Posted by admin on April 27th, 2009 in Gift-Giving, Money, Shopping

I don’t know about you, but it seems my kids have tried every sport known to man.  When they were little, it was the soccer team, volleyball and basketball.  And, since we lived in Texas, home of football at it’s “finest” – my son played flag football at the age of five.  That lasted only a few weeks as he took a hit (an accidental collision) that knocked him out cold.  That ended flag football for me (and him).

As the years rolled by we purchased various types of pads, sticks, mouthguards only to have to throw them away or donate them to Goodwill when they were outgrown or the sport no longer held a fascination.  Remember when roller-blading was hot?  How about the “Razor“?  Remember how hot those were?

I wanted to suggest some options to those of you who are starting down this road (hello, parents of young kids!).  These are ideas that didn’t exist when we were starting out (I wish they did).  We haven’t been snow skiing much since our move, but if we did – I will certainly take full advantage of some of these resources.

Last year at Blogher, a company called Zwaggle provided a room to “re-cycle” the swag everyone received in their bags.  They also provide “re-cycling” services online so parents can swap goods they don’t need with other parents that might have what they want.  There’s also Sportings Goods stores that sell used equipment – everything from pads to sticks and I think they are a great way to lower the cost of getting a kid involved in a sport.  In these economic times some people are cutting back on extra-curriculars for their kids and that’s too bad.  If there is a way to keep kids involved in sports, I say great!  And, my friends, the orthodontists of the world (I’ve provided cars and housing for a several of these over the years) will want me to remind you about providing protection for their faces while participating in sports.