How to Clean Hockey Equipment - Part 2

The second way to clean hockey equipment is to put it in a front loading non agitating washing machine. The equipment that can be cleaned are the shoulder pads, pants, gloves, shin guards and just about everything except skates and helmets. Make sure to set the machine to gentle cycle and use a low pH detergent.When done hang your equipment up to air dry.

Hockey helmets should be cleaned with a no tear shampoo and water mix. Fully wash the helmet inside and out. Then  make sure to rinse it very thoroughly, this will make sure that you have gotten all the soap residue out and it won't get in your eyes while playing hockey. Dry the helmet with a clean towel and then let it air dry. While doing this you can check the helmet for any broken snaps, cracks, broken chin straps, and any other damage to the helmet. The helmet is a vital piece of equipment so if you find any cracks replace the helmet right away.

Hockey skate should be left to air dry and then apply anti bacteria powder or foot powder to each skate to prevent and reduce the bacteria and smell.

Make sure to spray your hockey bag with anti bacteria spray and let air dry.

I personally have never tried this method but like most things everybody has a favorite way to clean their hockey equipment. Just remember to do what you think is best for your hockey equipment and ask your hockey equipment dealer what they recommend for the right way to clean your hockey equipment.

How to Clean Hockey Equipment- Part 1

Have you ever wondered where that horrific smell was coming from while you're standing outside the ice hockey locker rooms? Well that is the bacteria and fungus growing on your hockey equipment from you  sweating while your practicing and playing a game. The locker room provides the perfect breeding place for them to grow because of the moisture and cool temperature. There is a potentially dangerous bacteria that is found in these types of places called staphylococcus aureus or MRSA (an antibiotic resistant strain of staph). These nasty bacteria can enter your body through a blister or a cut in you skin and can invade your body causing an infection or even death if not treated properly. Cleaning your hockey equipment regularly reduces the growth of bacteria and the smell that is associated with them. It will also help protect you from getting a nasty infection.

I'm going to give you three different way to clean your hockey equipment in three separate posts. Just as a reminder these are only a few of the ways in which to clean your hockey equipment. If you have a favorite or better way to clean your equipment please leave a comment on this site so that we can all try it.

The first cleaning method  is to:

• Fill your tub with hot water and pour in a cleaner like 1 Tbs of bleach for every quart of water, or 1/4 cup of a low pH detergent, or a cleaner that is recommended by the equipment manufacturer. You can also use a combination of detergent and  bleach.
• Place your pads, gloves, neck guard, and helmet in the tub making sure that they are fully submerged. Rotate the equipment periodically to make sure that every piece of equipment gets clean. Keep the equipment in the  water for about 30 to 45 minutes, agitating it from time to time to get a thorough cleaning.
• Drain the tub and rinse each piece of equipment in warm water thoroughly to remove the residue.
• Then hang the equipment up to dry except for the helmet. The out side of the helmet should bet dried off with a dry cloth especially around the snaps, then hung up to dry.
• The mouth guard should be soaked in an antiseptic type mouth was for about 30 seconds to about a minute to remove built up germs and bacteria then brushed  with toothbrush.  Rinse under warm water to remove residue and then air dry.
• The hockey bag should be wiped inside and out with antibacterial wipes and then hung to dry.
• Hockey skates can be sprayed with a deodorizing and disinfecting shoe spray then let air dry.
• Wash your jersey, socks, and under armour in the wash machine and dry them in the dryer  according to the clothing label.

Remember to always let your equipment air dry after practice and games to help stop the growth of bacteria and reduce the smell. Do not leave your equipment in your bag for an extended amount of time because this is a great breeding ground for harmful bacteria to grow.

How to put on Hockey Goalie Equipment.

Remember to check with your State Hockey Association and club for all the proper hockey equipment required in your area.

How to Put on Hockey Equipment.

Remember to check with your State Hockey Association and club for all the proper hockey equipment required in your area. 

Equipment Guide to Ice Hockey.

Remember to check with your State Hockey Association and club for all the proper hockey equipment required in your area.

Ice Hockey Stretches.

Stretching is very important before you get onto the ice for hockey and other sports. Stretching helps warm up the muscles and this will avoid damaging them while playing hockey. Here is a video on stretching before playing a hockey game. It is very important that they stretch before they hit the ice.

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A Parent’s Worst Nightmares.

