Questions from Parents on Glove lifespan, kneepads, and helping a goalie who wants to quit

True. But I'm still counting it. Get to our Stop It Goaltending U, the app parent segment. We got some questions from people sending them in. But first, what's happening over at Stop It Goaltending U?

Well, listen. We got some big change coming in the next month over at Stop It Goaltending U, some exciting new things that we can't wait to unleash on our audience because, of course, anytime you get a subscription to Stop It Goaltending U, the app, you also get a subscription to InGoal Magazine Premium, the best of both worlds. We're gonna make that interaction a little easier here in the coming months as part of some new changes over at Stop It Goaltending U. But as always, every week, what do you get there? You get your five quick daily primers, quick one minute videos.

This week, they look at five things to think about before the start of a season. The full video of this week is on Headspace heading into tryout. So as we shift into August and into back to hockey season, by the way, almost forgot back to hockey sale at The Hockey Shop is on right now. But as we shift back to hockey season, everything this week at the Stop It Goaltending U app is sort of focused on making sure you're asking yourself the right questions. You're preparing yourselves for tryouts, for back to hockey.

As usual, it's twenty five years of experience from Brian Daccord and his staff all packed into one app, whether it's drills on the ice, mindset tips, a little bit of everything in the daily primers, they've got you covered. A chance to dive in deep for hours at a time and get better or just listen to those daily primers every day, you will end up a better goaltender thanks to the Stop It Goaltending U app. And thanks to our partnership, you'll also get a chance to be a better goaltender by watching, reading, and listening to all our great content over at ingoalmag.com.

What's happening, Hutch?

We're gonna talk about a few questions that have come in over the last little while. We got through three or four of them last week and we're left with a few more. So we thought we'd just hop back in. And if you guys wanna jump in, feel free. But, first off, back to the gear.

And we had a parent asking about an 11 year old goaltender wondering what is the lifespan of a glove? This 11 year old goaltender starting to feel a little bit of pain from shots using a glove from last year and is there a lifespan? The answer is yes. Obviously, you could use them for as long as you want, but the protection does diminish. Pro goaltenders go through many gloves a year.

Junior and NCAA goalies go through two or three gloves a year. It is not always a protection issue, but it is in part a protection issue. So work backwards as you get younger. It is possible that after a year, a glove will be, quote, unquote, worn out. This, though, was a question about a junior glove, which, of course, has the least padding in them of as we move up in the in the ranks.

And it could easily just be that when a goalie gets older at this age, the shots are a lot harder. Kids mature at such a fast rate when they are so young. And all of a sudden around age 11 and 12, you've got some kids who can really that shot. So it might be the glove. It might be the age.

Perhaps it's time to think about moving up to an intermediate size glove, which can have all the pro features but is just built for a hand that's a little bit smaller. It's a very individual thing. And if it's not in the cards for you financially, because it is very difficult to do for a lot of people, you could try some of those padded inner gloves that Cam has over at the Hockey Shop and other people have available. There's lots of great options there to help with the pain.

I wear one of those.

Perfect. There you go.

That was gonna be my suggestion. But of course, Hutch is already on top of it and Daren's already tried it. Look at me behind the times.

All gear has a life a lifespan and we've talked about it here before. We were just talking about chest protectors and we got to the point with a test unit we had for a few years where the belly shot started to hurt. The foams start to get compressed. Everybody has probably had a pair of running shoes that after a little while you felt like you were walking on concrete. That's just what happens with modern foams.

I I was watching my kid practice one time back age 12, 13 and I just noticed that the shots were not coming off as blocker as hot as they usually do. And so we pulled out the blocker board. CCM blockers have a zipper at the top, it's really easy to pull the blocker board out. Compared it to a brand new one and the thickness of that blocker board was diminished by I would say 50%. It was really shocking how much those foams had compressed.

Put a new blocker board in there and the shots were just popping off again. So, yeah, gear wears out unfortunately for all of us. But sometimes it's fun to be able to buy something new and cool. Another one that came up we have talked about here before, another it's a very common question, how do I keep those knee pads in place? And, we we had the new Bauer Pro Knee Pads on in last week's Gear Segment.

Really cool neoprene sleeve in there that should help. But please go check out the video we have over on our YouTube channel. Cam did one with Woody talking about ways of keeping your knee pads in place. For us, the real simple one guys is knee pads on, socks over top, strip of sock tape underneath the knee and there's nowhere for it to fall down to. Some like a little strip on top as well.

There's garter options, tying into the pants options, but we've never really tried those because we haven't needed to. I will make a note that socks over top, as I think Cam may have even said in the video last week, extend the life of your pads to an extent because you don't have those rough Velcro surfaces rubbing on your pads from your pants. Woody, you had a hand up there? Did you have something to throw in?

I just we got a note from Kristen Campbell, PWHL Vancouver traded from Toronto. That's right. Sent us a DM on Instagram after our Bauer pro knee pad segment launch saying that she's tried these this summer and then in her mind, the best knee pad she's ever worn. So, there's a vote of confidence. Obviously, a Bauer athlete to start with, but this is a new product that's created a lot of buzz.

