Blog: Neckguards Are Annoying

Most of us slap a neck guard on our little hockey player without thinking much about it.  A few may even know why we do it.  I came across this blog post titled At least Joe Colborne doesn't have to wear a neck guard.  Joe Colborne, for those of you who don't know, is a Boston Bruins prospect.  There are two insights offered by Mr. Colborne on this blog post that really struck me.  The first, obviously, is on the neck guard. 

That’s where the conversation took a turn to youth hockey, when full cages were the norm, and depending on which youth hockey organization one was in, players were instead bugged by the vaunted neck guard.

“Oh yeah. All the way up,” Colborne said when asked if he was forced to wear one while playing as a youngster. “They were pretty pointless to me. We all just taped them up and made them as small as possible so they’re more comfortable.”

Straightening his neck out and moving it side to side, almost robotically, he added, “you walk around like this and you can’t move your neck at all in them.”

The second is on wearing the full cage mask.

The neck guard and the cage both fall into the category of annoying pieces of equipment. Colborne certainly doesn’t miss the neck guard, known more among young players for itchy tags and restricting qualities than any protective benefits, but can find solace in the fact that it’s been a while since he’s had to wear one and, more importantly, that they’re out of his life completely. The same can’t be said for the temporary adjustment back to a cage as he tries to impress the Bruins brass and coaching staff.

“I had to get used to it for college, but then all summer I was back to the half-visor, and in rookie camp I was half-visor. It’s just cooler, it’s easier to breathe, it doesn’t restrict your vision when you’re trying to look out and use your peripheral vision and look down and see the puck,” Colborne. “When you’ve got those bars in the way, it gets in the way.”

Emphasis added.  I never played organized ice hockey, so I had no idea about the neck guard.  For the record, I do not advocate doing away with the neck guard.