A parent’s worst nightmare happened to us on January 7, 2012. Here's what happened up to the nightmarish moment. My husband took the girls to their hockey games and I stayed home with our son, one in Miles City on Friday and the other in Glasgow on Saturday. Miles City is about 169 miles from where we live so my husband decided that they would leave early and get checked into the hotel room and kind of relax before taking the girls to the hockey arena. It also just happened to be my oldest girl's 18th birthday that Friday. They went to the arena to get ready for the game and the team sang happy birthday to my oldest and she then received her present from us which was her own hockey jersey. In our hockey club the girls are given their jerseys to use for the year, they are typically sponsored and donated to the club. We ended up winning the game 5 to 4. After that they went back to the hotel and went to bed for the night.

On Saturday morning they got up early to get ready to go to Glasgow, MT from Miles City, MT it is about 196 miles to the arena. They ate breakfast at Perkins before leaving, but on the way they had some truck troubles. The truck was over heating and they had no clue on what was wrong. Once they arrived at the arena the girls put their bags in the locker rooms and had a bite to eat. About an hour before the game the girls got ready in the locker room. At the beginning the game was like every other game but in the second period, the game turned physical. This is where the nightmare began. My youngest was going for the puck along with another girl and lost her edge. This caused her and the other girl to collide into a big pile against the boards. My youngest daughter's head hit the edge were the glass meets the boards and she fell to the ice with the other girl falling on her back. The other girl got up and my youngest didn't. The game was still going on for a while until the referees seen that she was still lying on the ice. The referees went over to check on her and then motioned the coach over. When the coach got to my youngest he motioned my husband down to the ice. She could not move or feel anything from her neck on down. The ambulance was called and she was taken to the hospital in Glasgow. While they were at the hospital my husband called to tell me what had happened. He asked me if I was sitting down and I said yes. I was anticipating that he was going to tell me that the girls had won the game big time instead that my youngest had gotten hurt and they didn't know how bad it was yet and that when he know anything he would call me back to let me know. Talk about pacing the floor and worrying until he had called back and told me that they could not do anything for her at that facility and had to fly her out. Then the wait began again this time for him to call and tell me when they would be taking off in the plane. After he called and said that they were taken off the wait began again. The waiting is what kills a parent because you don't know what is going on and how bad it is. This is what I mean by one of parents worse nightmare is the not knowing what is going on and how bad it is. She was flown to Bismarck, ND and taken to Med Center One, one of the state’s best hospitals. They evaluated her and found out that she had torn muscles in her neck and back. On top of that the doctor said that she had received a spinal concussion and that was why she had no feeling in her neck and back. She stayed in the hospital until Monday January 9 and by then she had full feeling in her neck and back but had to wear a neck brace for a week. I am so grateful that it wasn't any worse than that for there has been a couple of young hockey player who have been paralyzed due to a hockey injury. She cannot play hockey this year but will be able to go back next season.

The Watford City Hockey Club has been by our side throughout this ordeal and has shown great support. While my youngest was at the Glasgow hospital the whole team came to check on her and some of the Glasgow team stopped by before she was flown out. The support and concern for a fellow hockey player is one of the greatest aspects of playing hockey. Nobody likes it when a kid gets hurt in any sport and the support from that team and others is very much appreciated. I would like to thank everybody for their support.

Teamwork?

What is the meaning of teamwork? A team is a group of individuals striving to achieve a common goal and hold themselves accountable for the outcome. Teamwork is very important when it comes to youth sports because it prepares them to participate in teamwork on the job and in daily life. Teamwork can either break or make a team successful, not only in winning but in losing by teaching that it takes everybody to work together. Like in football if you don't have a front line that holds the other team back the quarterback, halfback, and fullback wouldn't be able to break through the line and go for a touchdown. The line is just as important as the players that are making the touchdowns. Fans seem to also praise the ones that are making the great plays but are forgetting that other players were involved in the making of that play.

If a team can't play cohesively together it seems like they struggle to achieve the common goal. You can have a lot of great players but if they play as individuals in a game the team will have a hard time achieving their primary goal and will ultimately fail. Just remember that to make a great team you have to have teamwork because there is no I in team and that everybody contribute to the team no matter what skill level they possess. Just because you’re not the strongest and most gifted player you are just as important as they are because you provide support for them. Remember you win or lose as a team.

Girls In Boys Sports.