And as Hutch mentioned, a neoprene sleeve that you slide into, which in theory and with the way they've kinda created segmentation underneath the knee should really help it stay in place. I I also wanted to ask, like, Daren, you play you're out there with NHLers, AHLers taking shots. Like, do you do you put socks on over your knee pads? Like, I don't know a ton of beer leaguers that do or maybe I'm my group is just the exception because we're all old.

I do. I probably started it ten years ago. I wore the knee pads just on their own and then started putting socks over top and it holds them together and in place so much better. I use a garter belt too and I use the the Vaughn padded underlayer, and I use one because I've got the Velcro there. I use one of the straps on my knee pads to to lock into that, and then the other two do it do it up traditionally the way they're supposed to, and then the socks over top, and that's great.

And don't even use a garter bell on my socks, I just pull them up over the knee pad and it just holds them in place on

the You don't attach the socks to like the like my undergar, I don't wear socks, but my socks have an undergarment attachment at the or my undergarment has a sock attachment at the top. You don't even attach No.

I just pull them way up and it's and it it's it's great for the two hours that I'm on the ice potentially.

It's it's This is so this is a parent question for young kids, but it sounds like what do you need to get with the times and put some socks on himself as the old man?

Socks are the key. I I you know, there's been odd times where I haven't had my socks there. Shame on me. And they're they're all over the place. So that that is significant.

Notes to self.

Gotta test it, Woody. The last one's a little tougher. It was more of a parent rant than anything, but I just thought I would jump in on this one. And and it's a parent of a goaltender who's decided to quit. And decided to quit because the stress of playing the position is too much.

You know, my commentary on that is is simply, I am so so sorry that your young goaltender has had to go through this. I had a chat with a goaltender excuse me. I had a chat with a coach this week who will be guesting on the parent segment in the not too distant future. And without taking away from his piece, one of the things that he said he recommends for all young goaltenders is that they get some mental skills, some sports psychology support. It's never too young because it's a tough position to play.

Spoke to another parent who told us that their child had flown across the country to play in a spring tournament age 11, played fantastic, helped their team make it to the final in this tournament, and it didn't go so well. And during the game, the coach was screaming at the kid from the bench telling him it was all his fault. This is terrible. It's terrible that young kids still have to go through this. I mean, we're talking to the choir here.

We're preaching to the choir here. We're not gonna convert any of these coaches very sadly, but but I hope some somebody will get through to some of these people and remind them why they're behind the bench and why these kids are playing the game. We've all been there feeling this pressure. We've all been there feeling how difficult it is for our children. And all I can recommend in terms of advice is what I've told our son before and will continue to tell him.

I said, if you don't want to play next year, that is totally fine. I said, if you want to switch positions, that's okay too. His mother and I just want him to be happy, to have something in his life that he's passionate about and that he wants to work hard at, whatever that might be, and we'll support it. We always make the point to him, we love you as a person for who you are as a person, not because you're a goalie and that's never gonna change.

I I said to him when he faced this as a I think also age 11, he wondered if he wanted to keep playing. And I said, if you don't want to play next year, that is totally fine. I said, if you want to switch positions, that's okay too. His mother and I just want him to be happy, to have something in his life that he's passionate about and that he wants to work hard at, whatever that might be, and we'll support it. We always make the point to him, we love you as a person for who you are as a person, not because you're a goalie and that's never gonna change.

Guys, I check-in every single year and deliver that same message. If you wanna quit, you can and I'm still gonna love you. That's okay. Now he is as passionate about the game as he's ever been and is working his tail off and I'm very glad about that. But I just think it's so important that kids don't get defined by the sport and don't get feeling that their parents, with all the support we throw behind our kids, with all the best of intentions, we don't want to give that message that we're loving them because they're a goaltender.

So very sorry to this parent who's been through this and and I hope their their son or daughter finds some something that they can that they can love and I'm sorry goaltending has done this for them.

Well, sorry you had to go through that with the coach too. I mean, once you get to beer league, my my guys on the bench are always yelling at me. It's all it's like the chant in Nashville. It's all your fault. It's all your fault.

But but I'm old. I'm used to it. Like, that's just absurd. The yelling at 11 year old in the middle of a game that it's all, my goodness. Like, I'd like a couple minutes with that coach not to go hockey mentality on this.

That's absurd. Absurd.

Feel bad for the for the for the parent and and for the child, and wanna just make this point personally. I love love goaltending, but I understand how it could be hard on a child, and if it's it's too much for your child, find a way to stay in the game, change positions, but but try and stay in the game somehow. And if we'd love you to be a goalie, but if it's not for you, play play play a skater position.

If you can play a skater position, I offer that opportunity as I said to our son once. Absolutely do that or just go to stick and puck and love the game there. I I've seen a number of people in forums, probably parents of kids who play on travel slash triple a teams or whatever saying, well, just tell them to drop down to house league for a year and just go and enjoy it. I've seen some terrible stuff in house league too. Like, it should be the place that you just go to have fun and everybody's out the next shift and the goalies are splitting and and you've got some people that take that far too seriously as well.

It's, it's unfortunate but let's just make sure we're all doing right by our kids as I'm sure the listeners of this show are.