This is something that all of us at some point have tried to do. These days, a lot of the higher-end gloves come out of the case sticky as can be. In those cases, what you’re probably going to want to do is maintain that stickiness more than anything else. If you’ve got other types of gloves that are maybe naturally not as sticky, then you could look into other options. There are actually spray-on options out there that could enhance the grip provided by your gloves. Is this something that would be considered against the rules? Maybe, but it isn’t something that is heavily policed in soccer/football. That could be a great answer to the question, “how to make goalie gloves sticky”!
As I mentioned before, most goalkeeper gloves these days feature a particular palm that is built to provide a certain level of grip. Even a few years ago, all of the major glove manufacturers were using some type of latex palm. They would tell you to keep the latex moist to be able to get the best grip. The problem with some of these gloves is finding that perfect balance between moisturized, and fully wet. When you get the gloves fully wet, they can become slippery. Just to recap then what you’re going to find in this article is how to keep naturally sticky gloves, sticky for longer. Also, I’m going to explore the option that may be a little bit outside of the rules. If you’re really having trouble making clean catches, and you just play Sunday league, the little extra help may not be so bad.
How To Make Goalie Gloves Sticky – Keep Them Sticky
The natural way of doing things would be to just make sure that you monitor the wear on your palms. Even some of the most expensive and high-tech options on the market are not going to be able to perform at a top level when the palms of the gloves are worn down. Proper glove care is going to be your number one ally when it comes to extending the lifespan of your glove. If you really want to know the clean route of how to make goalie gloves sticky, it’s to buy sticky gloves and keep them that way. To keep them that way, you have to wash them or at least allow them to dry.
It’s important to mention at this point that the way you wash goalkeeper gloves could vary depending on the type of glove. With the more traditional latex options, you could even machine wash them if you wanted. This is something that is done in the pro game. The team staff in charge of uniforms and cleats can also wash goalkeeper gloves. If you do this at home, make sure that you put in the gloves just on their own. You could try to put them in with your clothes, but a heavy load could break the glove. With some of the synthetic materials that are used to make goalkeeper glove palms these days, taking some baby wipes could be enough. At least to clean the outer part of the glove.
The most important step to making sure that you keep your gloves sticky is to allow the gloves to dry properly. What you don’t want, for example, is to lay out latex gloves to dry in direct sunlight. If the gloves get too hot and dry out too quickly, the latex can harden fast. When you make this mistake, you are going to be looking at perfectly clean gloves that have consequently lost all of their grip! It’s obvious that you don’t want to do that. Just to be extra careful, make sure you dry your gloves out in the shade. Properly cleaned, and dried, gloves are more likely to remain sticky.
Do You Need Them To Be Sticky?
Any goalkeeper coach that you’ll encounter along the way is going to tell you that you should be relying on technique rather than your gloves. This is a true statement, that’s ideally what you should be doing. That being said, if you can get a little extra help, it may also be a good idea to do so. That’s why there are so many different types of gloves out there. It’s a bit of human nature to want to have something to blame if you mess up. A lot of times what I do if I feel that some of my gloves are not sticky enough, I literally throw them out and buy new ones. For me, to use a Star Wars reference, it’s a new hope. Things are not going well, blame it on the equipment.
You have to be honest with yourself, though. There are times that it’s your mistake. Also, mistakes are part of the game. All you have to do is get back on the horse. Hand positioning is something that comes naturally to a lot of people. We hear this in other sports about players having good hands. Another just not so much. When it comes to goalkeepers, you don’t hear the criticism as much. Yet, we have Jan Oblak, and Ter Stegen who have really safe hands. Then goalkeepers like Keylor Navas or Mexico’s Ochoa, who punch everything away. Is it because their gloves aren’t sticky enough? Maybe, maybe not, but having those sticky gloves can give you that extra level of confidence.
Going back to the original question, you may need your goalie gloves to be sticky. That’s why you clicked on a page titled how to make goalie gloves sticky. Just a disclaimer before we talk about the method to get this done. You could get in some type of trouble if you’re doing this. Probably most leagues don’t have any type of rules though where you could be suspended or anything. Just if you’re going to do this, don’t be too obvious about it. Just so that you don’t attract any type of what we could call unwanted attention.
