Goalkeeper gloves can be very hard to pick out and select if you are a new keeper or you simply just don’t know.  I will outline how to pick out an awesome pair that will serve you well.  When you look at pro Goalkeepers, have you ever asked yourself, Why do their gloves always look so brand new?  Its very simple, professionals use a new pair of gloves every single match they play in.  These gloves then become their practice gloves or I’m sure, like field players trade jerseys, goalkeepers trade gloves.  While most of us are not professionals, we must know how to find our gloves and make them last. 

When selecting gloves always make sure they fit.  Also, a key point to remember is that, every single brand of gloves has a slightly different size.  Try going to a local store and trying on all the different brands of gloves they have.  Most likely it will be the same regardless of the brand, but you never know. 

Now obviously the more expensive a glove, the better quality, texture, and the longer it will last.  But the main thing to remember is that the gloves do not make a keeper do different things.  Dida would play the same in a set of $10 gloves as he would in a set of $100 gloves.  Some obvious choices of good gloves are the following brands: Sells, Sondico, select pairs of Adidas, and many others.  My recommendations are the Adidas Fingertips for practice and a brand of sells for games. 

How Many? 

I have about 4 sets of gloves at a given time, while all my gloves that I have ever worn are ready to play any day of my life because I always keep them up-which I will explain how to next-it is very important to have at least 2 gloves.  Remember 2 for practice, 2 for games.  I start off like this, I buy 2-3 pairs of gloves at a time.  The first set is the one that I want for practice.  With the first set, I wear them to practice, these are my practice gloves.  My game gloves are only worn at games, repeat: only games.  The 3^rd and 4^th set are to sit in a cool, dry place to wait.   

Glove Care: 

I have seen a lot of keepers and experienced adult keepers treat their gloves like toilet paper.  They are very dirty.  Remember, the dirty spots that are on your foam=no more foam.  The foam will come off the gloves.  After practice or games maybe one to two if each competition, wash your gloves.

1. Put your gloves on and run under warm water.

2. First let the water come into the gloves and then start, very gently, caressing the dirty spots off the gloves.

3. With a little, tiny bit of dish soap, wash your gloves like you would your hands.

Let them dry and now you are ready to play.  If you follow these simple steps for glove care they should last you a very long time. 

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Posted on October 5th, 2007 | 16 Comments »
Filed under: Fukushima

Jason Fukushima is a new writer for the site and will regularly give his perspective on events from a goalkeeper’s point of view, as well as tips on how wannabe goalkeepers around the world can improve themselves- Ed 

To start off my name is Jason Fukushima and I am a goalkeeper.  I play for a competitive team in California playing in a good league.  However, this league is not professional and I am still an amateur looking to play college ball.

So let’s begin:

I think before I start naming off things is to clarify first off that the whole misconception about Goalkeepers.  We do not and shall not become goalkeepers by force and by athleticism.  Most coaches either force kids to become the keeper or because they are the slowest or most unfit on the team.  We become goalkeepers because we like responsibility, know how to control all 11 players on the field including ourselves for the whole game, and we love soaring through the air making unbelievable saves.

1. Hands: Our hands should always be good.  This is why the United States has produced some pretty good keepers.  To name a few, Tim Howard, Kasey Keller, Tony Meola…the list continues. The
   U.S. plays baseball, basketball, and other sports that requires SOFT HANDS.  Soft Hands is part of having them in general.  We must be good at receiving balls to the hands cleanly.  By this I mean proper shape, while many of my trainers have forced the “W” on me and I employ this shape to this day, the “Triangle” probably works just as well though.  But one of these definitely has to be good and sound for a keeper to properly receive the ball.   

2. Athleticism: After hands, athleticism probably comes next. We need to have very fast reflexes or be very tall. I will not endorse height as a necessity because I am a rather short goalkeeper. Also, about the height thing, I have reached and saved balls that my taller counter parts looked at and coveted. We should not be the most athletic player on the team, but one of the most athletic. 

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