Establishing an equipment exchange for youth sports

Before the start of each sports season the first stop my family and I make is to the thrift store.

We almost always find gear perfect for practice; baseball pants, cleats, football practice jersey, underarmor. Sometimes we even luck out and find items in game worthy condition; soccer shorts, basketball shorts, cleats.

Last year I even found some baseball mitts at the play-it-again sports store that were in perfect condition, (we gave these to the league for those kids that didn't have mitts)

I'm always so excited with these great finds!

So this year I decided to share my excitement by starting up an equipment share program for the youth baseball league my kiddos play in.

The thought was when parents came to register their kids for baseball/softball they could either rummage through the boxes of pants, cleats, & mitts and take items that would fit their kiddos or drop off items that no longer fit their kiddos or both.

I excitedly put together a couple of boxes, threw in some pants and cleats that did not fit my son anymore, sent the boxes with my hubby to registration, and eagerly waited to hear how my experiment went.

I was sadly disappointed.

Although my son's items quickly disappeared no one contributed any items to the boxes.

None. Zero. Zilch. Not a single item.

The league had advertised the equipment exchanged and people had asked about the exchange but still, there the boxes sat. Empty. For 2 weeks straight.

Needless to say I was a bit discouraged and somewhat surprised. I thought for sure this would be something other parents would participate in.

But alas they did not.

I can't help but wonder if they just saw the hand-me-down part of it and not the eco-friendly, cost saving part of it.

My husband was very encouraging and reminded me that it takes time for new ideas to catch on.

Good Point Hubby!

So even though my spirit was dampened I am going to try it again next year and see if maybe, just maybe, I can get a few parents to participate.

Have you had success starting up these kinds of exchange programs? If so, I would love to hear your story and any pointers you may have!

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