Equipment
GK Gloves
Training Gear
What equipment does a goalkeeper need? And how to select it?
GK Gloves
Training Gear
GK Gloves
Do Goalkeepers need gloves?
I’d highly recommend gloves, but you technically don’t need them, especially when players first are starting out.
WHY? Gloves make catching easier (if you have good GK ones) and helps not having your hands sting when you catch it—building your GK’s confidence & success.
What Gloves Should I buy?
A good starter pair of gloves I’d recommend can typically cost between ($40-60) range.
But I did find a couple of reasonably priced gloves at Dick’s Sporting goods: Adult Sizes $32.00 at Dick’s Sporting Goods and Kids Gloves $21 at Dick’s Sporting Goods. These gloves would definitely work as a beginner glove, but I’d still recommend trying them on to see if they’ll work!
How should the gloves fit?
Finger Length
GKs Gloves should fit comfortably, but not too loose on your hand. You don’t want to catch the ball with oven mits !
The gloves are TOO big when there is about a thumbnails’ length space between the tip of the middle finger and the top of the glove. Some players have their own preference with how much space they like to have, but generally you don’t want your fingers to be touching the tip of the gloves. I’ve found in the gloves I wear that there tends to be about 1/4 inch space.
Width
It’s also important to consider the width (narrow or wide) of the glove. This is more important if you are purchasing outside of the basic glove style. Just keep your eye on that if you are looking for more expensive gloves.
Popular Places to buy gloves - I recommend trying them on if you have the chance
Dick’s Sporting Goods
Soccer.com
What Style of Glove?
Should I get Finger Save Gloves?
Lots of people buy and wear them. I find that many finger save gloves are quite restrictive to wear and so I don’t personally like to wear them.
Typically, finger saver gloves aren’t available at the basic introductory glove level, and so they usually cost more than a basic glove. These kinds of gloves are something to look more into, in my opinion, once the player has developed an interest. There are gloves out there that you can remove the finger saver spines from the glove. If this interests a player, this might be a good place to start. So, if the player doesn’t like them, then they can remove them easily.
Style of Glove
There are many different styles of glove, which typically refers to the how the latex is cut for the finger. Some have more or less foam. I’ve preferred having 3 mm or so, but I’ve trained and played with much thicker gloves. I’d just start with the basic cut, and then go from there. I haven’t found it to be the case that getting a specific cut of glove will be a game changer for the player. It is more important that the glove fits and is comfortable.
Training Gear
Training Gear - Clothing for Goalkeepers
Goalkeeper Gear typically includes a training top (short or long sleeve) and/or bottoms (shorts, pants, or leggings)
Training Tops
GKs can wear short sleeve shirts but diving can cause scratches on your arms and raspberries on your hips. So, I recommend wearing a long sleeve shirt as a GK training top. However, I find that many goalkeepers will wear short sleeves and dive, even on turf. I don’t recommend that, because I find that if players get scratched or get uncomfortable, they won’t be as willing to dive to make a save. This can impact their decision making and hurt their diving technique. Here are some options of what goalkeepers wear below.
Long Sleeve Training Top
Players can wear a goalkeeper jersey to training, which will work just fine. I personally enjoyed training in the moisture wicking long sleeve shirts. Either will work. Light weight jerseys can be nice, because they provide the protection as well as keep you cooler. Some goalkeeper jerseys have pads on the elbows. Those can work, especially for younger kids, but aren’t necessary.
Here are links to some examples:
Goalkeeper Jersey: Link to one at soccer.com
Long Sleeve Training Top: Link to one at Adidas.com
These can snag on the turf, but something like this is quite a bit cooler to train in.
Short sleeve top, or Short sleeve top w/long compression shirt under
Many goalkeepers just train in the same training tops as the field players. This does work.
A lot of goalkeepers also wear a short sleeve shirt with a tight long sleeve underneath to train in. It is the same kind of shirt that field players would wear under their jersey if they were playing in cold weather.
Here is a link to an example:
Long compression shirt: Link to one at Adidas.com
Training Bottoms
This is a personal preference. I do find that many goalkeepers will wear shorts during games, and will wear pants for cold games. There are a lot of different options for goalkeepers, including pants, shorts, and shorts with leggings.
Pants
Many goalkeepers do wear pants. The typical soccer pants that players get with their warm-up kit work just fine. I wouldn’t recommend players wear baggy pants, because that can interfere with their ability to kick.
Here is a link to an example:
Pants: Link to a pair at Adidas.com
Shorts or Shorts with Leggings underneath
I find many goalkeepers these days wear leggings under their shorts, especially if they train on turf. I didn’t wear this, but I see many GKs doing this these days.
Shorts: any kind the player prefers
Here is a link to an example:
Leggings: Link to a pair at Adidas.com