Back to School – And Back to the Playing Field

The last few days of summer vacation will soon give way to the back-to-school rush. In addition to the usual cart full of notebooks, papers, pens and crayons, many families will spend a substantial amount of money on athletic equipment, ranging from helmets and pads to cleats and hockey skates. And for good reason. According to The Center for Kids First, 30 to 40 million kids ages 5 to 18 play organized sports in any given year.

And while some are in it for scholarships on down the road, most – 65 percent – play sports as a means to hang out with friends. Although shopping for athletic equipment and apparel might seem like a no-brainer (a football is a football, right?), depending on the sport, parents can potentially end up spending a sizeable chunk of change on gear.

With that in the mind, the Better Business Bureau serving Northern Colorado and Wyoming offers the following tips when shopping for your young athlete or athletes:

• Consider how serious your child is about the sport. If he/she is playing soccer for the first time, shin guards off the rack from your local retail store should do just fine. If your athlete is playing at the high-school level, consider investing in equipment that fits well and is especially designed for his/her position.
• Don’t skimp when it comes to safety and protective gear. For this reason, reconsider purchasing used helmets or masks because you don’t know how they were used or how many hits they’ve taken.
• If shopping for shoes or apparel, use the same considerations you would if you were purchasing those items for another purpose. Do the shoes fit well? Are cleats really necessary? Will your son really wear neon green gym shorts?
• Shop both online and at brick and mortar stores. Many sports retailers have websites that detail what to look for in different sports gear, such as football pads. Be sure to check out businesses first at wynco.bbb.org.
• Look into purchasing used equipment, either from a retail outlet or from families whose children have outgrown the equipment or dropped the sport. Coaches will often have names of parents interested in selling such equipment.
• Don’t be pressured into buying high-dollar equipment just because a pro athlete endorses the product or because it’s “guaranteed” to improve performance. The only guarantee is that it will cost more than a similar item without a star’s signature.
• Make sure you understand the return and/or exchange policies of the retail store should you need to exchange or upgrade equipment.

Start With Trust. For more consumer tips, visit wynco.bbb.org or phone 970-484-1348 or 800-564-0371.

[BetterBusinessBureau.org]