The Quest for Hockey Gear, Part 2

In the search for hockey gear, I contacted our old friends the Bs and did KB ever come through for me. What a guy. He used to coach his kid’s ice hockey teams so he was stocked, though he said he unloaded a bunch of hockey gear in the fall, so I missed out.

He was still able to set us up nicely, and am I ever grateful for that. Hockey takes an incredible amount of gear, it’s a little crazy, especially for the little kids. We’re talking all sorts of pads (knee, elbow, shoulder), special pants and socks, helmet, a jock (I passed on borrowing that one), and even shorts that for whatever reason go over the pants. What sort of fasion statement is that?

The one area where we were having a problem was with the helmet. Like me, N has a slightly bigger head than your average kid, so almost every helmet we tried was too small. KB lent me two of them and N said they were too tight. Bummer. I tried two from the rec center and they were too small, as well.

So, after lunch, I dragged the kids all over town in search of a used helmet, and completely struck out. Nobody had any in stock, the season is so far along, almost over, in fact, that most places have sold out of hockey gear. I even went to Stateline Sports and they were running out of stock, as well. Plus, the helmets were expensive, over $100 each, which struck me as ridiculous when you consider that kids wear them for one season and then outgrow them. One of the salespeople even commented that they were expensive.

However, the trip was not a complete bust. When N was trying on the helmets at Stateline, I noticed that the guy was able to adjust the width a bit, and then the light bulb went off in my head. The helmets that KB lent me were adjustable, too. When we got home, I loosened them up, and sure enough, one of them fit.

How cool is that? We are almost complete, we just need a jock and some shin pads, which I’m guessing won’t set us back too much if we get them new, not like buying all the gear. Now we just have to find a hockey program so that N can get some ice time, and I think we have an idea where to look.

Until then, thanks for reading.