This is a topic that I don’t see being talked about a lot, and it can be a real problem. There’s a real danger for girls if they pick the wrong gloves. Simply put, they’re going to be at a higher risk of injury. In the recent Women’s World Cup, there was talk about regular cleats being one of the issues that led to an increase in significant knee injuries for the ladies.
As someone who’s had issues with loose gloves in the past, I’m confident that if they were to do a study about women’s wrist injuries for goalkeepers, they are surely going to be more prevalent than what you see for men. When thinking about what type of goalkeeper gloves girls should wear, saying that you should use the women’s version of a glove would be naive. First off, not all of the brands carry a women’s version of their gloves. That makes it harder for girls to find gloves that actually protect them correctly.
What I want to do today is talk about some of the key features that ladies should be looking for in their gloves. Also, I’m going to be offering up three options that I’ve looked into and liked a lot. If you’re new to the site, I think it’s important to give you a disclaimer here. I’m a guy who’s a former pro goalkeeper. The reason, though, I think I’m in a unique position to talk about this topic is not only because I coach female goalkeepers but because a lot of the challenges that I see them face are the same that I had to go through when choosing goalkeeper gloves.
Challenges for Girls When Choosing Goalkeeper Gloves
Another disclaimer here when talking about some of these general concepts. I’m not inferring that if you have stronger, thicker hands, you’re not girl-like. It’s actually the opposite. If that’s the case for you, then you’re not going to have too much trouble picking goalkeeper gloves. That’s awesome; as I said, I deal with these issues as a guy, and it’s gotten frustrating for sure.
Many ladies, however, are going to have thinner fingers and thinner wrists. Why is this an issue when picking goalkeeper gloves? A lot of times, the gloves that are your size are going to fit too wide on you. That loose glove feeling can not only be uncomfortable, but it can also lead to more injuries. If you feel like your whole hand is shaking after saving a shot that didn’t seem like it was coming in too hot, you may want to look at the gloves that you’re wearing.
The challenge here is finding a glove cut that’s going to help diminish some of the injury risk. What you want to have usually are gloves with a nice wrist strap and where your fingers don’t feel too loose. I had an issue with my gloves fitting loose on my finger, and it led to a broken pinky.
What happens is that you’re in that middle ground. For me, for example, the size eight glove fits better around my finger, but my fingers are too long for those gloves. The injury risk with the size 8 gloves is usually to the tip of my fingers if I have to dive to a low ball and skim the ground with the tips of my fingers. What I am getting at really is that the main issue is that the fit never seems right, regardless of what you do.
Going With Thicker Options
To me, this is a tip that I give to kids, ladies, and people with thinner hands. I’ve said on this site a ton of times that when you’re wearing thinner gloves, you’re going to feel the burn of every shot that you get your hands on. It’s always going to be preferable in my book to have gloves that truly provide that extra sense of protection. There are things that you can do to help yourself not feel that burn with thinner gloves. That’s something I’m going to talk about here soon.
The way I see it, though, if you can go ahead and buy gloves that are going to allow you to feel a lot better while saving shots, why wouldn’t you do so? I’ve been there, it’s exciting you got your new modern gloves and you’re going to give them a test run. The first thing that you realize when you put them on is that you have a lot more mobility with these gloves. You’re thinking, why in the world did I ever wear those bulky old gloves?
Even before the game or the practice session is over, though, your hands are going to start to feel numb. That’s especially going to be the case if you’re playing in a cold-weather environment. You’re going to have a couple of shots that are going to come in, and you’re going to have to shake your hands after you make the save to be able to get some feeling back into them. When that happens, those bulky old gloves are going to start looking a lot sexier for sure.
Get Gloves With a Wrist Strap or Tape Your Wrists
I could even extend this advice to say that you could tape your fingers if you’re going to be using a glove that’s a bit too wide for your hand. When I said thicker gloves in the earlier paragraph, I was referring to the thickness of the palm area. In this situation, we’re talking about gloves that are a bit too wide for your thin fingers and wrists. To be able to counter this issue we see a lot of goalkeepers taping their wrists and fingers.
When it comes to a wrist strap, that’s usually something I’m always going to want on gloves. I know some of the modern options have a very hard wrist area that makes them hard to put on. That’s what you’re banking on protecting your wrists with these types of gloves. If the glove fits too loose, though, which is a common issue for ladies, taping the wrists can be a good way to minimize that problem.
