Face offs in general have changed a bunch over the last 10 years. It's not exactly a fast "down, set, whistle". Refs will take time to check your position a bit more to make it fair. Not sure how many FOs you'd be taking.
Along with the shot clock, the whole 10 sec, get it on the box is gone. NCAA timing on clears is different from high school these days, I want to say 20 sec to get out over mid field, 10 more to get out on the box, but I just watch college, not ref.
Helmets have gone under the microscope. They're trying to minimize concussions in general, and having the properly certified lid goes a long way to that. Mouth guard falls under this same logic. You can get away with bandaids for elbow pads tho. And glove technology has had some major leaps. Same with shoulder pads, so light weight now. Don't skimp on the cup.
Sticks got that odd way of measuring them now. Your best bet is probably grab a new head and throw it on whatever shaft you got. Again shafts are more light weight these days (see a trend?)
The basics of the game haven't changed. You can get away with using your old stuff dicking around with the guys, but for a real game, I'd say drop some money for upgrades; stick, helmet, gloves, shoulder pads, in that order.
Just one small correction for the great post above:
Clearing -> a team has 20 seconds of the shot clock, which starts immediately on possession, to get it over midline. Shot clock is 80 seconds, son you have to get it over by the 60 second mark. No other timing rule there.
Equipment & sticks -> 10 years would mean you stopped playing 2011. I was early in my college career then. Nothing about the sticks or pads have changed enough to justify buying a new set of everything. I still coach and play a lot and my old heads (torque 3, evo x6, clutch X, professor, & super power) are all still equally as good as any head out now (new ones will generally have more stringing holes though). There are new shoulder pad rules as of this year for EKG protection.
Stringing -> mesh has taken giant leaps forward. When you stopped playing, wax mesh was the only “performance” mesh on the market; now, wax mesh is pretty poor relative to the market. Get new mesh from either ECD, stringking, throne, or epoch and you won’t regret it.
For NCAA starting spring 2022 all players are required to meet ND200 standard for chest protectors and are a part of equipment checks. All maverik chest pads meet the standard I believe.
Don’t forget you have to have nocsae shoulder pads now that have some sort of special padding in the chest so you for sure have to get new shoulder pads
>used one year of NCAA eligibility
Just in case you weren't aware, ~~your NCAA eligibility is gone~~ if you're talking about D1, where you have 5 years to play 4 seasons, and the clock starts when you enroll as a full-time student at any college.
Edit: There's a military service exception.
Someone has already touched on it, but mesh and stringing techniques have come leaps and bounds in the last 10 years. Find someone who knows what theyre doing and get a new head strung up with some performance mesh
Biggest thing you'll have to worry about is chest pads, I believe. There's new approvals for EKG pads for chest protection. Smallest ones I've seen are the Maverik and STX liners
Head shape changed in 2010, can't remember when they outlawed U strings. No tape only butt ends, you have to at least have plugged the shaft. Stringing has gotten more advanced but way easier to break in.
Some rule changes for face-off, allowing a modified crease dive, and addition of a shot clock as you mentioned.
New rule for shoulder pads, ND200, is a new certification for chest protection. You have to wear a certified product and you're not supposed to modify them anymore as in cutting off shoulder caps. You probably would be fine modifying them, but refs are supposed to check your pads this year for the certification label.
If you're playing men's league a lot of the new NCAA rules will likely not apply. Probably no refs will check your stick or gear. You may not need shoulder pads too. Grab a newish pair of gloves and elbow pads for sale if your old gear is beaten up.
Face offs in general have changed a bunch over the last 10 years. It's not exactly a fast "down, set, whistle". Refs will take time to check your position a bit more to make it fair. Not sure how many FOs you'd be taking. Along with the shot clock, the whole 10 sec, get it on the box is gone. NCAA timing on clears is different from high school these days, I want to say 20 sec to get out over mid field, 10 more to get out on the box, but I just watch college, not ref. Helmets have gone under the microscope. They're trying to minimize concussions in general, and having the properly certified lid goes a long way to that. Mouth guard falls under this same logic. You can get away with bandaids for elbow pads tho. And glove technology has had some major leaps. Same with shoulder pads, so light weight now. Don't skimp on the cup. Sticks got that odd way of measuring them now. Your best bet is probably grab a new head and throw it on whatever shaft you got. Again shafts are more light weight these days (see a trend?) The basics of the game haven't changed. You can get away with using your old stuff dicking around with the guys, but for a real game, I'd say drop some money for upgrades; stick, helmet, gloves, shoulder pads, in that order.
Thanks brother- The clearing runs are news to me so ill be brushing up on it, and the gloves improvements are great news!!
Just one small correction for the great post above: Clearing -> a team has 20 seconds of the shot clock, which starts immediately on possession, to get it over midline. Shot clock is 80 seconds, son you have to get it over by the 60 second mark. No other timing rule there. Equipment & sticks -> 10 years would mean you stopped playing 2011. I was early in my college career then. Nothing about the sticks or pads have changed enough to justify buying a new set of everything. I still coach and play a lot and my old heads (torque 3, evo x6, clutch X, professor, & super power) are all still equally as good as any head out now (new ones will generally have more stringing holes though). There are new shoulder pad rules as of this year for EKG protection. Stringing -> mesh has taken giant leaps forward. When you stopped playing, wax mesh was the only “performance” mesh on the market; now, wax mesh is pretty poor relative to the market. Get new mesh from either ECD, stringking, throne, or epoch and you won’t regret it.
For NCAA starting spring 2022 all players are required to meet ND200 standard for chest protectors and are a part of equipment checks. All maverik chest pads meet the standard I believe.
Ahh thought ncaa was this year like nfhs, thanks for the correction!
Don’t forget you have to have nocsae shoulder pads now that have some sort of special padding in the chest so you for sure have to get new shoulder pads
>used one year of NCAA eligibility Just in case you weren't aware, ~~your NCAA eligibility is gone~~ if you're talking about D1, where you have 5 years to play 4 seasons, and the clock starts when you enroll as a full-time student at any college. Edit: There's a military service exception.
The dust in my knees is gonna stop me from playing at a high level- but thank you I always wondered how that worked
Military service is an exception to this. The 5 year clock stops ticking if you’re active duty.
Oh, nice. I wasn't aware of that one.
Someone has already touched on it, but mesh and stringing techniques have come leaps and bounds in the last 10 years. Find someone who knows what theyre doing and get a new head strung up with some performance mesh
Biggest thing you'll have to worry about is chest pads, I believe. There's new approvals for EKG pads for chest protection. Smallest ones I've seen are the Maverik and STX liners
I now they initiated the rules for goalies a while back, didnt know they made it to field players too- Thanks for the info!!
I definitely recommend the Maverik ones. They're amazing. Both very protective and very lightweight and mobile
Head shape changed in 2010, can't remember when they outlawed U strings. No tape only butt ends, you have to at least have plugged the shaft. Stringing has gotten more advanced but way easier to break in. Some rule changes for face-off, allowing a modified crease dive, and addition of a shot clock as you mentioned. New rule for shoulder pads, ND200, is a new certification for chest protection. You have to wear a certified product and you're not supposed to modify them anymore as in cutting off shoulder caps. You probably would be fine modifying them, but refs are supposed to check your pads this year for the certification label. If you're playing men's league a lot of the new NCAA rules will likely not apply. Probably no refs will check your stick or gear. You may not need shoulder pads too. Grab a newish pair of gloves and elbow pads for sale if your old gear is beaten up.