Equipment 101

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Required Equipment

For your child’s safety and due to insurance, we require some minimum equipment for all children on the ice (even experienced siblings who are helping with the permission of the head coach.) The minimum equipment is:

skates,
an HECC approved helmet with full face mask,
gloves,
elbow pads, and
knee or knee/shin pads (for beginners, basketball kneepads are recommended for easy movement).
Neckguard

A jersey is included with the program and will be distributed at the first session. Other equipment is helpful, but not required, once the child is comfortable on their skates. The full set of equipment listed in the equipment section is required for participation in any games.

For the very newest skaters, most children find it helpful to learn their initial balance by leaning on and pushing two stacked, taped together, plastic "milk crates" . These crates can be purchased at most department stores and brought with you to practices.

Equipment Required for skaters participating in game play.
Skates

Acquire these to fit NOW; with no more than 1/2" for growth. Seek adequate protection in the ankle, toe, and instep areas. Improperly fitted skates can lead to ankle injuries and will hamper your child’s ability to skate. Do not try to buy skates to last for two years. Fit is too important for safety. You are better off looking for second hand equipment that fits properly. See the resources section, or ask other parents about their last year’s equipment.

When lacing the skates they should be pulled tight around the toes, and top to hold the foot and ankle secure. Some room can be left in the instep. Most importantly, the ankle must not move around inside the skate.

NOTE: Skates will need sharpening after about three to five hours of indoor use. A single use on a pond will probably be enough to require sharpening. Skates may be sharpened at most, but not all, of the rinks as well as at the various hockey equipment shops. One of our parents provides high quality skate sharpening at reasonable prices. (Ron Chisholm, 16 Lincoln Terrace, Salem, NH Tel: 893-2169) As a minimum, do not use the sharpening vending machines or shops that do not have specialized skate sharpening equipment. Most importantly, plan ahead, and check you skates. Don’t wait until you get to the rink to decide that your skates need sharpening. If you think your skates need sharpening, they probably do.

Helmet with Full Mask

The helmet and full face mask must be approved by HECC (Hockey Equipment Certification Council). If you get them at a hockey shop, they will be. Ask the store to adjust the helmet to fit snugly. If you got this second hand, it will need to be adjusted to fit snugly on your skater’s head by loosening the adjustment screws, sliding the pieces to make it larger or smaller, and then re-tightening. If you aren’t sure how, ask your coach for help. Also check that the chin strap fits and can be strapped comfortably. It is required to be fastened when the skater is on the ice.

Gloves

Check for proper fit with good finger mobility. Younger skaters need minimal protection and any properly fitting glove will work well. At they get older and the pucks and sticks are moving faster and harder, the amount of padding and the length it comes up the arm will be considerations for your skater.

The main concern with the fit of a glove is the gap between the glove and the elbow pad is minimal. The hand and forearm are subject to slashes and therefore need to be protected.

Jersey

Salem Saints provides a game jersey as part of the tuition cost. Your skater should also buy a practice jersey for team practices and power skating. (Instructional skaters are provided with a practice jersey.) The jersey should be loose fitting and have plenty of room to move. Some of our smaller Learn to Skaters may find the jerseys are a little long. If they are uncomfortable or this causes problems, we suggest they ask Dad or Mom to "hem them up" to about the lower hips.

Hockey Socks

Hockey socks typically go over the pads and don’t cover the foot. Sometimes they have stirrups. As with the jersey, we supply game socks to the team skaters, and your skater should have their own practice socks to allow greater life from the game socks.

Learn to Skaters who are wearing full shin pads should get a pair of hockey socks to go over the pads.

Socks (the real ones for your feet)

These should be white athletic socks without ribs, which are uncomfortable when worn with tightened skates for a while. Cotton works best to absorb the moisture and keep the feet dry. Always wear clean, dry socks to keep your feet as warm as possible. Only wear one pair of socks at a time to provide the correct stability of the foot in the skate.

Stick

Length should generally extend from the ice to the player’s chin (with skates on). Quality and price differ, but they all work — the expensive aluminum models make great Christmas and birthday gifts. Team players will usually be asked to have two sticks since breakage does occur with use.

Also note: your skaters grow during the year, so the stick that was just right at the beginning of the year may not quite reach the puck at the end of the year. Remember this when your skater seems to start whiffing the puck, for no reason, later in the year.

Neck guard

Salem Saints requires all team skaters to wear a neck guard. Although very rare, when skaters fall near other skaters, there is a risk of a skate edge coming in contact with the neck. These injuries are very serious. Our coaches have been instructed not to let any child skate without a neck guard. We suggest that our parents help their skater select a neck guard that is comfortable and provides good protection.

Shin Pads

Check for proper length so they protect the knee and shin completely to the top of the skate. The amount of padding desired in these is minimal at the younger levels and increases when the skater advances and the pucks and sticks are moving faster and harder. The greatest difference in shin pads is the comfort and ease to put on and take off.

Elbow Pads

They should be properly fitted so they do not slide. It is best to have your skater fitted for the proper size shin pad.

Shoulder Pads

The fiber cap is extremely important in helping prevent shoulder separation and should extend to the tip of the shoulder. Check for ease of movement and good coverage of the chest area. Padding suitable for the level of play.

Hockey Pants

These are to provide protection for the lower spine, hips and thighs. They can be held up with suspenders or a built in belt, and should extend down to just above the knee. Check for ease of movement.

Sometimes choosing the correct size of hockey pants can get a little confusing because of the different sizing system. While the fit should be loose and comfortable, the pants should have the ability to be secured firmly by a belt around the waist.

About 90 percent of all players will be abler to use their waist size as a guide for choosing the correct size pants. Make sure you check the length of the pant legs to ensure a proper fit. The bottom of the pants needs to overlap the top of the shin pad kneecap by one or two inches. This will ensure proper protection, even in a kneeling position

Supporter & Cup (boys)

Essential protective equipment for the groin area. It is required for any skater playing in games. Check for the proper fit.

Pelvic Protector (girls)

Provides protection of sensitive and vulnerable pelvic areas for girls. Should be worn by all girls playing in games.

Mouth Guard

Did you know that a hockey puck can reach speeds of 50-90 miles per hour in recreational play? Contact with flying pucks or other players is inevitable and injuries sometimes occur, but the risk and occurrence of injuries can be dramatically reduced by wearing an athletic mouthguard.

An athletic mouthguard is an essential piece of safety equipment that should never be overlooked. It not only significantly reduces the incidence and severity of injury to the mouth and teeth, but acts as a shock absorber against more serious injuries like concussion and jaw fractures. It is strongly recommend for players at all levels. It is required for all PeeWee and older skaters. They will not be allowed to play without this, so don’t forget it or lose it. The mouth guard has to be colored so that a medical technician can readily tell if it is in the players mouth or throat in the event of an injury. Clear mouth pieces are not allowed!

Short cuff gloves require longer elbow pads.The tightness or looseness of a glove is an individual preference. However, if the glove is too loose it may turn on a player’s hand and reduce the glove’s protective ability. Also, it is important that the fingers of the glove are nit too short. The tips of the fingers should not go completely to the end of the glove. If they do, they may be exposed to injury by a slash from an opponent’s stick.

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