Most pros are going to come out to training and games with taped wrists and fingers. Why is it, then, not something that I would recommend relying on? The thing is, most of us are not going to have the time to patiently tape our hands before games and practice. Goalkeeping is a small part of your day for many of you. The problem with that is that you’ll end up wearing a loose glove without any extra protection for many days, and that increases the risk of injury. I’d rather have a glove that fits just right without any extra help.
Good Goalkeeper Glove Options for Ladies
I’ve talked about some of the key elements that I would look for in the goalkeeper gloves that girls should wear. Apart from some of these unique elements, it’s still a good idea to look for gloves with decent grip and durability. Here are some of the options that I’ve tried and liked, which I feel can fit the bill of what I’m referring to.
Nike Vapor Grip 3 Gloves
These Nike Vapor gloves still have some of the traditional elements that many of us like in gloves. They tend to be thicker gloves when compared to some of the more modern options. They’re not going to be as thin in the finger area as other options, without being too wide, either. For ladies, it can be really important to find that sweet spot with their gloves in that finger area.
When it comes to grip and durability, these gloves are going to be right in the middle of the pack. I wouldn’t say that you’re getting anything out of the ordinary. As I mentioned before, on the site natural grip that you get from brand-new gloves is a bit overrated. It usually won’t last long, and you can always fabricate a bit more grip down the road with some glove glu and proper glove care.
It’s not that these gloves are going to be on everyone’s favorites list. Overall, they do feature many of the elements that I’ve said ladies can benefit from. They’re also not too expensive, particularly for an item with the Nike logo. Many of these items end up being priced above the market average. That’s not the case in this situation. All things considered, I think these can be a really good pick for ladies.
HO Soccer Classic Pro Roll Gold Goalkeeper Gloves
There’s a lot to like about these gloves. The only thing that worries me is that I’ve only found them at a size 8 and above. Update: there is a junior version of these gloves! That can be an issue for girls. The HO brand does have youth goalkeeper gloves which could fit even some ladies who are later into their careers a bit better. Even if you don’t buy this exact glove it does feature plenty of elements that I feel are very important for girl goalkeepers.
These are “puffier” gloves. That’s something that you’re going to be able to appreciate when a hard shot comes in. You’re not going to be feeling the burn from the hard shot as much as you would with thinner. That’s actually my issue with the youth version of the gloves that may fit some ladies better. They’re a lot thinner, and therefore, you lose that cushion that I like about these gloves so much for myself.
I get the sense that these gloves are thicker and puffier, but they don’t feel loose. At least, that’s been my personal experience with the glove. I love that fact because, apart from being able to cope with harder shots better, I feel more comfortable getting both hands over the ball to make clean catches. These gloves may not be as sticky as some of the more modern options. They do feature a sense of grip in a more traditional sense. It’s a softer latex palm that may not be as durable, but it does help make clean catches.
Select 88 Pro Grip V20 Goalkeeper Glove
This is another one of these gloves that I like a lot for various reasons, yet there’s a downside that I’m seeing now. It’s, again, a thicker glove with a lot more latex than other options. That’s something that usually allows the glove to feel a bit puffier without it feeling like it’s too big on the hand. When a hard shot comes in and you’re wearing one of these gloves you’re not going to have to worry too much about potentially hurting yourself.
There is a downside that has me particularly worried about these gloves. That is the fact that I don’t see too many sizes available. That’s going to limit the number of ladies that can actually wear this glove, which is a real shame because it does feature elements that could be beneficial to them. On top of that, it’s currently under 100 dollars. If you’ve read through some of the other articles on the site you know that this is the sweet spot for me when it comes to goalkeeper gloves.
What Type of Goalkeeper Gloves Should Girls Wear? – Final Thoughts
At this point, I’m going to sound like a broken record, but I do want to reiterate some of the key points in this article. Ladies or anyone with thinner hands should look for a glove that’s a bit thicker, particularly in the palm area. You’ll probably also want extra protection on the wrist. I like wrist straps because the gloves without them can become loose over time and you lose that sense of security in the wrist area.
There’s no shame in going a bit more traditional with your gloves. I learned that the hard way. I wanted to lean into the modern thinner glove. Sometimes your body doesn’t fit in well with the new fashion trends. When it comes to goalkeeper gloves trying to force yourself to wear something that just doesn’t fit right for you could lead to injury. That’s why I wanted to put this article out there!
