Equipment

Protective cups and jock straps are worn under an athlete's uniform as part of the base layer of their underwear. The cup is primarily for supporting and protecting a boy's testicles or genitalia.  Cups are recommended equipment for just about any sport your son plays which involves a puck, a ball, or possible collision or contact with another player, explains MomsTeam's Brooke de Lench in this informative video.

Commotio cordis is the medical term for a rare disruption of the heart's electrical system resulting from a blunt impact to the chest that leads to sudden cardiac arrest. While commercially available chest protectors have not been shown in any peer-reviewed studies to prevent commotio cordis, whether such a heart shield provides an extra measure of protection for athletes playing baseball, lacrosse, and hockey, the sports with the highest rates of sudden death from the condition, is unknown.

There are three kinds of mouth guards, but, regardless of type, they help prevent injury to the mouth, teeth, lips, cheeks and tongue. But they are also breeding grounds for bacteria, so they should be sanitized daily.

For helmets with visors or face shields, contact lenses are better than protective eyewear because they don't fog up when an athlete sweats or plays in humid conditions, but it is important to ask your child's eye doctor if they are old enough for contacts, says optometrist Noah Shriber.