You know that youth football season is getting close when it is time to start picking up your football equipment. Most organizations will have one or two days where the kids show up to a predetermined area to get their gear. The type, quality and amount of equipment you receive will dependon the club you are playing for. Many of the more exclusive youth football programs, which charge allot to play for them, may buy new equipment each and every year.
Most organizations provide at a minimum the helmet, shoulder pads and some type of uniform. The helmets should be certified and reconditioned every other year and each helmet should have a sticker with the date the certification is good through. The certification is best if done from a reliable company such as Ridell or Shutt. Make sure to check the helmet for this verification sticker and do not accept any helmet that does not have this on it. A few of the more exclusive programs in our area buy new helmets every year.
When getting your child fitted for the helmet make sure to watch the process carefully. Hopefully the club has a responsible, knowledgable person fitting the helmets on the kids, but watch the process just to make sure. The proper way for a helmet to fit is firm. There is to be absolutley no movement left to right, front to back or up and down. The front pad needs to press firmly against the fore head, while the jaw pads need to have no space between them and the jaw bone. You need to feel the back area, above the neck towards the back of the skull, to make sure the shell of the helmet is protecting the skull of the child. These are general guidelines and by no means a complete guide, so please make sure to check with an expert to confirm the helmet is fitting your son correctly.
Shoulder pads are the next piece of equipment to look at make sure they are fitting your son correctly. A simple test is to lift up the plastic pad portion and verify that the soft pad area covers the entire shoulder. Next check all the hardware to make sure there are no pointy screws or metal pieces sticking out. Next check the clamps to make sure they fit well and review the straps confirming they are in good shape.
Most of the other equipment you may receive is rib guards, girdles and pads for the pants. I would give it a good look over and if you don’t like the quality of the equipment, feel free to buy your own at the local sporting goods store. You can get new, good quality pads relatively cheap.
In conclusion, make sure to take your time and check over the equipment you get from your organization. It will be a hectic day, so you will have to take on this responsibility yourself.
