Dust and Rust

The hockey season is approaching. For many, summer was spent doing a lot of things, and may not have been spent in the ice rink. It may have been a while since the last time your player has used their hockey equipment. With tryouts and a full schedule right around the corner, it is a great time to shake the dust and rust off the gear to make sure it is still in fine condition, and equally important, fits your child correctly to keep them protected.

Kids grow, it’s what they do! Over the course of a month or two, kids’ bodies tend to grow inches at a time. This includes not just their limbs, but their hands, feet, head, and at times, their waistline as well. Having a player try on their gear at home before heading back to the rink for the first time is a great idea and can prevent a melody of things from happening.

Kids are notorious for not telling their parents something may not be right. Just trusting kids to tell you a piece of equipment may not fit anymore likely means it did not fit for a while, and they were just toughing it out, or making do with what they had. Ill-fitting gear may not prevent from injury as they are intended to do. Everyone should always check their skate blades before heading onto the ice. If a player leaves his skates in their bags for too long, rust may form making it difficult to skate, or may potentially ruin the blade all together.

One mistake a lot of parents make is getting new gear right before tryouts or evaluations. A player cannot be expected to perform their best if they are uncomfortable in new gear. New gear during the season is always difficult as well, it would be exceedingly difficult to play 4 games in any of our Michigan youth hockey tournaments with new equipment. Be prepared and go get that new gear now before the long season begins.