For most players on the soccer pitch, the shoes are the most important piece of equipment. Choosing the right pair of football boots can affect a player's ability to run with speed, to change direction quickly, to pass the ball, or to take accurate shots at the goal. For a goalkeeper, though, while football boots remain important, choosing goalkeeper gloves is more pivotal. Ideally, a good pair of goalkeeper gloves will provide extra grip on the soccer ball and protection for the keeper's hands. With these two bases covered, a goalkeeper will be more effective at catching, stopping, blocking, deflecting, or punching incoming shots.
So how can you know which goalkeeper glove styles are good and which ones are just okay? How can you know which characteristics to look for when choosing your goalkeeper gloves? What price range should you expect to find? How do you know which size of football glove to purchase? Read on to find the answers to these questions and many others!
The Sizing Question
Arguably the most important thing about any given pair of goalkeeper gloves is the size. A talented keeper can perform well with $20 gloves or $120 gloves, so long as the fit is comfortable.
Say you are choosing the Puma Vencida goalkeeper gloves at Soccer Box. You are ready to add the gloves to your cart, but first you have to choose a size. Are you a size 4? Size 8 ½? Size 11? How do you know which size to order?
Here's the way to measure your hands for goalkeeper gloves: you have to get the circumference of the middle of your hand, just below your knuckles but still above the thumb. Take the measurement in inches. If your hand circumference is an odd measurement-like 7 ¾ inches-just round up to the nearest inch and add one to find your size. So if the circumference of your hand below your knuckles is 7 ¾ inches, then your goalkeeper glove size would be 9.
Ideally, your goalkeeper gloves won't fit as snugly as the gloves you might wear during wintertime. Instead, the gloves will be longer than your fingers by as much as one inch. Gloves that fit snugly wear down more quickly, because your fingers push through the fingertips. To avoid snug fit, make sure you take measurements of both of your hands. Your hands are not going to be exactly the same size, and determining your glove size based on the larger hand will give you the best results.
Price and Grip
Another important thing to remember when choosing goalkeeper gloves is that a lower price doesn't necessarily indicate a weaker glove. On the contrary, you can find high quality options (such as the Puma Vencida goalkeeper gloves available at Soccer Box) for $10, $20, or $30. You can also find pairs that will cost $150 or $200. The price range is quite broad.
The main difference indicated by the price of goalkeeper gloves has to do with grip. More expensive pairs use more advanced gripping technology. However, since most of these gloves trade padding, thickness, and durability for grip, more expensive gloves actually usually have shorter lifespans than $20 or $30 pairs. Professional keepers can afford to make this trade off, since they are usually playing with new gloves every match. Youth players or players who just play for leisure, though, should aim for something that will last longer.
There's also the added belief that young players learn to be better keepers by starting with less grip-centric gloves, simply because then they aren't relying on the grip as a crutch to make saves. Ultimately, the technique of the goalkeeper is the most important thing. While a pair of gloves can make the difference between a heroic save and a goal for the opposing football team, it's better to focus on padding, durability, and size than on grip-at least at first.
Choosing Goalkeeper Gloves: A Guide to Get the Best Fit for You
June 21, 2015