By: Devan Mighton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Tilbury Times Reporter

Hockey is an expensive sport. Between registration, tournaments, and travel expenses, hockey families can often struggle to make ends meet. One of the major barriers to entry for Canada’s National Winter Sport is the cost of equipment, which can keep a child off the ice before they ever get the chance to enjoy it.

Jeff Crowley has seen those challenges firsthand over his 10 years of coaching, primarily with house league teams in the Windsor Minor Hockey Association. With that experience, he hopes to make things a little easier for local families through Coach Crowley’s Hockey Closet, a community-based program that provides youth hockey players with properly fitted, second-hand equipment.

The Hockey Closet is something Crowley has considered for a long time. His experience as a sports equipment salesman, his years as a hockey coach, and his personal commitment to community service have helped put him in a position to kick-start the program.

“I recently received my Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Social Justice & Legal Studies, which inspired me to start this community-based program,” explains Crowley. “I am in a great position to use my connections and expertise to provide a truly unique experience.”

Crowley wants the Hockey Closet to stand apart from traditional equipment donation programs. Rather than relying on a large-scale donation and pick-up structure, he plans to offer families a personalized fitting experience, complete with privacy and confidentiality for those who need assistance.

“On my end, as a coach primarily at the house-league level, I come across a number of athletes each year who are ill-equipped, whether they use a stick that is too small or skates that are too big,” he says. Parents would tell him: ‘We bought it big so it fits next season,’ or ‘he’s using last-year’s stick because he grows so fast.’

For many, second-hand equipment is the only way their child can participate. Crowley says that when that is all that is available, ill-fitting equipment can be a major roadblock to a child’s success and enjoyment in the sport.

“This creates another obstacle for athletes, as wearing equipment that is too big or too small will negatively affect their abilities, experiences, and enjoyment,” he says. “Additionally, I’ve had families in the past who were unable to attend tournaments with the team because the additional costs are not always manageable on top of everything else.”

Coach Crowley’s Hockey Closet is intended to help address those challenges.

The program is open to registered or soon-to-register hockey families in Windsor-Essex. While still in its early phase and focusing on collecting equipment, Crowley is available throughout the season to distribute items as needed. The goal is to gather any hockey gear that helps keep children on the ice, including skates, gloves, helmets, sticks, elbow and shin pads, and hockey bags. Unfortunately, undergarments and mouthguards cannot be accepted.

Once equipment is donated, Crowley will clean and repair items as needed to ensure they are sanitary and ready to wear. He has already begun receiving donations and inquiries through word-of-mouth, leveraging his decade of coaching experience and connections with hockey families.

“A list of persons who donate equipment is kept, and ensures that families who are willing to donate equipment will have access to receive equipment as needed in return,” he explains. “In the long-term, I hope to be able to provide players with all their equipment needs before the start of each season.”

His long-term vision has been influenced by his transition from coaching U15s to leading the WMHA U13 Select team, aiming to build relationships with young players and their families as equipment needs evolve.

“It’s well known that youth-sized equipment is less expensive than adult-sized gear, and athletes often switch between the U13 and U15 groups during growth spurts,” says Crowley. “Getting all that equipment can be both stressful and costly.

Crowley says the first 12 months will be particularly important to the program’s future, as the amount of equipment collected will determine how much can ultimately be redistributed.

For those looking to help, Crowley says that spreading the word is just as important as donating equipment. Storage space will also become increasingly important as the collection grows.

“At this point, I am storing everything inside of three hockey bags in a garage, based on equipment size,” he says. “As my inventory grows, I will likely need to find alternate storage spaces.”

If you are interested in making a donation or have a child in need of assistance, please reach out to Jeff Crowley at 519-903-1193 or by email at jeffcrowley99@gmail.com.