Its mandatory for U18s to wear a properly fitting mouth guard and full-length hockey shin pads. You will need these at every training session and tournament, including your first three taster sessions.

The club has worked with market leaders, Opro to create a bespoke Instant Custom-Fit mouthguard, which provides high quality mouth protection. Use the discount code BerkHemelHockey10 to take advantage of 10% off. High-impact guards are always required for hockey.

We also recommend that young players get used to playing with hand protection. Hard shell protective gloves are available in a range of sizes. The Left hand is most vulnerable to impact, however protective gloves can be worn on both hands to reduce risk of injury. Youth players transitioning to adult hockey have to play with a glove on (L) hand as a minimum, so it’s a good idea to get used to playing in them early on.

U12s and above will need a face guard if defending a short corner.

When you are old enough to start learning to defend short corners and if you regularly play as a defender, this should become part of your protective gear. We have a few club faceguards which you may borrow if they are available, until your position on pitch is more established and you manage to get your own.
Our supplier Chiltern sports, has a range of equipment and can advise you on what to buy

Hockey astro shoes provide stability and some foot protection from impact with the ball compared with other types of footwear. Hockey Astros are suitable for use on the astro surface, and will reduce the risk of slipping and ankle injury Trainers do not provide these same benefits.

Goal keepers obviously need full protection. If you don’t have your own kit the club does have kits to borrow. Ask the youth officer for specific advice on what’s needed for goalies.

Our supplier kit, Chiltern Sports, has a range of equipment and can advise you on what to buy.

Each group has a first aid kit and we have a first aider at every session.

If your child has a medical condition that might require us to take action in an emergency or they carry medication that might need to be used, please let the youth officer or coach know. They will share the information with the first aiders, so they might know how best to help if and when it’s needed. Please clearly label any medication and either let us know where its kept or hand it in at each session, so we can locate it in an emergency. It is vital that you keep the youth officer/coaches updated if there are changes in your child’s medical condition. We are aware of the need to treat all personal information sensitively.