Buying Used Without Buying Trouble

Goalie gear is expensive and your young athlete is going to grow, so the secondhand market exists for good reason and plenty of families use it well.

It's also the place where the single most consequential mistake in youth goalie equipment gets made, and it gets made by careful parents who had no way of knowing what to look for.

So this one is specific.

The short version

Buy used with confidence: the stick and head, the bag, cleats, shorts, a used shaft, spare mesh.

Buy used with care: gloves, cup, pants. Fit and hygiene issues, not safety ones.

Buy new, or don't buy: the chest protector and the helmet.

Those last two are the entire point of the article, and the chest protector is the more urgent of the two.

Why the chest protector is different

A goalkeeper's chest protector must meet the NOCSAE ND200 lacrosse standard at the time of manufacture and be SEI certified. That's the current requirement in the youth rules, and it exists because of commotio cordis — a disruption of heart rhythm caused by a blow to the chest at a specific moment, which the standard is designed to reduce the risk of.

Here's the problem with the used market: a pad manufactured before that requirement looks almost identical to one manufactured after it. Same shape, same straps, same brand, frequently the same model name. The difference is a certification that only exists as a label — and labels wear off, get cut out, or are simply absent from a photograph in a listing.

A goalie wearing a pre-standard pad is wearing something that looks like protection and isn't the protection the rules now require. The full article on that standard is the one I'd want every goalie parent to read.

So: if you can't see and verify the ND200 and SEI marking on the actual item, don't buy it.

Why the helmet is the other one

A helmet's history is exactly the thing you can't inspect.

You can see cracks and you can press the padding, but you can't see a hard impact from a year ago, a summer spent in a hot trunk, or a drop onto concrete. The shell can look fine and the foam underneath can be finished.

There's also no mandatory recertification in lacrosse, so nobody has inspected it on your behalf — the whole judgment sits with you.

If you do buy one used, buy it from somebody you know, get its age and history, verify the NOCSAE ND041 and SEI markings, check the padding by hand, and confirm every piece of hardware is original. That's a lot of conditions, and for most families the honest answer is to buy this one new.

What to check on anything used

The certification markings. ND041 and SEI on the helmet; ND200 and SEI on the chest protector. Ask for a photograph of the label before you drive anywhere.

Alterations. The rules require equipment to be original and unaltered from the manufacturer's design. Custom paint, drilled holes, replaced straps and aftermarket hardware can make an item illegal as well as unsafe.

Straps and fasteners. These are what fail with age, and they're cheap to look at.

Padding recovery. Press it. If it doesn't spring back, it's done.

Stick legality. Goalie crosse lengths and head dimensions are specified by age group, so a used stick from an older kid may not be legal for yours.

And smell. Genuinely. Gear that's been stored wet has a smell that doesn't leave, and neither does what's growing in it.

Suggestions on what you can do

Ask the club first. Many programs have loaner goalie kits, gear swaps, or a cupboard full of outgrown equipment, and it's free.

Buy used from families you know. A teammate's outgrown stick with a known history is a completely different proposition from an online listing.

Put the savings into the chest protector. Used stick and bag, new pad. That's the trade that works.

Bring him with you. Fit is the whole point, and a helmet bought without a head present is a coin toss.

And check it against the rules before the first game. An official finding the problem in front of his team is a bad way to learn it.

By age: third and fourth grade, borrow everything you can and buy the two protective items new. Fifth and sixth, used sticks and bags save real money while he's growing. Seventh and eighth, he's outgrowing things fast and the used market is genuinely useful for everything except the two. Ninth and tenth, high school programs frequently supply some gear, so ask. Eleventh and twelfth, he has opinions and will buy his own anyway.

A few things worth avoiding

Try not to buy a chest protector you can't verify. This is the one line in the article I'd hold absolutely.

Go easy on the bargain helmet from a stranger. You're buying an unknown history, and that's the entire product.

Try not to accept a hand-me-down without checking it. A teammate's generous offer still needs the same inspection.

And don't let a good deal decide the fit. Protective equipment in the wrong size isn't a bargain.

The version worth remembering

Used sticks, bags, cleats and shorts will save your family real money over ten years, and there's no reason not to.

The chest protector and the helmet are different, and they're different for a specific reason rather than a general caution. Buy those two new, verify the markings, and spend the savings from everything else on them.

Your young athlete stands in front of hard objects on purpose. Those two items are the ones doing the arguing on his behalf.

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The program's annual gear check includes verifying certifications, not just checking for wear — so nothing gets a full season on assumption. Three real days of a fifth-grade week are open on the site, no signup. Take a look at the free week.

Coach Greg — LAX Goalie Hub

General information from a coach, not equipment certification or medical advice. Confirm current standards with USA Lacrosse, NFHS and your league, and follow the manufacturer's guidance for any protective equipment. If a piece of gear can't be verified, don't use it.