I have a 12 year old girl, that three years ago joined pee wee wrestling for the local school. Basically wrestling is a guy sport and my daughter was one of the few girls in wrestling in this state. She practiced hard and was pretty good at it. The coaches helped her and encouraged her to get better and better. When she would go to a tournament they would try and put girls against girls if they could. But sometimes she would have to wrestle boys. The boy really did not like to have to wrestle a girl and they really didn't like it when she would beat them. Some parents did not think it was appropriate for a girl to be wrestling with the boys, but my husband and I have always supported her in all of her endeavors. We have always installed in our kids' life that, girls and guys are equal. Some parents thought that the boys would feel uncomfortable wrestling a girl because they have been taught not to grab a girl. The guys on her team did support her when she was on the mats. The one thing I can say about the coaching staff of this school district is that they really supported her and was behind her all the way.

Last year she joined tackle football and had a great time. She also played football this year and was one of their best players. She plays half back, full back and sometimes end. She has made quite a few touchdowns and is usually in on most of the tackles. It seems that after a few years, parents are more accepting of having a girl on their team playing with the boys. There are only a couple of girls in her league and one girl that is on a higher league but she intends on continuing in football. She still seems to have to practice harder and prove to everyone that she can play the game.

We are very proud of her and will continue to support her in all of her sporting endeavors. I'm glad that it looks like parents and coaches of these sports seem to be accepting girls that are breaking into a boys sport.

Parents are Important.

Our hockey building has a dual purpose. In the summer the arena is turned into a rodeo ground and in the late fall it is a hockey arena. Suffice to say in the fall it is the parent’s responsibility to transform the rodeo arena back into a hockey arena. This involves putting up the boards and glass to form the hockey rink. Then comes the laying down of the ice. In the meantime the building must be cleaned from top to bottom due to the amount of dust that is created during the rodeo season. It also has to be painted and supplies have to be ordered for the concession area for the upcoming season. This is done by parents who have volunteered their time and effort to make sure that our children have a clean and presentable place to practice and play hockey. Here is only one of the reasons why parents are important.

The running of the hockey program in our community is all parent participation. They are responsible for the setting up of the arena, the running of the concessions, the maintenance of the building, the coaching, the finances, the equipment, running the clock, recording the game in the score book, taking money at the door, running the penalty boxes, and maintaining the integrity of the hockey program. Parents are also responsible to make sure the child gets to their game both at home and away. This sometimes means making reservation at a hotel to stay in for the weekend.

The most important aspect of parent involvement is being there to watch and support the player and the team. Parents as a whole are very positive and the game goes smoothly, but there are times when prejudice about a team makes the parent voice their opinions. Like when during a game you can see blatant calling of penalties on one team and not the other then parents will get upset and take a stand. I'm not saying that mistakes are not made by referees and that they can see everything but when it happens over and over again to one team then there is a problem. I'm also not saying that parents can't get a little too aggressive in defending their players and that sometimes there are other less confrontational ways to handle a dispute.

I'll give you an example of a game that my girls played a few years back that this happened. We were at an away game and got on the ice to play the game. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until our girls got called for penalty after penalty and the other team was not getting a single one. The referees were an older man and a very young boy who looked like he could have played for the boys’ team for this town. In the crowd were some of the boy’s hockey players and they were there to support their home town girls. One of the parents on our side noticed that the boys were lined up along the glass and were signaling to the young referee to make calls on our girls. So some of our parents then decided that this was enough and got down from the bleachers to go stand by the glass themselves and try to make their side heard also. Unfortunately some of them got kicked out of the game due to yelling at the referees. We did win the game but let’s say it is one of those games I do not wish to repeat. We could have handled it in a different way by filing a formal complaint against the referees in this instance.

Parents are important in all sports to let players know that you support them , that they can count on you to be there for them, to show them how to act, and how to have good sportsmanship skills.

What to Eat Before a Game.

This has always been an age old question for many parents with kids in sports. When kids are getting ready for a game it is very important that they have the proper nutrition so that their bodies will be able to perform at high levels of competition. Nutrition is the mainstay on how well a player will feel and preform in the game.

Carbohydrates are very important because they give the muscles the fuel they need to be involved in high intensity sports. Carbs will remain in your body up to 24 hours after consumption. So eating fruits, pasta, rice, bread and drinking fruit juices the night before provide the best forms of carbs to the athlete. There are many other forms of carbs that will also give you the same results. It has always been a tradition in our house to have some sort of pasta the night before competition.

