Goalkeeper Gloves

You rely on your gloves for a secure ball grip and hand protection. Make sure you buy what's right for you. 

How To Buy Goalkeeper Gloves

It is important for goalkeepers at all but the youngest levels to wear gloves. Gloves not only give you a better grip on the ball, but they offer protection and cushioning for the fingers and palms. 

Glove construction

Palms

• The palm is the most important part of any goalkeeper glove because it is where most of the protection and tackiness is needed
• The grip in the palm area depends on the materials used to make the glove
• Most gloves are comprised of a smooth latex, which provides the best grip
• Dimpled and textured latex gloves are also available. They offer more durability but their grip is not as great as pure latex gloves.
• Some manufacturers also utilize different treatments to increase the tackiness of the glove
• Typically the better the latex, the better the gloves will perform
• Ironically, the better the glove, the quicker it will wear out, so many keepers use two pairs of gloves--one for games and one for practice
• The best latex gloves will begin to flake relatively quickly, but they are still usable until almost of the material has worn out
• The textured or dimpled palms provide more durability, are less expensive and better suited for practice

Closures

• There are many different types of closures on keeper gloves
• Hook-and-loop(Velcro-type)
• V-notch
• Bandage
• The style you purchase depends mostly on personal taste

Determining your glove size

• Most goalkeepers prefer to wear gloves that are a little larger than they actually need, giving them a larger surface area to stop the ball without sacrificing control
• Glove sizes correspond roughly to you shoe size, and come in whole sizes only
• If you are between sizes, always buy the larger size

Measuring your hand

• Palm size
• Use a tape measure to measure all the way around the widest part of your palm, excluding your thumb
• If you don't have a tape measure, use a string and measure that against a ruler
• Measure both hands and add 1 inch to the largest measurement
• For example, if your longest measurement is 6 inches, your glove size is 7
• Finger size
• Some manufacturers also measure by finger length
• For this, measure from the base of your hand right above the wrist to the tip of your longest finger
• This is your glove size

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