You just don’t see a lot of Field Hockey t-shirts anywhere but specialty stores and you certainly don’t see ones this cool very often either. Right now my daughter is in the middle of field hockey season and I am thinking we just may need to add this to her practice wardrobe. And it will make a great coach gift at the end of the season, too!

You can buy this field hockey t-shirt and more USA Field Hockey gear at the Fanatics website.

Yesterday was the first day of spring field hockey practice for my 10 year old and she was so excited, she could hardly stand it! She had her new cleats on, new field hockey bag with sticks, ball and mouth guard ready to go. As we pull in to the parking lot it begins to rain – yet the sky is blue and the sun is shining – weird weather, but she doesn’t care, it is time to play field hockey.

We found her field and a few parents confirmed that yes, we were in the right place. I made a comment inquiring if the coach was there yet, only to get an immediate negative response from the mother standing next to me about how the team got assigned high school girls as coaches and then she went on and on about how they have never had a good experience with high school students as coaches. SERIOUSLY? She hasn’t even given these two a chance and could she have waited until I sent my child out onto the field before she unleashed her bitterness? After all, it is a Parks & Rec league you paid $50 for the season to play!

Every great coach was a new coach ONCE! (I sure was! I started coaching when I was 14 and still coach to this day, almost 30 years later.) Many great coaches started out just as these girls are – as high school students giving back to a sport they love – either as a part time job or for community service hours. Our Parks & Rec department doesn’t exactly pay its coaches, so it is not like the experienced adult coaches are flocking to the program to coach! A Parks & Rec season is the perfect opportunity for young coaches to get started!

Even though the rain was coming down, the two coaches had the girls start workout, did an organized run and stretch then started some drills. They broke up the practice, alternating between drills, basic conditioning and even a little game at the end to help the girls get to know each other. It really bothered me to listen to these two moms questioning why the coaches decided to have the girls do jumping jacks in the middle of practice or to listen to them belittle them for doing the name game at the end. It’s not like either one of them stepped up to the plate and volunteered to coach the team – and it was very evident that one of them had the experience to do it!

At the end of practice the coaches collected money for matching green socks, high fived the girls and did so with a smile on their faces. When I asked my daughter how she liked it, she said she had a great time and kept going on and on about how her coaches were nice, the drills they did and how playing in the rain at first just didn’t bother her. Personally, I think it is going to be a fun season – and I am looking forward to watching the athletes and the coaches grow together as a team!

In sports as in life, when you have the opportunity, you want to give your kids the best things you can. For us sports parents, “the best athletic gear” usually means “the most expensive athletic gear” and always makes our wallets shiver in fear. Field hockey is a bit of an anomaly though. Most parents might not know this, but in field hockey, the most expensive stick out there is not necessarily the best for your player. I’ll repeat that, because it bears repeating. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a field hockey stick to get a great field hockey stick! The key here is understanding what a stick is made of and how it works.

Most field hockey sticks these days are composite; made of a combination of materials, usually varying levels of fiberglass and carbon. The more carbon content a stick has, the more rigid it is, and more power you can put into a shot (not to mention, the more expensive it’s going to be). The more fiberglass content a stick has, the lighter, less rigid, and more forgiving it can be, to the player and the wallet. Advanced field hockey players who have spent time honing their skills are going to want a powerful stick like the Grays GX 9000 Turbo Torque Megabow, or the TK3 Classic Composite Stick, and they’ve probably got the talent to use it. But for those just getting started, a forgiving, less rigid and powerful stick like the Dita GIGA G1 Composite Stick or the Grays GX2500 Composite Field Hockey Stick, is perfect for learning the ropes and sharpening those skills for later in life. The more expensive sticks, in this case, would actually be detrimental to your new player, giving them something they just weren’t ready for and keeping them from building those skills the right way.

That being said, the next thing us parents are going to have to worry about is finding the right size field hockey stick for our players. Thankfully, this is one area where more options are actually better for us, since you really need to have a properly sized stick to get the most out of your game. Most sticks range from 28 to 38 inches, and over the years players have developed two central methods of determining which size is just right. The U.S. Method is based on height, and has the player standing up straight and holding the stick out at her side, with the hook of the stick on the floor. A good sized stick should top off about 1 or 2 inches below your waist. The Dutch Method is a bit different, and has the player hold the curve of the stick in her armpit, with the body pointing down, flush against her side. With this method, a properly sized stick is going to end near the middle of the kneecap. As with any kind of sizing, these methods are really only a guideline, and your child’s preferences and playing style may alter the length of stick she wants. But these methods are a great place to start!

