Prior to the 1970's, gloves were rarely worn, but now it is extremely unusual to see a goalkeeper without gloves. It is extremely important for all but he youngest soccer levels to wear goalkeeper gloves. They give you better grip on the ball and offer cushioning and protection for the fingers and palms. Gloves could well save you from serious injury in a game.

Glove construction

The palm is the most important part of any glove. It I where the most protection is needed when saving shots. It also needs to give the maximum grip possible for catching and holding onto the ball even in wet or muddy conditions.

Smooth latex palms usually provide the best surface even though thy may be more liable to wear and tear with use. It is best to protect your best gloves by rotating use of several pairs and cleaning the gloves after each use.

You can also get dimpled and textured latex gloves. They offer better durability, but the grip is not as good as pure latex gloves.
If your gloves don't fit right they can cause as much damage as wearing no gloves when it comes to protecting your hands, wrists and fingers.  

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
  

For soccer gloves or other soccer equipment, please visit our store!  SDG Outdoor and Fun