Why Goalies Play For Free

Copywrite © 2004 See-It Ice Hockey Club

I came across an article on a really great hockey web site the other day, beerleaguehockey.com (shameless plug) which described the average cost for a player to suit themselves up. Being a new goalie I have often wondered how much a players equipment cost compared to the goaltending gear I have purchased. According to the article, the average gear setup will run about $750, or, $550 for you less than 5% alcohol by volume drinkers directly to the south of me.

I should also mention that the small article following is full of personal and corporate plugs; I do this not in hope of financial gain but as my way of thanking those who in varied ways, introduced and took me down the path of beer league goaltending. The jury is still out as to whether I should be thanking or hunting them down. What I mean will become painfully obvious as you read on…The $750 number is significant; in my younger days I’ve purchased cars that lasted one or two years for this amount and even had money left over for a few cases of beer. I’m relatively new to hockey, read quickly, because if September rolls around then officially I am playing for my second year. (ed. note: This article was originally written in 2004/ Welcome to your 5th year, Rob.)

So here are the details of my first year’s equipment and related expenditures, with the requisite running commentary;

Starter kit; my neighbor had a friend who needed to make some room in his closet. It had almost everything I needed: $500
This was a great deal. I got the following items, a bag, leg pads, pants, chest protector, catch and blocker gloves, throat protector, stick and thigh guards. This stuff was well used. For example the leg pads were 16 years old.

We assumed that I would take a few years to figure out whether I was going to get serious about hockey. It took about 12 minutes of ice time, I was hooked!

Additions to the starter kit:$900
I needed a few additional items before I could get on the ice. The following items we purchased new but at a discount house, i.e. all items were out of production and significantly reduced in price (clearance).

A helmet, cup, jersey, socks, skates and stick.

Beer league fees and dues: $0
I hooked up with a great group of guys and that were either blind or just kept good control of their emotions. I stunk the rink up for the first part of our season. Managed to tear my rotator cuff, luckily it was just before Christmas so I had two weeks of non-stop physio. With injury came the understanding that I needed some lessons.

Improved catcher and blocker: $250
The gloves I had from my starter kit were into their tenth year of life. My catch hand was more often then not a little black with some nice shades of purple/blue. The Goalie Store took in a trade from a junior goaltender, rebuilt the insides and refaced the gloves and sold them to me for $250. Not bad since the exact gloves brand new would run over $750. For an added bonus, the catcher was broken in.

Leg pads:$1200
More than ¾ the way through my winter season, I broke down and had to purchase new pads. The 16 year old pads were just not stopping the pain of good solid slapshots and when wet the pads would weigh in excess of 10lbs each. Also, as my butterfly improved, I would get in the centre of the puck and the old pads would leave my thighs open. One game had three shots to one unprotected knee, my body could not take any more. I broke down and purchased a near top of the line pads from Miller. Custom fitted and service that cannot be met by any other manufacturer, all for 2/3 the price of equivalent quality pads.

Equipment bag: $0
Gift from my wife. She could not bear to see dragging the old bag around, I got this huge bag with wheels! Retail $150

Total: $2850
Keep in mind most equipment is either ‘well’ used, reconditioned or clearance.

Consumables

Goaltending lessons:$120
Six hours of shared lesson with Paul Fricker of the Goalie Store. Also the manufacturer of Miller equipment. I learned more in six hours than I could ever have imagined. My game went from humorously mediocre to good positional play and mental maturity.

Side note and plug for Spare Goalies, this is place when in a pinch, teams can find goalies. I used many pickup games as my practice. Check out Spare Goalies, they are a really good resource and the cost is minimal, they are also doing the same for spare players.

Sticks: $200
Goalies sticks are no where near the cost of player sticks but in my opinion, they should be even less. I broke a total of three sticks on less than a year. I don’t slam my stick on the post or ice and I always let them dry. I’m certain there is a future rant about the durability of goalie sticks…

New cage and equipment repairs: $175
While this should not really be included in initial cost it should be factored in the basic fact is that goal equipment needs constant repair. It is always being whacked and hacked, my blocker was slashed by a skate, chest protector and pants are always needing stitching. My cage needed to be replaced; a lovely shot by a young buck from the blue line, kept my eye on it all the way in, problem being that it was coming straight for my head. Cllaaank, no goal but a seriously bent cage.

Grand Total:$3345

My name is Rob and I am a goalie, I like beer and hockey, mostly always in that order, I AM CANADIAN and I play for free.

- Rob Church, See-It Ice Hockey Club

Links mentioned.

The Goalie Store: http://goaliestore.com
Miller Equipment: http://goaliestore.com/miller/creed.php
Spare Goalies: http://www.sparegoalies.com
See-It Ice Hockey Club: http://www.logitsoftware.com/portal/seeitice/