This is one of the best questions that we’ve covered on the site so far. I say this because it’s a feeling that every goalkeeper is going to have. When you start seeing those first signs of wear on your new gloves your heart is going to sink a little bit. Ultimately though, the purpose of the article is without a doubt helping people figure out what to do with new goalkeeper gloves so that they are able to last much longer. That’s what we all want right? For the most part, you don’t buy gloves to throw them out after a couple sessions. Even professionals don’t necessarily do that. In any case they don’t buy the gloves so that’s different.
Glove care is something that many of us could do a better job at providing. At the end of the day, that’s the dilemma that you’re going to have to contend with. If you want your goalkeeper gloves to last longer then you’re going to have to put more time and effort into glove care. If you don’t put in the time and effort, then your options are to increase your spending on goalkeeper gloves, or playing more time with beat up gloves. Whatever floats your boat is just fine. In figuring out what to do with new goalkeeper gloves, I’m also going to throw in some tips on how to get the most out of them. Here we go then!
What To Do With New Goalkeeper Gloves Before Using Them
Should you be doing anything with new goalkeeper gloves pre use? What you may want to do or not could depend on the type of palm that the glove has. For the most part though, a good piece of advice could be to get the glove wet. Just how wet do you want to get the glove? That’s going to depend on the amount of water that the glove is going to be able to absorb. If you’re wearing a thicker model with latex palms it can absorb a lot of water that doesn’t mean though that you want to get it really wet. The main reason why I would recommend that you get the glove wet is for that water to serve as a bit of a lubricant.
The issue with dry gloves is that they’re going to start to tear much more easily when they come in contact with the ground. Particularly, if you’re playing on a very rough surface. Any field that has a lot of dirt or a hard turf field is going to be a major enemy of new gloves. You want to make sure that they are wet enough to be able to slip through the grass if you will. At the same time you don’t want to get them too wet to the point where you feel that your hands are getting heavier. You constantly want to keep the gloves somewhat wet during use. That’s why you see a lot of goalkeepers spit on their gloves or even lick them!
What To Do With New Goalkeeper Gloves After The First Use
If you’ve done a good job to keep the gloves somewhat wet during your use of them it’s normal that the glove will stay somewhat damp. In figuring out what to do with new goalkeeper gloves, you’re probably going to want to make sure that they dry out in the shade. The reason why you want to have them dry out is so that dampness doesn’t permeate on the glove. That’s when they can start smelling rather bad. Even if we’re talking about a brand new glove. Glove care is without a doubt an active thing that you have to account for as a goalkeeper. Especially if you want to make sure that you’re going to have these new gloves for an extended period of time.
Why is it recommended that you dry them out in the shade? The thing is, if you leave them out in the sun they can start turning hard, and what that’s going to do is ultimately tear away at the grip levels that the glove offers. So that’s why the recommendation is to dry them out in the shade. I have an article on this where I talk about ways to dry them fast. Using a hair dryer on cold air could be the best way to dry gloves out fast. The mistake that many of us make is that we allow them to dry out in the bathroom. Sure, there’s potentially shade there, but they can stay kind of damp, and that contributes to smell further down the line. If you want a quick fix the hair dryer method is potentially the way to go.
When Should You Give Them Their First Full Wash?
You could take any of the goalkeeper glove wash soaps that are on the market and give the gloves their first wash right after their first use. Especially, if you are someone who is accustomed to washing his or her gloves right after using them every single time. If not, drying them out in the shade as mentioned before is going to be enough. Unless, you’ve played in a dirt field or one of those old turf fields. The reason why I would say you can get to washing early after playing on those fields is that I feel the rubber pellets on turf fields eat away at the grip levels way quicker than anything on natural grass.
It’s not only that the glove is going to start turning black, and that’s not necessarily what you want. The main issue from my perspective is that this layer of rubber pellets that can take over the glove is going to eat away at the grip. If you have any gloves that you use on these fields you’re going to want to wash them at the very least weekly. I know for a lot of us you’re going to get lazy, and maybe think it’s the training glove that doesn’t matter. While it’s partly true, if you’re not active about your glove care you’re going to have to deal with the fact that the gloves you wear just won’t last as long as they could last.
