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Just proud dad stuff... First, my son's first year of travel, just 3 years ago yesterday. Crazy when I look at the photo. He's proof, you don't need to push your kids. Let them go at their roll. It was all I could do to get him do more than go to practice(he just wanted to play games), but found love at around 14. Has done just fine. And the young one....who can't get on the ice enough. She bugs me when I don't want to go.

We insist that our players see a concussion specialist rather than just the players GP before their return to play. Even then there is specific protocol and time line after they are cleared. All our players have done baseline testing to help diagnose and gauge recovery time. Soccer BTW, not hockey.

Looks like the young one's Ice Time has paid off..........great pictures!

Picked up a pair of pro stock Quinten Howden skates (pair on the left). They are wider than my customs, but I swapped out the thin tongues for the thicker VH ones and put in some CCM insoles and they feel pretty good. The new style tendon guard and toe box feel very solid. Put new CCM tongues in my customs as well.

Old stock find

^^^ Just as a side note on that. My daughters clubs auto defer to the docs, have to be cleared as soon as concussion occurs. Sidelined, no practice or games, until cleared by physician. I just think the younger the brain, the more cautious approach doesn't hurt. There is also reportedly a bunch of research coming out(soccer) that girls apparently appear to be more prone to some of this due to neck strength. Don't quote me, but I watched something on HBO Real Sports re: it. In a nutshell, I just don't think pushing the envelope with pups is worth it. Hopefully many games/seasons ahead, boys or girls. Not to mention, life, school ect....hockey/sport at a competitive level(not counting beer leagues) ends soon enough, but you only get one brain at best...

That's exactly what we're doing--let the kid's doctor decide. If I have to decide, the answer is "no". My own daughters had relatively concussions last year and two years ago. They each took 3+ weeks to heal. After learning the other young lady was out for the season, I tried to be very proactive with our girls--emphasized keeping their heads off the ice and out of the boards and respecting their opponents. I sent an email out to all the other managers to have a talk with their girls as well. I'm happy to report that nothing bad has happened in our 14U league games--fewer than 2 penalties per game and zero majors. They're playing hard, but playing clean. Thank you, Mark. That fact sheet is very helpful. The blue sidebars about athletes not reporting concussions or trying to hide symptoms are spot-on. This kid is the top scorer in the 14U league in our state in her last year of playing 14's. I know she's wanting to make a big showing. I don't care. I don't want her drooling in a cup for the rest of her life. I'll defer to the doc, but its just scary to me to even contemplate. Thank you all.