'No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls' Review

If you were around in the early 2000s or a 2000s kid, bands such as Blink-182 and Linkin Park were most likely the ones you might have grown up listening to. One band in particular that hardly gets enough attention these days is Simple Plan. They're a Canadian rock band that was part of my childhood, dating back to middle school. As of 2025, they have released six studio albums, with the most recent one being 2022's Harder Than It Looks, which was their final album featuring bassist David Desrosiers. In this story, I'll be reviewing their debut album and reveal some of my favorite songs.

Track List

1. I'd Do Anything

2. The Worst Day Ever

3. You Don't Mean Anything

4. I'm Just a Kid

5. When I'm with You

6. Meet You There

7. Addicted

8. My Alien

9. God Must Hate Me

10. I Won't Be There

11. One Day

12. Perfect

13. My Christmas List (Hidden Track)

No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls was released on March 19, 2002. When I was in the 8th grade, I was given this album from one of my classmates as a Secret Santa gift later that year at school. I also received a poster of the band, which I later hung on my side of the bedroom my brother and I shared at the time.

My Favorite Songs

I'd Do Anything, I'm Just A Kid, and Perfect are my personal favorites. Speaking of I'm Just A Kid, there was a trend on TikTok that took place over three years ago where people used this song to recreate old photos of themselves or themselves with their siblings and/or parents. I participated in this trend and it was fun. Who knew that a Simple Plan song that was 20 years old would be part of a viral social media trend?

Out of all of the songs from this album, one that was completely relatable to me was Perfect. Even though most parts of my childhood were great, I had abusive parents who didn't love me as much or at all. My estranged father was the worst out of the two parental figures. I'm the oldest of three children and my youngest brother and young sister usually received the most attention. As for me, I did everything I could to please him, but to no avail. It felt like he was emotionally unavailable at times. No matter how hard I tried to please him, my efforts would continually fail. He made it feel like everything was my fault, especially for being born. A father is supposed to be their son's hero, not their disappointment. He was too demanding, along with being verbally and physically abusive towards me. People think that once you've left an abusive household, you're automatically free. You may be free from it, but once you've been abused, it sticks with you and you'll remember it for the rest of your life. I rarely or if ever received any sort of love from both parents. They come from a continent where showing love to their children isn't something that they're a fan of. They're not verbal or physical with it. This kind of behavior also happens in Asian households. I wasn't a perfect kid by any means. I was just a young boy who was desperately trying to get his own father to love him unconditionally. This song has been relatable to me in many ways. Any time I would play that song, it reminded me of what would've been if my father had shown me love, support, and encouraged me to pursue whatever I wanted in life.

My Thoughts About the Album

I would highly recommend everyone to listen to this album, because my 15-year-old self would wear that CD out on a daily basis. It's one of those albums that speaks to you on a personal level. Every song was amazing from start to finish. If the members of Simple Plan happens to run into this story, I want to personally thank them for releasing what is arguably the best album during my junior high and high school years.

What's your favorite Simple Plan song? Sound off in the comments below. Be sure to like this story, send me a one-off tip at the end of this story to show your support of creators like me as I continue to write and publish more stories, and follow me on my socials. To my new readers, you can subscribe to my page for free.