Hockey sticks

[Freya]

I would just make sure they have inbuilt ankle protection and try them on in the shop. I was surprised that DS needed large boys.

Also, the last ones DS had used velcro to attach the ankle protection - after a few weeks kept detaching and the shin guard part flapped about if he wasn't wearing long enough socks. Long socks were always at the bottom of his bag, DS being too eager to get on the pitch to take time to put them on!

[chad]

Shin pads.......

Def need more padding around the ankle.... the hard foam, wrap round ones are good. If the school socks arent very wide then the pads that they put their foot thru (the ankle part) abd velcro at the top round the calf will ensure they still wear them....... usually with their socks round their ankles (seems a bit of a cool thing to do).

[Freya]

Just to clarify:

Velcro round the calf as Chad mentioned was fine. It was the velcro attaching the ankle part to the shin part which failed. His new ones have the ankle part sewn on (you put your foot through) and have a velcro strap around the calf. So far so good!

I would also get a gum shield to mould at home as a backup. They are always losing them! The good ones come with a mini dvd showing you how to do it!

[coolmum123]

Please can you stick Jolly in your title thread?

I'd be happy to.....how do I do it?

[Freya]

I have a friend who invited the vicar round for tea just so that she could say:

"More tea Vicar?"

[T-4-2]

I would really recommend taking your DS with you when you buy a stick because so much depends on the 'feel' of the stick. My DC was even fussy about the material on the handle, prefering the smooth grip rather than textured! Then there's different weights, lengths etc, and the all-important colour issue! And I definitely back up what Chad and Freya have said - built in ankle support on the shinpads