Hi there. My son is 10 years old and relatively out of shape. We are getting him involved in hockey because he really wants to play and we feel it will be a great opportunity for more physical activity (he's also been in martial arts for almost 2 years). However, we are having a hard time finding hockey gear that fits him with being short + overweight. He is 4' 6" tall. His waist, according to my tape measure, is 36". According to all gear sizing charts I'm finding online, this would put him in Senior XL gear. His chest measurement is pretty close to that as well. I am 100% sure that senior XL pants will be entirely too long and senior shoulder pads just wouldn't fit properly around the shoulders. The point of this long story... are there any brands that make "husky" hockey gear that are bigger on the waist but shorter in length for pants. And for shoulder pads...fit small shoulder but wide enough around the chest to strap in. Also, his shin pads...we have junior 12" which fits the length but the velcro straps are just too short. Any brands that have long shin pad straps? would senior 13" have longer straps than junior?
Thanks in advance for any constructive advise you may have. We are complete beginners in the hockey world.
This can be a real pain. Children's equipment (and other clothing for that matter) simply doesn't offer the same range as what we can buy for adults.
For the shin guards, one option would be to use
these rather than the built-in straps. I actually use pro-stock shin guards that don't have built-in straps at all... I use tape on the outside of my socks to keep them in place. No reason this wouldn't work for a kid, and you can always cut off the factory straps if they're in the way.
For a
complete beginner I wouldn't bother with shoulder pads. He's not going to be checking anybody and nobody in a learn-to-play league will be lifting the puck high or hard enough to hurt him. A lot of players in rec leagues don't wear shoulder pads even as adults. If you feel upper body protection is a must, try an
inline hockey padded shirt. Protects against normal beginner-level hockey contact (pucks and sticks) and will be MUCH easier to find the right fit.
Pants, I'm less sure what to recommend. This is a real pain in the ass that I went through when one of my kids put on a lot of weight at the waist. In our case, the problem resolved itself when he decided to play goalie, so we got away with an older kid's pair of slightly-too-long shorts which actually helped keep him covered in the butterfly.
One potential option would be to look at
inline hockey girdles, because they tend to run a bit shorter and are usually more elastic than ice hockey pants (no hard shell on the inside). Now, in this case there really is a tradeoff for protection and comfort, in terms of water absorption and the inevitable contact to the lower body from pucks and sticks. Hopefully it won't be an issue in a beginner league, but you never know.
The other thing to be ready for is that a 10 year old wants not to stick out for having different gear than other kids, and that pressure tends to ramp up when they're getting dressed for first practice. As best you can, try and give him the tools not to worry about it at this level. I've seen kids go out there in all manner of random eqiupment -- learn to play programs often require only a helmet, shin guards, gloves and stick. Kids wearing football jerseys and skateboard helmets and carrying street hockey sticks. Roller hockey pants on ice, ice hockey socks on the roller rink. They forget all about it when they start having fun with new friends.
