Great deals for hockey equipment

[Disgruntled70sHab]

... can't beat these prices ...

[folatre]

Classic, neat find, Dis.

Gear is definitely pricier these days. I only have one kid playing mite level youth hockey and I can attest to the fact that if you do not use good judgment you can end up spending many hundreds of dollars on an annual basis. And that is really only the tip of the iceberg when you look at league and team fees, as well as the expenses associated with traveling.

Naturally, I believe most honest people would express concerns about how inclusive youth hockey really is.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

I consider myself lucky that my son never took a liking to hockey ... he's pretty talented at other sports, but when I think of the cost of keeping a kid in just rep hockey and I wonder how many folks can afford that ... and it's not just hockey ... if you show promise in any competitive sport you're going to have to have the $ to stay and a lot of families simply can't afford it ... I've had an old high school chum and his son stay with us three years in a row ... most of the team stayed at the hotel, but my friend couldn't afford it, so he looked me up ... he lives in the Ottawa Valley so there was gas involved, meals, etc ... closer to home, some of the long-in-the-tooth members might remember my niece, Sara H ... she was a very gifted guard in basketball, so much so that she made onto the U of Miami Women's radar ... but the traveling and incidentals her family paid out getting her to that level were brutal ... Sara opted to play for U of Manitoba mainly because it was the best move, financially, for her family ... at one point Mrs. Dis and I had three of the top girl rep-basketballers in Ottawa staying with us for a weekend camp that was being conducted in Odessa, ON ... that's how a lot of parents were able to cut a few costs here and there ... comes in handy when there's a camp every second weekend ...

Cheers.

[Willie Dog]

It's become out of reach for a number of families... kids who can be competitive players dont go out because the family cant afford the team fees, equipment costs, out if town tournament costs

[Disgruntled70sHab]

I know equipment exchanges have been around for a few years now and a lot of parents take advantage of that ... I think the "Play it Again Sports" stores have had something to do with that over the years, too ... I remember a sports store on Merivale Rd (across the street from the Emerald Plaza) when I was growing up in Ottawa ... can't remember the name of it but they had team prices for equipment ... if our broomball team bought a minimum amount, I remember helmets ground $7.99, gloves, pads, etc, were all reduced, but since we only had 11/12 players (two lines + goaltender) and most of the guys already had hand-me-down equipment, anyway, the team couldn't take advantage of that ... I grew up lower-middle-class and I remember my late dad driving me around Ottawa looking for equipment deals ... I played broomball into my 40's and I would often hit summer yard sales for the equipment I was looking for ...

Cheers.

[folatre]

Yeah, tournaments are a real issue. Coaches and league administrators want their teams playing tournaments and I know for a fact this gives a lot of parents pause. This season we go over to Toronto and London, and down to Pittsburgh. We stay with my sister in Toronto, but for the other ones we rack up those travel costs.

[Willie Dog]

Dec 1, 2019 22:29:14 GMT -5 folatre said:

Yeah, tournaments are a real issue. Coaches and league administrators want their teams playing tournaments and I know for a fact this gives a lot of parents pause. This season we go over to Toronto and London, and down to Pittsburgh. We stay with my sister in Toronto, but for the other ones we rack up those travel costs.

Especially Pittsburg... 30% exchange rate in expenses... brutal