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REMEMBER: Gift cards make great gifts for occasions such as:
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Every day, we at The Soccer Connection are asked all sorts of questions about everything. From equipment, to predictions, when you have been around as long as we have, you have pretty much heard, and answered, it all. So if you have a question, feel free to email -
if it's good we will post the answer on this space. October 24/2006 Glove Tips Gloves are the main piece of kit for any goalie. The purpose of gloves are to protect the keeper’s hands from the shock of an oncoming shot and to provide a grippy non-slip surface for handling and control of the ball. It is important to find a glove that fits perfect as, unlike shoes, gloves are not designed to be ‘worked-in’. There are a wide variety of glove styles on the market, finding one that fits just right will mean you can focus on the game and not on your hands. Each goalie knows what works best for their particular style. Whether you like thick gloves, thin gloves, rolled fingers, webbed fingers, finger spines, or fingerless gloves, not all gloves are created equal. Here are a few tips on how you can get the longest life out of your most crucial piece of equipment.
Care Instructions 1- Always keep your gloves separate from the rest of your equipment. The foam on the palm of the glove can be damaged easily. By keeping your gloves in a (glove bag) or in a separate compartment in your kit bag, you prevent any undue damage that cleats, velcro, net pegs, or anything else in your bag may cause. 2- Do not hang off the cross bar. This may be fun and easy to do with gloves but it is extremely abrasive to the palm and will destroy the foam. 3- Air out your gloves after use. This is easy to do, and should apply to all of your equipment. One of the things that will wear out gloves quicker than anything else is the bacteria caused from sweat; it is also what causes the fowl odor. In order to help prevent both, always take your gloves out of your bag after they have been used. 4- Wash your gloves when needed; especially after dirty or muddy games. Dirt / grit in the palm of the glove is another thing that leads to glove deterioration. If not taken care of, this will lead to the eventual crumbling of the foam. In order to take care of this simply wash your gloves by hand with warm water. Gently massage the palms until you see relatively clear water coming out of them and the palm returns to its natural colour. Do not scrub your gloves; this is not necessary. Wring them out and hang them to dry. 5- Do not use soap / detergent on your gloves. This is not needed to get the gloves clean. You will never completely rinse the gloves clean of soap / detergent. Whatever is not rinsed clean will dry hard and ultimately break up the structure of the foam leading it to literally crumble apart in your hands. 6- Do not clean your gloves with the rest of your equipment in the washer and dryer. This is done for the same reason why you keep your gloves separate from the rest of your equipment in your bag. Also, the heat from the dryer will damage the foam on the glove by drying them out too quickly. 7- Hang your gloves to dry in a cool dry room. 8- Do not leave your gloves in the sun to dry. If you leave your gloves outside to air out, leave them in the shade. If you leave your gloves in the sun the UV rays will discolour the foam on the palm which will lead to premature degradation. Also, the heat generated inside the glove will incubate the bacteria which will lead to that unpleasant odor. 9- Do not dry your gloves on a heater or vent. This dries the gloves out too quickly shortening their life span. 10- Do not store your gloves wet. This will cause accelerated growth of sweat bacteria causing the gloves to rot. If left long enough, the gloves will go moldy and be rendered useless. 11- Use good gloves for games only and practice with used or worn out gloves. This is a technique not only meant to prolong the life of your gloves, but it is a great tip for training purposes. In practice, if you can control a ball with gloves that are sub-par, come game time you will have more confidence wearing good gloves. 12- Do not use any liquid anti-odor product (ie. Febreze) on your gloves. If you must use something to keep your gloves ‘smelling pretty’, use a solid odor absorbing material (ie. Sneaker balls). They will not affect the performance of the glove in any way.
NOTE: The more expensive the glove the faster it tends to wear out. This is not due to manufacturing defects; it is actually due to the properties of foam used in the palm. There is a trade off between performance and durability. More expensive gloves tend to use softer, grippier foam, where less expensive gloves use harder, thinner foam. We can equate this to tires for a car. There is a huge difference between the tires used on a Formula 1 race car and the tires used on a Transport Truck (Performance vs. Durability). Like tires, gloves have a lifespan. The amount of playing time and the degree to which you play will dictate how quickly you wear out your gloves. Some keepers will ultimately be harder on gloves than others, but follow these tips and you should prolong the life of your gloves.
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The Soccer Connection Inc. 100 Westney
Rd. Ajax Ontario, Canada. L1S 7H3. Tel:905-427-8829 Fax:905-686-9422
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