What Equipment Should I Buy For My Son

Every year, I take time to explain to my players what EXTRAS they can buy to play football.  As a football staff, we have fully equipped each and every player at Patrick Henry.  But players looking at the pros on TV see some of the extras the pros wear and they want to emulate those pros by wearing what they wear.

Buying the extra gear can get costly and in some cases I won't allow players to wear certain pads as it could cause a player to use that piece of gear in a manner that is against what we are teaching to our football players.

This year I have been getting e-mails from parents asking the same questions.  So I will break it down piece by piece.  Please keep in mind, none the gear I am about to list is mandatory to play football.  This list is a pros and cons list along with what I will not allow:

Athletic Supporter with a Cup:
The days of wearing a 'jock strap' with a cup are behind us.  Today, manufacturers make compression shorts that have a pocket to hold a 'cup' to protect the genitals.

Is it necessary to have one?  We aren't playing catcher in baseball short hopping a 90 MPH fast ball.   I never wore one playing football and the way our pants fit, the cup would be up tight against the body and cause a rash which could be a bigger problem if that continues.  I told the players it is a personal preference if they want to wear on or not.

If you want one, I suggest getting the all-in-one soft cup with compression shorts.

Visor for the Helmet:
LT used to wear one when he played for the Chargers and he still does as he plays for the Jets.

Pros: Visors are good in that they protect you from getting poked in the eyes.

Cons:  Once a visor fogs up, you can't see out of the helmet.  When it rains, visibility is blurred because the rain drops stay on the visor.

CIF rules mandate that all visors have to be clear as a precaution to treating a player that might sustain a neck or head injury.

Personally, it is rare that anyone gets poked in the eye, especially in Freshman football. 

Forearm Pads:
Forearm pads protect the forearms from bruising.  They cover the area from the wrist to the elbow.

Pros:  It gives protection to the forearm.

Cons:  The technique we teach our linemen is us their hands, not their forearms.  They need the separate themselves from their opponent by using their hands.  By using the forearm, you get too close and you lose control of your opponent.  Also, as a ball carrier, you have no feel for where the ball is and you could fumble the ball.

Personally, I will not allow players to use them as it teaches the wrong technique at the line of scrimmage.

Football Gloves:
Manufacturers have made football gloves for each position: Line and everybody else. 

Pros:  Gloves for the skilled positions come with a sticky composite material on the palms that lends a more secure catching surface.  For linemen, the come padded and protect the fingers and the bones in the hand.

Cons:  Cost.  Some gloves can get downright expensive.

Personally,  I recommend the glove for all the big boys.  Coach Abate and I have crooked fingers and scarred knuckles playing on the line. 

Gloves MUST be within the color scheme of PHHS Football.  I don't want to see orange and purple gloves.  Also, if a receiver has gloves and drops the ball, he will be asked to remove the gloves

Compression Under Shirts:
Under Armour and Nike make compression shirts that players wear under their shoulder pads. 

Pros: They also make them with added padding in the ribs and shoulders.  The tight fitting shirts also protect from and rashes you might get from the shoulder pads as opposed to a loose fitting shirt.

Cons: The long sleeve version covers the forearm and causes a slippery surface.  That would cause the ball carrier to loose a feel for the ball and fumble.

Personally, if you get a shirt, be sure it is a short sleeve version.  Green, gold or white would be the colors I will allow our players to wear.

Elbow Pads:
Elbow pads help protect the player when they fall to the ground.  Manufacturers make a neoprene version that looks like it has been cut out of a scuba diving suit.

Pros:  It protects the player as a pad.  But more important, it protects from rug burn.  We play and artificial turf and sliding on the plastic grass causes rug burn. 

Cons: The elbow pad causes the ball carrier to lose feel for the ball at the elbow.


Personally, if I was not a ball carrier, I would buy an elbow pad.