrow this?
Especially in Year 1 of a new sport, borrowing makes sense. Your kid might love soccer for three weeks and then decide they're done. That $150 in cleats and shin guards? Money you'll never see again.
Ask other families. Most sports parents have a closet full of gear their kids outgrew. They're usually thrilled to lend it out. A quick message to the team parent chat ("Anyone have size 4 cleats we could borrow for the season?") often solves the problem in minutes.
Check with the program. Many leagues, especially rec programs, have equipment lending libraries or gear swaps. Coaches often have extra gloves, sticks, or helmets sitting in their garage. Ask before you assume you need to buy.
Tap your network. Neighbors, cousins, coworkers with older kids. Sports gear cycles through families fast. Someone you know probably has exactly what you need collecting dust.
The goal is to get through the first season (or at least the first few weeks) without a major investment. If your kid falls in love with the sport, then you buy. If they don't, you return the borrowed gear with a thank-you and move on.
The Rent Option
For expensive, sport-specific equipment that your kid might outgrow or abandon, renting can be smarter than buying.
Ski and snowboard gear. Seasonal rentals are standard in winter sports, and for good reason. Kids grow fast. Buying boots and skis every year is painful.
Hockey gear. Some programs and shops offer seasonal hockey equipment rentals. Given how expensive (and quickly outgrown) hockey gear is, this can save hundreds.
Specialty items. Golf clubs, lacrosse sticks for beginners, even some baseball equipment can be rented seasonally through local shops or programs.
Renting isn't available for every sport in every area, but it's worth checking. A quick search for "[sport] equipment rental [your city]" often turns up options.
The Buy-Used Strategy
When you do need to buy, used gear is almost always the right first move.
Local gear swaps. Many leagues host preseason equipment swaps where families buy and sell used gear. Cleats, gloves, helmets, bats. You can outfit a kid for a fraction of retail.
Online marketplaces. Facebook Marketplace, local parent groups, Craigslist, OfferUp. Sports gear moves fast on these platforms, especially at the start of each season. Set alerts for what you need and check regularly.
Consignment and resale shops. Play It Again Sports and similar stores specialize in used sporting goods. Quality varies, but you can find great deals on equipment that's barely been used.
Team hand-me-downs. As kids age up, families often sell or give away gear to younger players on the same team. Build relationships with families whose kids are a year or two ahead. You'll inherit a pipeline of gently used equipment.
The stuff that's worth buying new: anything safety-critical where fit and condition matter (helmets, protective cups, mouthguards). The stuff that's fine used: almost everything else.
The Versatile Footwear Approach
Shoes are the one area where sport-specific matters. Court shoes for basketball. Cleats for grass sports. Turf shoes for turf. Running shoes for track.
But even here, you can be strategic.
Multi-sport cleats. For younger kids playing recreational soccer, flag football, and baseball, one pair of basic molded cleats often works for all three. They're not optimized for any single sport, but they're good enough for the rec level.
Limit the premium purchases. Save the expensive, sport-specific footwear for the sport your kid is most committed to. For secondary sports, "good enough" is fine.
Time your purchases. Kids' feet grow fast. Buy shoes at the start of the season they'll actually be used, not months in advance. And check clearance racks at the end of each season for next year's size.
One pair of quality athletic shoes. For practices, PE, and general use, one solid pair of cross-trainers or running shoes covers a lot of ground.
The Gear Library System
If you're really organized (or just really tired of the chaos), create a simple system for managing multi-sport gear.
One bin per sport. Everything for soccer goes in the soccer bin. Everything for basketball goes in the basketball bin. When the season starts, that bin comes out. When it ends, it goes back. No more hunting for shin guards in a pile of baseball gloves.
A "universal" bin. Base layers, practice clothes, water bottles, first aid kit. The stuff that works for every sport lives here and gets grabbed as needed.
Label everything. Especially if you're sharing or borrowing. A name on the inside of a cleat prevents a lot of confusion and lost-and-found drama.
End-of-season inventory. When a sport ends, go through the bin. What still fits? What's worn out? What can be passed on? This five-minute check prevents the "it's the first day of soccer and nothing fits" panic.
The Community Approach
Multi-sport families often feel like they're on an island, figuring everything out alone. But you're surrounded by other families doing the exact same thing.
Build gear-sharing relationships. Find two or three families with kids at similar ages and stages. Share what you've got. Coordinate hand-me-downs. Buy bulk and split costs.
Start a team gear exchange. If your league doesn't have one, suggest it. A simple Facebook group or email list where families post gear they're selling or giving away can save everyone money.
Share the knowledge. When you find a great deal, a good rental option, or a piece of gear that works across sports, tell other parents. The information is as valuable as the equipment.
The Permission You Might Need
Here's the thing nobody says out loud: your kid doesn't need the best gear to have a great experience.
They don't need brand-new cleats to score a goal. They don't need the expensive bat to have fun at the plate. They don't need matching everything to belong on the team.
What they need is gear that fits, functions, and keeps them safe. Everything beyond that is optional.
The pressure to buy premium, sport-specific everything is real. But it's also manufactured. It comes from marketing, from comparison, from the fear of your kid being the only one without the "right" stuff.
Most of that pressure is noise. Tune it out.
Your kid is playing multiple sports because you believe in the benefits of variety. That same mindset applies to gear: flexibility over perfection, sustainability over excess, smart spending over keeping up.
That's not cutting corners. That's being a multi-sport family the right way.
Ian Goldberg is the CEO of Signature Media and the Editor of the largest and fastest growing sports parenting newsletter. He's been recognized as an industry expert by the National Alliance for Youth Sports, the US Olympic Committee's Truesport, and the Aspen Institute's Project Play. Ian is also a suburban NJ sports dad of two teenage daughters and has over 2,000 hours of volunteer time coaching them (which he calls the most fun form of R&D for his newsletter content). Ian and his team provide players, coaches, parents and program directors with the articles and content they need to have a great sports season. Ian has spent most of his career in digital product development and marketing and got his start at the White House where he worked for the economic advisors to two US Presidents.
