I have another article about how long gloves should last, but I want to cover this because I do think we are talking about a different question. There are actually a variety of reasons why goalkeepers change their gloves. Particularly when you’re in that stage where you’re trying to find what fits you best. Since goalkeeper glove models tend to change quite often you can find yourself in that process of trying to get comfortable with a particular type of glove almost on a yearly basis. That could pose another question. If you like a particular model should you buy a couple of pairs just in case they stop making it? If you have the cash that may not be the worst idea.
Back to wear and tear, which is still the main reason why goalkeepers change their gloves, as I’ve said before on the site not every single goalkeeper is going to wear out their gloves at an even rate. What do I mean by that? There are different factors that come into play when it comes to how often you are going to change your gloves. Where are you playing most of the time? If you’re playing in perfect grass fields you can bet that your gloves are going to be able to last a little longer. When that’s not the case you could look into the types of gloves that will last longer in rougher fields, but for the most part, you’ll be changing goalkeeper gloves more often.
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Why Do You Need To Change Your Goalkeeper Gloves – Wear & Tear
The main thing that you’re going to be changing goalkeeper gloves is the wear and tear that’s going to occur by you wearing them. There’s no way around that. There are of course ways to essentially make your gloves last longer. Some of the methods are not necessarily things that I would recommend. I’ll get to that in a bit though. Let’s say that you find a glove model that you like. If that happens then usually you’re going to be more open to taking those gloves to the end of the line. For most goalkeepers you can start seeing the end of the line in about a month and a half! You can push some gloves to two months. If you’re a parent, and you’re reading this making calculations on how many 100+ dollar gloves you need to buy a year, calm down.
That one month and a half to two months is typically what pro goalkeepers that like to make sure that they are always playing with “new” gloves go by. It’s certainly a lot easier to be picky about your gloves when you get them for free! The signs of wear and tear on gloves are mostly really evident. What you’ll have are tears in the fabric. At certain points you’re going to start seeing how the latex just comes off the glove consistently. It kind of looks like when a dog busts open a stuffed animal. There are also times when you’re going to feel that the glove just has no grip. If you have that issue, and the glove isn’t necessarily torn up, a good wash, and some glove glue could be the answer that you’re looking for!
When Do You Know You’ve Reached That Point of No Return?
There are instances where you know that you have to change goalkeeper gloves. Number one is that moment where the glove is just tearing apart. I’ll go back to that stuffed animal analogy. There are goalkeepers out there that keep those gloves around because they say they like the fit, and trust their hands not the grip. At this point in time the amount of grip that you can get with a good new glove is just too much to pass up. In other eras, this idea that I like the fit made more sense today. Just sticking with a glove that is falling apart is dumb. You could be fine, but it just takes that one play for you to wish you had changed your gloves earlier.
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The other point is when you just can’t get the grip that you like no matter how much you wash the gloves. I’m someone who is more on this end. I know that my catching technique is not great so I’m going to need all of the help that I can get. What happens to me a lot is that rubbing the glove up against terrible looking turf keeps making the glove slicker, and slicker. Even if the glove is not ripped I may just throw it out because I feel that they are too slick for me to continue to use. Glove Glu, and a good wash like a said could help delay this situation, but it comes eventually.
Ditch A Glove That You’re Not Comfortable With
This can be a tough decision to make, I’m not going to lie here. If you’re the one that bought the gloves you’re probably going to want to make it work. If the fit is just too bad though there’s a chance that your play on the field will suffer or your comfort on the field for that matter. It’s like ripping off a band-aid that costs you a hundred dollars or so to put on. A lot of times it can be better to rip it off and let the healing get done on its own. If you’re a parent and your kid tells you that they are not comfortable with their gloves, that can be a real difficult situation.
As goalkeepers, we are prone to look for reasons why we are potentially performing like we’d like to. When that happens the gloves may be the first ones to get it. Let’s be honest we tend to start rather young with those excuses. It can be hard again to rip the one hundred dollar band-aid off. There’s no denying that. A lot of times though it’s just better for mental health to dump something when things are not working and go another direction. This comfort issue can be real as well! If you notice that your hands are too red or have marks on them from a glove that’s too tight that can be a problem. If the gloves are too loose you can also hurt your fingers. That’s certainly something that you want to keep an eye on.
