THE MISSION
No kid should have to leave the ice because their family cannot afford the next piece of equipment.
Hockey Detox is building a growing network of hockey families, equipment donors and charitable partners to help put new and gently used gear into the hands of players who need it.
If your family is struggling with the cost of equipment, I want you to reach out. You should not feel embarrassed to ask whether somebody has a stick, a pair of skates, a helmet, goalie equipment or another piece of gear sitting in inventory that could keep your child playing.
If you have equipment your family has outgrown, replaced or simply no longer uses, I want to hear from you too. A pair of skates sitting in a basement may be exactly what another family cannot replace this month.
WHY THIS MATTERS TO ME
I know what it means when every dollar matters.
I grew up in a family with a hardworking dad who had almost no extra money. There were times when simply putting food on the table was difficult. Somehow, though, I always had hockey skates. I had a stick. I had a helmet. I had the equipment I needed to play.
As a kid, I thought I had top tier gear. What I understand now, at 43, is that what I really had was a family making hockey a priority for me even when doing so probably required sacrifices I never saw.
I am forever grateful for that.
THE COST OF THE GAME
Parents are already having the same conversation they have every season.
As the E9 and EHF seasons get underway, parents are already talking about the cost of hockey. We hear it every year because the problem never really goes away. Registration is expensive. Ice is expensive. Travel is expensive. Then there is the equipment.
Kids grow. Skates stop fitting. Sticks break. Helmets age out. Protective equipment becomes too small. Goalies can outgrow thousands of dollars of equipment before it has reached the end of its useful life.
Hockey is not alone. Families are trying to support children who want to play hockey, football, lacrosse, soccer and everything else. Each sport arrives with another financial commitment. For some families the question eventually becomes whether the child can continue at all.
THE NETWORK
The answer does not have to be another purchase.
Hockey Detox has started working with people and hockey gear charities around the country that are already trying to solve this problem. One of the first people I connected with was Michael. He was helping players in different parts of the country find equipment, particularly goalies who needed gear that actually fit them.
Some of the situations were difficult to believe. Kids were trying to learn the position using equipment that was drastically the wrong size. In some cases families had improvised because proper equipment simply was not available to them.
That was enough for me. There is too much usable hockey equipment sitting in garages, basements and equipment rooms for a kid to be practicing without safe, appropriate gear.
ASK FOR HELP
A child should never be afraid to say, “I need a new stick.”
I want Hockey Detox to help remove the embarrassment that can come with asking. If a family needs equipment, tell us what the player needs. We will look at our own donated inventory and work through the people and organizations in our network to see whether an appropriate match can be found.
We cannot promise a particular brand, model or color. We cannot promise that every size will be available immediately. What we can promise is that we would rather take time looking for appropriate equipment than hand a child something simply because it happens to be available.
Fit and safety matter. Especially with helmets and goalie equipment, “close enough” is not the standard.
GIVE THE GEAR ANOTHER SHIFT
Your player may be finished with it. Hockey may not be.
If you have usable hockey equipment that your family no longer needs, we want to know about it. Sticks, skates, gloves, pants, shin guards, elbow pads, shoulder pads, bags and goalie equipment can all have another life when the condition and sizing are appropriate.
Used does not mean bad. Cosmetic wear, puck marks and scratches are part of hockey. Structural damage, unsafe modifications, severe deterioration and equipment that cannot be sanitized are different. Every item that moves through this program should be something we are comfortable putting back on a player.
MORE THAN A BUSINESS
Hockey Detox cannot only exist to generate revenue.
I love hockey. My son loves hockey. My daughter loves hockey. My wife tolerates the amount of hockey that has somehow taken over our lives.
This company grew because hockey families trusted me with their equipment, their goalie gloves and eventually a much larger idea of what Hockey Detox could become. The communities around us helped build this business. Giving back to those same communities is not separate from the company. It is part of what I want the company to be.
We are going to keep building the network. We are going to keep finding organizations that already do this work well. We are going to collect equipment that deserves another life and do everything we reasonably can to connect it with players who need it.
THE ASK
Need gear? Ask. Have gear? Give.
If your family needs help locating safe, appropriately sized hockey equipment, use the request form in this Journal story and tell us what you need.
If you have new or usable equipment to donate, use the donation form and tell us what you have.
There is no embarrassment in asking for help. We would rather hear from a family that needs a stick than learn that a child stopped playing because nobody knew they needed one.
We are doing this for the love of the game.
