A lot of parents have been asking about shoes, sticks, and other things a new player to the game should bring to camps this summer.
Obviously the most important thing is a stick. If you don’t have one, please email us, or let us know when you register. If you’ve got one full of chips and are thinking about upgrading, wait until after camp and one of our coaches can recommend what we think will be best for you.
Next you need to protect yourself. This means a mouth guard and shin guards. For camp and club, goggles are not necessary, so only bring them if you want. The cheapest mouth guards and shin guards and will work fine if you’re early to the game, but they need to have ankle protection. If you plan on playing club or higher level, the hard shells are much better. You can certainly buy a more expensive mouthguard if you like, but Coach Chrissy has found that many players lose or chew through mouth guards so quickly it is not worth it to buy anything over ten dollars. Also, our sponsor Harrow has some good package options.
Shoes are the next issue. Standard sneakers are more than fine. Pure running shoes often don’t provide enough ankle support, so cross-trainers are best. Bring soccer cleats or field hockey specific cleats in case of rain (some players even use football cleats). Many players play in sneakers through college though. If you get serious, turf shoes are the way to go as you can use them on a variety of surfaces.
Finally, always bring plenty of water, bug spray and sunscreen. At Beyond Sticks camps we’ll have plenty of these on site, but it is always good to have your own.
Have any other questions? Feel free to contact us about anything. See you at Camp! Not signed up? Register here!
