As a goalkeeper, one of your most important pieces of equipment is your gloves.
Not only are gloves important to your goalkeeping performance, they are also extremely
expensive. Gloves that are taken care of properly will not only make you a better
goalkeeper, they will last longer.
Just a word of caution, more expensive does not usually mean more durable. In fact,
it is usually just the opposite. More expensive often means less durable. The reason
being that the softer the latex on the palm of the gloves the better the grip and
performance. Soft latex will wear out much more quickly then firm or harder latex.
Soft latex will usually start to break down after the very first use and this is
considered normal.
We highly recommend that our goalkeepers have at least two pairs of gloves. One
pair that is only used for games, and one pair that is used for practice and warm-ups.
Once your game gloves begin to wear out, you can relegate them to being your new
practice gloves and purchase a brand new pair for games.
Uhlsport makes gloves for all types of weather and playing conditions. They have
gloves for wet weather, dry weather, astroturf, etc. Ideally you should have the
right glove for whatever the playing conditions, but of course this will be dependant
on your playing level and budget.
It is important to wash your gloves after every use. When your gloves get dirty,
the palms will lose their grip and the ball will start to act like sand paper on
them. This can cause the palms and fingers to wear out very quickly. It is important
to get the dirt out of your gloves as quickly as possible after their use. Sweat
can also have an adverse affect on your gloves. Not only will they stink, fungus
and bacteria can begin to grow inside the latex. This can cause the latex to become
brittle and flaky.
Step One: Gloves should always be stored in a protective glove bag when not in use.
Step Two: Remove the gloves from the glove bag.
Step Three: As you can see, these gloves haven't been washed in a few games.
Step Four: We recommend Uhlsport Glove Care. Combine with some water in a handy
spray bottle.
Step Five: Place one glove on your hand and wet with warm water under a running
tap. Spray some of the Glove Care solution onto the dampened glove.
Step Six: Using the other hand, gently start to scrub the palms and fingers of the
glove. Continue to add Glove Care solution and scrub until all of the dirt
is removed from the palm and fingers of the glove. Repeat steps Five and Six with
the other glove.
Step Seven: Take one glove and fill it with warm water from the tap. Once the glove
is full of water squeeze it until all of the water is out and then repeat. This
will remove any sweat or bacteria that might be inside the glove. Repeat with the
other glove.
Step Eight: Once both gloves are cleaned, rinse them out in the sink by placing
them under the running tap. Once all cleaner has been removed gently wring them
out to remove any excess water. Do not do to this too hard as you may damage the
glove and it is not important to remove all of the water.
Step Nine: You should now see a noticeable difference in the palms of the gloves.
It may not be possible to remove all of the dirt, but you can remove most of it.
Step Ten: Another view of the cleaned gloves from the back.
Step Eleven: The next step is to ensure that the gloves are dry before the next
match. We do this by using some old newspaper and a coat hanger.
Step Twelve: Twist the newspaper up as tightly as you can and insert into each finger
of the glove. Continue to fill all of the fingers and thumb with newspaper.
Step Thirteen: Once the fingers and thumb are done, ball up some more newspaper
and fill the remainder of the glove.
Step Fourteen: Repeat steps Twelve and Thirteen with the other glove.
Step Fifteen: Take both gloves and attach them to a coat hanger using the glove
wrist straps. Hang the coat hanger in a cool, dark location away from sunlight or
direct sources of heat. I use a spare shower stall, but a closet works well also.
Step Sixteen: Once the gloves have hung to dry overnight, remove them from the coat
hanger and take out all of the newspaper. You will notice that the newspaper is
very soggy and has absorbed a large amount of the water.
Step Seventeen: Place the slightly damp gloves back into the protective glove bag..
Step Eighteen: Seal the glove bag and store in a cool place until you are ready
for the next match.
DO'S
DON'TS
- Do have two pairs of gloves. One for training and one for matches.
- Do moisten your gloves before playing. It will improve the grip and durability.
- Do get gloves that fit properly. Gloves that are too big will wear out faster. Gloves
that are too small will rip at the seams.
- Do wash your gloves after every game and practice.
- Do relegate old match gloves to practice gloves when they start to wear out.
- Don't place gloves in direct sunlight or on a heater to dry them. This will destroy
the palms of the gloves.
- Don't spit on your gloves to moisten them. This will spread germs and cause bacteria
to grow in the palms of your gloves.
- Don't store your gloves for any length of time unless they have been cleaned first.
Additional Tips: On occassion, when I did not have time to wash my gloves properly,
I have put them directly into the washing machine by themselves. It gets the gloves
very clean, but the tumbling of the washing machine is a lot harder on the gloves
then scrubbing them by hand. I wouldn't recommend this all of the time, but it does
work. I have also heard of people wearing their gloves into the shower and cleaning
them that way, although I have never done this myself.