Simmons Sports Tour

When I was last in Ontario I made a visit I always try to get in if I am anywhere in the area. When it comes to goalie gear “in the area” generally means within a couple of hours. This time fortunately I was only about 20 minutes away from Fort Erie, Ontario – right across from Buffalo, New York where Don Simmons Sports is located.

I stumbled upon them accidentally about 12 years ago and as I walked through the door I thought I had died and gone to goalie heaven. Though a functional store for drop in business, owner Scott Simmons and his team are primarily running a mail-order business, serving customers everywhere through their web site. The store doubles as their warehouse, so there is gear lined up everywhere, floor to ceiling with only narrow aisles to walk around – it doesn’t get any better! They bill themselves as the “world’s largest goalie store” and it’s hard to argue when you see it all. I’ve been wearing Simmons gear ever since – and of course added a couple of more pieces on this trip – pants and a chest arm unit.

Gear, Gear everywhere! This is only about a third of the shop.

Simmons is a small company that retails several companies’ gear, but their bread and butter is the in-house line – Simmons. It’s put together right across the street in their factory and Scott was kind enough to show me around. I was able to see the entire proces from the stamping out of pieces to the sewing together of several pieces of gear. Scott prides himself on the quality of the gear they make, proudly made in Canada when most other companies have shifted operations overseas.

Scott Simmons showing me around the factory - here are a few of the dies for the 995 goal pad

Being a small company is a real challenge today. The marketing dollars behind major companies dwarf Simmons’ tiny budget, and no small company can afford the fees to get their branded gear into the pros and Major Junior.  Our own Paul Szabo detailed this in a great piece last year.

Main piece of chest protector being cut out

All the pieces for a glove, ready to assemble

The upside is that what Simmons saves on marketing, they give right back to the consumer so you can outfit yourself with their top of the line pro-spec pad for $799, or a set of gloves and pads for less that a top name brand set of pads.

If you have custom requirements, Scott can help you there as well of course. Custom gear is one of the biggest parts of their business.

I would encourage you to have a look around the web site, but more importantly, if you are anywhere “in the area” drop by and have a look around. Tell Scott that inGoal sent you!