Care of Equipment
Goalkeepers should possess a range of exclusive accessories. As part of general preparation it is very important that they keep equipment in excellent working order.
| Boots - Appropriate footwear to be worn for the prevailing conditions. A personal choice now has to be made between studs, long blades, molded blades, molded boots. Predator boots or ultra thin sock boots. Uhlsport were the first boot manufacturer to bring out the goalkeepers boot. | |
| Jersey & Shorts - Must allow full range of movement. Shoulder and elbow padding is of personal preference as is short sleeve shirts. (note: Until USA 1994, a long sleeve shirt was the only thing that a goalkeeper had to wear that no-one else on the field of play had to have.) | |
| Padded Bottoms - Recommended for icy or bare grounds. Come in full length or 3/4 length. | |
| Cap - Every goalkeeper should posses a cap for those games where the sun is facing you. If nothing else than the prevent face ache from the constant frowning needed to shield the sun from the eyes. Do not let the cap cause a distraction to your game. | |
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Gloves - So many choices. Finger protection gloves are recommended for younger goalkeepers worried about bending fingers back. Older goalkeepers are now moving away from these sort of gloves and moving towards the snug fitting rolled finger gloves provided by a number of glove manufacturers. A flat latex palm provides the best grip, and although against recommendations, it is found that washing in the washing machine within a pillow case provides excellent cleaning and grip to the latex palm. This may however reduce the life of the glove. It may be useful to have a higher quantity of less expensive gloves as opposed to one or two pairs of expensive gloves throughout the season as even the most expensive gloves a deemed useless once the majority of latex has worn off. |
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Leon is Regional Director for UK International Soccer Camps