The Washing Method You Chose Can Dictate The Future of The Gloves
I’ve already mentioned that you want to dry them out with a hair dryer. A lot of us are lazy though, and we want to put the gloves in the washing machine. There’s a practical reason to do this, that works for mostly practice gloves. As I mentioned others times on the site though, for me the wear and tear that it has on the gloves every time that you wash them isn’t ideal long term. If you wash them by hand with goalkeeper glove shampoo that most of the main glove manufacturers sell you’re going to help the glove long term. Any type of washing method that is too rough could tear away at the latex, and therefore make the gloves lose all of their grip. Needless to say, that’s not ideal by any standards.
There’s an argument to be made that the drying method is even more important than the washing method that you chose. You can wash them with care and then leave them out to dry and the sun and ruin the glove. That’s a terrible situation to be in because you’ve just wasted your time for nothing. If you’re going to do that, stick them in the washing machine and dryer, they’ll last longer like that. Also, if you leave the glove damp it’s going to start to stink sooner rather than later. Pick a drying spot or a method that you like to be able to get your gloves to last longer.
Tangible Benefits of Added Glove Care
The real reason why it makes sense to take care of your gloves, or to put in that extra level of effort is that the gloves are going to last longer. There’s no real secret to any of this. The only reason why you would even think about putting time into glove care is because you want to be able to get the most out of the glove. I do want to talk about something that I’ve experienced a lot lately. When you’re young you’re not necessarily all that cognizant about grip. For me maybe the issue is that the gloves I grew up wearing didn’t necessarily provide a ton of grip to begin with. In any case, you can wear your gloves until they tear up. These days though I find myself dumping gloves that aren’t necessarily torn up at all.
This is something that I do because the grip levels are all but gone. With the constant rubbing against those rubber pallets it would seem the glove has a rubber coating on it that isn’t beneficial. With better glove care I certainly may be able to get more out of the glove. The problem that I see for today’s goalkeepers is that you are in essence putting yourself at a disadvantage with an older glove. Yes, a good catching technique can help bridge that gap. You only need that one play though to break your game, and send you on a downward spiral. In short either keep the glove clean, and with a good grip level or throw it out.
What Happens If I Don’t Provide Good Glove Care
It’s pretty obvious that if you don’t care for the glove well enough it’s going to tear up much more quickly than one that is properly taken care of. I’ve mentioned some of the negative side effects of poor care. Having stinky gloves is one of the first things that start to happen when you are not cognizant about proper glove care. What’s worse is that they’re going to stink up the place wherever you leave them. I for example have a major issue with the gloves that I leave in the car. Particularly, when I start piling more and more pairs there. Cleaning your gloves can be time consuming, and boring, but if you’ve got new gloves at least give them a chance to serve you well.
In knowing what to do with new goalkeeper gloves you can find as a parent that there are major teaching points. It may be hard to get your kids to clean anything around the house. If they know though that you won’t be getting them new gloves if they treat the current ones poorly they may be more inclined to provide an active care for their gloves. It’s a big teaching point from my point of view. I would say my parents missed their opportunity. It may not be too late for some of you that are reading this.
What To Do With New Goalkeeper Gloves Conclusion
As I mentioned in the beginning with new goalkeeper gloves you really want to make sure that you get them wet enough. It’s super important in the first use because otherwise you’re going to start seeing the glove tear away. That’s certainly not something that you love to see at any point. When that happens in the first use though, it’s even worse. Other than that, if you really want the gloves to be able to last as long as they should you’re going to want to be proactive about glove care. A lot of times we can get lazy, and that ultimately leads to stinky gloves and gloves that don’t last long. If you can live with that, then it’s your call.
Is there a way to boost grip on new gloves? For the most part, modern gloves when they are new feature pretty decent grip. The grip that current gloves feature wasn’t something that was normal 10 years ago. At least when it comes to how sticky these gloves are nowadays. With that in mind, you really shouldn’t need to worry too much about making your gloves stickier. There are additives out there that promise to make your gloves sticker. From my perspective these are use at your own risk products really. Good glove care is the organic way to go, and it’s usually pretty effective. Especially if you do buy good gloves to begin with.