Remember that carbohydrates digest fairly quickly compared to the other food groups. According to cyosports.org a pre-game meal one to three hours before, is the best time to eat a small meal. Remember it takes at least one hour for the body to digest carbs. A high amount of carbs should be eaten the night before competition. This will give the athlete plenty of time to digest and store the energy from the carbohydrates into the muscle which will be used during the game.

Proteins and fats should be consumed after a game because it helps with muscle growth. It also takes a lot longer to digest proteins and fats then it does carbs. If consumed before a game it may make the athlete more tired and lethargic. So try not to eat them before a game.

How My Girls Got into Hockey.

My youngest daughter started hockey in 2004 as a kindergartner. She had never skated before but had watched her brother play hockey and thought it looked like fun so she wanted to start playing hockey. Well on the first day of hockey practice we got on all the equipment and she headed out to the arena. Like I stated before, she had never skated before and she is one of those people who think that they have to know how to do something right away. To say the least, she could barely stand on the ice let alone skate. They had given her a training chair to hold onto on the ice as she learned how to skate. Suffice to say when she got done with practice she was so frustrated that she began to cry and said that she was not going back. Her sister heard her carrying on and convinced her that if she would stay in hockey the whole seasons that she would join the following year. Well the next practice she decided that she didn't need the training chair and throw it aside and learned how to skate. From that day forward she had fell in love with hockey and has been playing ever since. In the third grade she was invited to play with the junior gold girls team and has been on it ever since.

Since my youngest daughter had stayed in hockey for the full year and a promise is a promise, my oldest joined hockey the following year. She was a six grader at that time and the youngest player on the junior gold girls’ 16u hockey team. At this time that team had two teams in one. They played 16u and 19u girls. The team was one of the best teams in the state of North Dakota. The year before she had joined they had won the state championship and it looked like they were about to do it again. I had put her in basic skating the last part of the year before because it looked like her sister was going to make it through her first year of hockey. She got about 1 month of training before they had there ice show so she had not got a lot of skating. When she first started hockey she could barely skate and if you know anything about skates. Hockey skating and figure skating are different. The only way she was able to stop was by running into the boards or by falling down but with the help of the coaches and the older girls she had learned how to skate and play hockey. She ended up making her first goal at the state tournament that season which then hooked her into hockey. That year they took second in state both as 16u and 19u. The following year they went to just one team the 19u and had an undefeated year except at the state tournament were they taken second again.

My youngest and oldest daughters still play hockey today. My oldest is a senior and it is her last year in youth hockey. She has also been the team’s goalie for the last two years. She will be sad to be done with hockey but hopefully she will either coach or be able to get a women's league started. We are looking for a great year in girl’s hockey.

How I First got Involved with Hockey.

My family got started with hockey in 1999 when my son started to play. We thought it would be good for him to get involved with a sport. Some of his friends were joining so he thought that he needed to join too. Where we live, the hockey team is not part of the school system so you as the parent are responsible for getting them to practice and transporting them to their games. It is a very great club and it's like an extended family because you're with them from the beginning of November to the beginning of March.

My son's first year was a challenge. He was a kindergartner and didn't know how to skate. The first day of practice was an eye opener for him and me. With him being my first one in hockey I had no idea on how much equipment you had to put on this small little child. You have the chest plate, elbow pads, shin guards, hockey pant (also called breezers), hockey socks, jersey, helmet, stick and skates, so you can see as a first time mom at hockey this became a challenge. Luckily there were parents there that had a lot of experience with putting on hockey equipment and were nice enough to show me how to put it on.

The first year was great. I got to watch my son learn how to skate and start to learn how to play hockey. I remember his first game like it was just last year. They were playing against each other in the middle of a junior gold game. These little boys and girls were so excited about being able to play it was hard not to get excited with them. They got on the ice and tried to play the game like the big kids, but when they tried to hit the puck they would fall down. It seemed like when one of them fell they all fell, it was like a domino effect. At one time, one of the little players ended up falling on the puck and everybody was looking for it. They finally found the puck under the little guy’s bottom, it was so cute that everybody that was watching laughed and applauded. This is one of the most remember able games that he has ever played. Don't get me wrong, the following years that he had played' there was many memorable games; like the four overtimes at a state tournament for them to place fourth.

He has taken this year off due to his knee and he hopes to be back next year. He has played for the last 11 years and plans on going back. Hockey is a great sport. This part of my kid’s sports.