How to buy Goalkeeper Gloves
GOALKEEPER GLOVES
How To Buy Goalkeeper Gloves
It is important for goalkeepers at all but the youngest levels to wear
gloves. Gloves not only give you a better grip on the ball, but they offer
protection and cushioning for the fingers and palms.
Glove construction
Palms
- The palm is the most important
part of any goalkeeper glove because it is where most of the protection
and tackiness is needed
- The grip in the palm area
depends on the materials used to make the glove
- Most gloves are comprised of a
smooth latex, which provides the best grip
- Dimpled and textured latex
gloves are also available. They offer more durability but their grip is
not as great as pure latex gloves.
- Some manufacturers also utilize
different treatments to increase the tackiness of the glove
- Typically the better the latex,
the better the gloves will perform
- Ironically, the better the
glove, the quicker it will wear out, so many keepers use two pairs of
gloves--one for games and one for practice
- The best latex gloves will
begin to flake relatively quickly, but they are still usable until almost
of the material has worn out
- The textured or dimpled palms
provide more durability, are less expensive and better suited for practice
Closures
- There are many different types
of closures on keeper gloves
- Hook-and-loop(Velcro-type)
- V-notch
- Bandage
- The style you purchase depends
mostly on personal taste
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Determining your glove size
- Most goalkeepers prefer to wear
gloves that are a little larger than they actually need, giving them a larger
surface area to stop the ball without sacrificing control
- Glove sizes correspond roughly
to your shoe size in men's, and come in whole sizes only
- If you are between sizes,
always buy the larger size
Measuring your hand
- Palm size
- Use a tape measure to measure
all the way around the widest part of your palm, excluding your thumb
- If you don't have a tape
measure, use a string and measure that against a ruler
- Measure both hands and add 1
inch to the largest measurement
- For example, if your longest
measurement is 6 inches, your glove size is 7
- Finger size
- Some manufacturers also measure
by finger length
- For this, measure from the base
of your hand right above the wrist to the tip of your longest finger
- This is your glove size
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