Will the love of the game keep you in it, when paying for equipment gets to be too much?
Football pads. Hockey sticks. Basketball shoes. Soccer cleats. Swimsuits. The cost of equipment alone can empty out pockets and drain bank accounts.
The price of equipment is never cheap for any sport.
Corrina Nickerson is a senior on the KSC swimming and diving team and said on average, women’s swimsuits range from $25 and $500.
The suits on the more expensive side are technical suits. Speedo’s LZR Racer X Kneeskin Tech Suit is nearly $500. With technology, Speedo has developed this elite fabric. It uses one-way stretch technology, stretching vertically and allowing swimmers freedom of movement during their strokes. The suit is resistant to horizontal stretch providing high compression and reducing drag while increasing the muscles’ efficiency.
“I probably spend almost $450 a year,” Nickerson said.
She continued, “We get a free tech suit for New England Championships, then I usually buy one for the MIT Invitation and LECs.”
Swimsuits and goggles are essential for swimmers. Goggles, depending on the pair you get, are more reasonable. “Goggles usually range between $20 and $30, so it’s not too bad,” Nickerson said.
“Over the years I’ve probably accumulated eight tech suits or so since junior year of high school,” Corrina said. Combined that would equal nearly $4,000 in swimsuits.
More and more sports these days are demanding expensive equipment.
Catcher for KSC’s baseball team Joe Cortese said he hasn’t purchased his own bat since high school. “Bats can range anywhere from $400 to $1,000,” Cortese said.
Head Coach of Keene State College’s baseball team Ken Howe said the bats they usually buy are in the $300 range. Howe said that bats that they have used in the past are Easton brand bats.
First-year athletes on the baseball team have to pay up to three times more than returning athletes. The first-years have to pay for all of their gear. The freshman have to buy required gear warm up jerseys, pullovers, sweatpants and cleats. “Luckily for me I already bought everything so the prices aren’t bad,” Cortese said.
He continued, “The first-years have to buy everything for the first time, and that’s what gets you.”
Coach Howe said that he is already working on the new order form for this year. “It depends if we stay with the same company this year. The cost to the player changes every year, the amount the players pay depends on what they want to order,” Howe said.
Next to equipment, traveling is another expense that comes with being an athlete. Like a few other teams at KSC, the baseball team travels to Florida every year.
Coach Howe said the Florida trip costs the most amount of money for the baseball team.
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“The Florida trip can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $1,500,” Cortese said.
Along with equipment and training trips, some sports teams have to pay for the places they practice.
The men and women’s ice hockey teams have to pay every practice for ice time.
Trevor Theroux is a junior on the men’s hockey club. He said he spends nearly $200 at home for rink time. “I’m not too positive on the new rink here. They’re in the process of figuring that out, but I would assume it would be about the same,” Theroux said.
Equipment can be all different prices for hockey players.
“A rough estimate for my equipment would be $500 for skates, $70 for shin pads, another $70 for pants, $100 for shoulder pads, $50 for elbow pads and then my helmet is probably around $70,” Theroux said.
Not including the hockey stick, it is a total of $860. “Hockey sticks can range between $100 and $300, but mine was $200,” Theroux said.
Even though hockey is one of the sports on the more expensive side, Theroux said, “I’d make it happen, I love it too much to give it up.”
Shelby can be contacted at siava@kscequinox.com