There’s still a lot more to learn about field hockey sticks, not to mention all the other gear that can go along with this great game. So do your research, read up, and learn more about the game your kids love, so you can give them exactly what they need to play their game, their way.

A good mouthguard will serve two key roles in the safety of an athlete:

• The mouthguard will protect the teeth and gums from lacerations, breaks and other injuries as a result of being hit by the ball, a stick, another player, or falls.
• The mouthguard will also offer a level of protection against concussions by stabilizing the jaw and absorbing some of the impact.

Mouthguards will not prevent all injuries, but according to mouthguard manufacturer Shock Doctor, it is estimated that mouthguards prevent more than 200,000 injuries each year.

The athletes are required to wear their mouthguards anytime a ball is in play – which means from the beginning of practice until the end and the entire game. It’s just that important. Our league has even gone as far as to require the athletes wear colored mouthguards to make it much easier for coaches and referees to visually check for mouthguards.

So, what kind of mouthguard do you get? Based on the research I have been doing and the recommendation of our coaches, the newer technology, double layer mouthguards are the way to go. Yes, they are more expensive, but the construction of the mouthguard is going to give more protection for your athlete. If your athlete wears braces, they make mouthguards specifically for braces, too (like the one pictured at the left).

Once you have the mouthguard, be sure to follow the manufacturers  instructions to a tee to get the best fit and most comfort for your player. Most require the mouthguard be boiled and then the athlete to bite on the mouthguard very hard while it is in their mouth. The better fitting mouthguard, the better! You may have to try a few mouthguards before your athlete finds the one that works best and while there are mouthguards for youth, intermediate and adult, take into account your child’s mouth size not just their age when picking out a mouthguard. Our daughter is very tall for 9 and while the youth mouthguard says ages 10 and under, her mouth fits much more comfortably into the one for ages 11 and up.

After each wear be sure to wash and dry the mouthguard and remind your athlete not to chew on it.

More resources on Mouthguards and their relationship to injury and concussion prevention in youth athletes:

• Mouthguard Facts
• Commentary: Role of Properly Fitted Mouthguards in Prevention of Sport-Related Concussion
• American Association of Orthodontics on Why Mouthguards

If your child (or you) play field hockey, ice hockey, soccer, lacrosse, football, softball, baseball or any other potential contact sport (ball, puck, stick or person), a good quality, good fitting mouthguard is an investment you absolutely must make!! As you can see, there is a wide range of styles and sizes available. Find one that works for your child and if the league doesn’t require it – you should! (click on the images below for where to buy).

Shock Doctor Gravity 2 Mouthguard (Strapless) Shock Doctor Gel Max Strapless Mouthguard / Mouth Guard / Mouth Piece (Blue / Black) Youth Braces Strapless Mouthguard from Shock Doctor (Blue) Double STC Adult Strapless Mouthguard from Shock Doctor Youth Double Braces Strapless Mouthguard from Shock Doctor (Pink) Adult Double Braces Strapless Mouthguard from Shock Doctor (Pink) Youth Double Braces Strapped Mouthguard from Shock Doctor (Blue) Adult Double Braces Strapped Mouthguard from Shock Doctor (Blue) Youth Double Braces Strapless Mouthguard from Shock Doctor (Blue) Adult Double Braces Strapless Mouthguard from Shock Doctor (Blue) Adult Ultra STC Convertible Mouthguard from Shock Doctor Youth Ultra STC Convertible Mouthguard from Shock Doctor

Registration is two weeks away still and the season doesn’t start until mid-March, but word on the street is the one and only local sports resale store has used field hockey sticks but you need to get them now or you will be buying new. I asked a friend of mine who has two girls in field hockey what kind of equipment my daughter would need.  According to my friend, the girls will be given a shirt, however the rest of the list includes:

• Black shorts
• Field hockey shin guards
• Socks that go over the shin guards (black is good…some teams coordinate the sock color )
• Cleats (I will be getting Cleatskins to cut down on the dirt being tracked into my car)
• Two mouth guards
• Field hockey stick (how to buy a field hockey stick)
• Field hockey ball

Where to get field hockey equipment:

• DicksSportingGoods.com
• Play It Again Sports
• Dazadi.com
• OnlineSports.com

It sounds like there are two practices a week and one game per week with the whole season lasting 6 weeks. Sounds like the perfect length of time to introduce a new sport and get a feel for how she likes it. The great part about the timing of the season is that it falls nicely between her swimming Short Course season and Long Course season making it cross-training, too.

What does your local parks and recreation department have to offer? Other than soccer, basketball and baseball, ours is pretty slim pickings. Luckily there are private sports facilities nearby and the adjoining counties/cities allow non-residents to participate in their parks and rec programs if space allows.