How Often Do You Play? / Where Do You Play?
This is a really important thing to take into account. If you’re going to be playing in a really rough field do you really want to take your overly expensive gloves to get ruined there? If you do, there’s a good chance that you’ll be real close to that month and a half two month range when you have to change your gloves even if you don’t play all that often. On the contrary if you play once a week on a great field there’s no reason why you can’t have a pair of gloves that last you 6 months or more! That’s why it’s hard to definitely answer the question of how often do goalkeepers change gloves. Is there anything that you can do to help your gloves not get too torn up when playing on rough fields?
At the very least you’ll always want to make sure that you keep them damp to serve as a lubricant in a way. If you’re wearing dry gloves on rough fields that glove is going to tear up quickly! Speaking of wet gloves, going back to that scenario where you play once a week, one of the things that you’re going to want to do is make sure that you at least get the gloves to dry out after each game. That’s going to help keep them from smelling bad, and kind of rotting away. If you wash the gloves after each game you’ll have a better chance of having them last a long time!
Is Keeping Training & Game Gloves A Good Idea?
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Yes, and no you have to do it the right way in my opinion. What you don’t want to have is a glove that is not in any way similar to your game glove as a practice glove. Ideally you’ll have a similar feeling when you practice and when you play. What you can do is find a glove model that you like and stick with it. So what you’ll have is your practice gloves essentially be older game gloves, and you can reserve the newer gloves for the game. In essence, you’re wearing the same type of glove, so there’s no issue with the fit. When you go to play in games though you’ll be wearing gloves that have better grip.
One of the questions that you may need to ask yourself though is whether you can afford to be wearing used gloves in practice. Why am I saying this? In the youth ranks you’re always fighting for your job. If you’re in that position where your spot on the team isn’t necessarily secure you may not want to be taking chances with gloves that won’t provide you with enough grip. That’s kind of the cruelty of growing up a goalkeeper in a competitive environment. You’re trying to learn and develop your skills while at the same time trying to hide your weaknesses on a daily basis. Evaluate your situation and figure out if you can in fact afford to wear used gloves without optimal grip.
Is There A Way To Not Go Through So Many Gloves A Year?
There are a couple of ways that you could make sure that you’re not going through so many gloves a year. Obviously cleaning your gloves regularly and particularly keeping them stretched out in a spot where they can dry can help. Don’t keep them curled up in your bag all the time, that’s not going to contribute to longer term preservation if you will. As I mentioned before that month and a half to two month range is one that goalkeepers that play every single day are looking at. If you don’t have such a busy training schedule you can easily say your glove’s life span extends to three or four months.
The type of gloves that you buy is also going to play a role in this. We typically want to buy the best, softest gloves with amazing grip. For the most part though, these types of gloves won’t be the most durable. Especially if you use them in rougher fields. Watch out for turf fields especially. Those rubber pellets that the field is filled with can rub up on the glove and cause you to lose grip. Even if they don’t rip the glove they can kind of coat it. That’s why you’ll see your gloves looking like you just touched black paint. If you want to maintain your grip levels make sure to wash your gloves regularly and get some help from Gloveglu if you need it!
How Often Do Goalkeepers Change Gloves? – Conclusion
As you can see by the fact that I took so long to answer a simple question there’s no clear-cut answer. Goalkeeper gloves as well virtually all of the other equipment that you can wear have a feel sense to them. What I mean by that is, if something is not working for you go ahead and dump it. Move on, look for something that fits better. When it comes to gloves that can be hard because these days they’ve gotten super expensive. Sometimes though you have to make some tough decisions. Maybe it’s to take those gloves that you don’t like and wear them out in training.
Most goalkeepers that are really serious about this are going to be going through about 6 pairs a year. Again if you’re trying to extend the lifespan of your gloves, washing them regularly is the best way to do that. I don’t recommend things like getting up with your fists, and essentially adjusting technique for the sake of glove care. Because goalkeeping is hard enough as it is for you to be tiptoeing your way around the field to make sure that your gloves don’t get torn up. In fact once you’re on the field the well being of your gloves shouldn’t be something that’s in the back of your mind at all!
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: HOW