How to Make Goalie Gloves Sticky: The Trick Way To Get Them Sticky
If you’re on this page, there’s a good chance that you are looking for the shortcut version of this whole ordeal. Basically, you want to know if there’s a trick way to get your gloves sticky. There actually is, and yes, doing this technically cheating. So if you try it, just make sure to not say you heard here! Just playing, you can tell everyone you read about it here. What is true is that you should try it at your own risk. If you’re ever kicked out of a game for doing this, it’s not something that this page can be held responsible for.
Having said all of this, there’s a good chance that no one is going to notice that you’re using a substance to keep your gloves sticky. Don’t over do it, though. There are actually two options that I would recommend looking into if you’re looking for that competitive edge. Grip & Rip Golf Grip Spray is the first sticky substance that you can look into. Although the manufacturer does not state that it works on goalie gloves, it can still be your answer for how to make goalie gloves sticky. If it works for golf gloves, it should work with certain types of goalkeeper gloves as well. The only thing is that you could get your gloves too sticky! Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, that’s your call!
The other option is one that should work really well with some of the newer goalkeeper gloves on the market. This option is the Grip Boost Football Glove Grip Gel Bottle. All this is, is gel that you can apply directly on the gloves. According to the product’s own use recommendation, what you have to do is put a little bit on the glove and then spread it around. Get it to dry for about 15 seconds, and you’re going to be good to go. Many of the newer goalkeeper gloves could work better with this option because the palms are getting very similar to what we see in American football gloves. That directly brings me to my next point!
Can These Substances Be Applied To All Goalkeeper Gloves
Potentially, if you have the more traditional latex palm on your goalie gloves, you’re going to want to try the first option. Although golf gloves are certainly not made the same way that these goalie gloves are made, there are some similarities. Be warned though that using too much could potentially harm some of the more fragile palms out there. There’s actually a good chance that using some of these products could affect the overall lifespan of your gloves. Particularly if you don’t do a good job of washing them after a match. If you have gloves that you feel comfortable with, they may not be the best option to try this stuff on. I would recommend that you go with older gloves and see if you can restore them, and then look into some of the newer gloves that you have.
The second gel option I feel is just a perfect fit for some of the more modern types of gloves. If you’re having trouble differentiating between the traditional latex palm gloves and what I’m referring to as more modern gloves, I encourage you to check out this article, where I explain the difference. These more modern gloves that are made from some of the same materials that are found in American football gloves. Therefore, if you buy an effective product for American football, it should work with modern goalie gloves. I understand that some of these gloves are worth over 100 dollars. If you don’t feel comfortable running the risk in new gloves, try the technique in older gloves first.
Is This Something The Pros Do?
In my experience in the pro game, this wasn’t something that was common practice. I can neither confirm nor deny that this was something that was going on. I want to be clear here, though. Most of my career was played with traditional latex gloves that probably are not going to benefit as much from you adding sticky substances to. When you get some of these newer gloves, you can literally tell that something is added to the palm to make them sticky when you get them. The stickiness of the glove, if you will, does wear off as you use them more and more. It wouldn’t be odd for me to think that pros also look for ways of how to make goalie gloves sticky. Particularly since new models are naturally stickier than they used to be.
Is this something that’s against the rules? I’m not sure if there’s a particular rule against this. Most refs I know won’t spend the time policing something like this. Like a lot of things in the game, even though it’s technically not allowed, it isn’t something that refs are going to be on the look-out for. If you’re going to try this out, be smart about it. Don’t be adding stuff to your gloves in front of the refs. If you can keep yourself from doing that, you’re going to be fine!
How to Make Goalie Gloves Sticky Conclusion
Even though there are now ways to get some more grip artificially, that’s probably not something that you want to rely on. In fact, I’m sure old school guys would rather gloves not be sticky. As all coaches will probably say, your best bet is to improve your technique. Sticky gloves or not, if your catching technique is bad, this is something that you’re going to struggle with. Also, it’s important to point out that proper care of goalkeeper gloves can keep them sticky. Even if you use any type of foreign substance later down the road, your best bet is probably to make sure that your gloves remain sticky in the first place!
If you use any of the substances mentioned in this article, know that you are doing so at your own risk. There is a risk by the way of ruining gloves if you don’t use these substances correctly. You can also find a very picky ref one of these days that is going to want to kick you out over something like this. With some of the more modern gloves, it would seem like those risks are not worth taking. However, if you’re looking to extend the lifespan of older gloves and just use them for training, the sticky substances may be worth a shot. They are certainly cheaper than going out and buying new gloves every month!
