New goalie with new equipement questions...

[wingmanrob1 0]

Hey there,

I've recently bought myself all my new goalie gear and I got a few questions and if anyone can spare a moment to answer, I'll be extremely grateful.

Does anyone have any tips on breaking in a glove, I've been told a few, but everyone has been different so I'm left doubting the advice.

Should I keep my skates sharp? All the goalies and ex-goalies I've spoken to have said how they had their skates pretty blunt, but to me the pad down shuffle/slide seems impossible to do with blunt skates, even now with mine faily new I dont seem to be able to get enough traction...........although a lack of ability might have something to do with it.

When going down in a butterfly and especially when dropping across onto the right leg, my right pad has a tendancy to end up under my leg and not rotating. To me it seems as though my ankle/knee/hip isn't so flexible and when it is in the rotated position I'm pretty much at the limits of my flexibilty. Can anyone suggest any exercises/stretches to increase mobility in that area. Again it might all be down to a lack of ability/technique.

Thats about it for now, if I have any more I'll stick them to the end of the thread... :)

[woody31 1]

First of, for the glove, what I have learned is that not matter what I personally have tried, the best bet is to continue to try and open it a close it while you are at home, this usually breaks it in fairly well along with being used on the ice. As for the skates, i personally prefer my blades to be dull, but others seem to like a nice sharp edge, if you feel that a sharper edge is better for you, than stick with it. As for your pads, i personally had the same probelm for my first few years, the best way to stop this is to practice as much as you can to make sure that your pad flops out to the side.

[Thepandamancan 0]

Most newer gloves are designed half broken in and the best way to fully break them in is to just use them. For about a week, I just walked around the house with it on and while watching TV I would just open and close my hand. I even got a baseball and treated it like one my old baseball mits and just threw a ball into it. I think this is the best method cause it helps your glove hand strength as well.

There is another method, similar to baking, where you pour hot (near boiling) water into the glove and you get it nice and soft, but not too much that you ruin the materials. Stick your hand in and close your glove as tight as possible. With the glove closed, pull your hand out without changing the shape of the closed glove. Wrap a towel around it and stick it under a heavy weight like a table or your couch to dry overnight.

[Gwyren 0]

Glove - as has been said: Open and close it. I have also tried weights to hold it both open and closed, but I have not found that to do ANYTHING.

Skates - Preference, but I do like mine sharp (7/16 is the ROH I use). I agree that slides are hard with dull skates, and I find stopping where I want to to be more difficult as well.

Pad rotation - I have this issue with my right pad at times. Work on making sure you point your toes out when you butterfly as opposed to letting them do what they want. Being less flexible my right toe has a tendency to rotate down if I do not pay attention to it, which then turns my pad face down to the ice.

[wingmanrob1 0]

Pad rotation - I have this issue with my right pad at times. Work on making sure you point your toes out when you butterfly as opposed to letting them do what they want. Being less flexible my right toe has a tendency to rotate down if I do not pay attention to it, which then turns my pad face down to the ice.

Thats EXACTLY my issue. Well pleased I'm not alone, its something I'm just going to have to work on.

I think I'll perhaps experiment with my skates and see what works best for me. I'm about 30lbs overweight and I think that isn't helping my mobility.

I appreciate everyones answers, and I guess I'm going to just have to take my catch glove everywhere with me and keep using it! :-)

[Justin Liedloff 13]

In my many years of goal, I found the stack of weights to be the best option. Of course, I am in So. Cal., and my gear is stored in a garage, so perhaps my luck had something to do with the warmer climate. Either way, whatever method you choose, make sure to spend as much time OPENING the glove all the way as you do closing it. All too often I would read of people who could snap the glove shut, but would complain about gaps when they tried to cover the puck on the ice. The usual culprit is that they never broke the glove in to OPEN all the way.

Also, avoid the hot water method. Unless you have a way to completely dry the gloves out, you are just asking for bacteria to grow in some of the tighter corners that will take days to fully dry.

[wingmanrob1 0]

In my many years of goal, I found the stack of weights to be the best option. Of course, I am in So. Cal., and my gear is stored in a garage, so perhaps my luck had something to do with the warmer climate. Either way, whatever method you choose, make sure to spend as much time OPENING the glove all the way as you do closing it. All too often I would read of people who could snap the glove shut, but would complain about gaps when they tried to cover the puck on the ice. The usual culprit is that they never broke the glove in to OPEN all the way.

Also, avoid the hot water method. Unless you have a way to completely dry the gloves out, you are just asking for bacteria to grow in some of the tighter corners that will take days to fully dry.

Something I should have asked and thinking about it now, as a new goalie, what should I be aiming for with regards breaking in a glove? Obviously a glove needs to be broken in, but if I'm new to playing goalie, I dont have a reference point as to how a glove should feel once broken in. ;-)

[Justin Liedloff 13]

Basically, you want it to open and close easily. Closing all the way would mean that you don't have any gaps large enough for the puck to fall out. Opening all the way would mean you could lay it flat on any surface, and not have any gaps that a puck could slide under.

However, you don't want it to be floppy. It should open and close easily, without feeling like a noodle.

[twistoffate19 0]

I figured I'd post my question here rather than starting a new thread. A friend of mine lent me his gear to try playing goalie. I'm playing on Wednesday. I'm not at all concerned with having the puck shot at me, in fact I'm excited. The only thing I'm worried about is that I play with my glasses on when I'm playing out. I've tried contacts but they bother my eyes, so usually it is just anti-fog spray and a towel on the bench. I have tried on his mask and it is comfortable with my glasses on, but I'm worried about my glasses fogging up due to how "confined" my face will be compared to my playing visor.

Anyone have any recommendations on how I can keep the fogging to a bare minimum? I'm playing on wearing a headband/bandana to help the sweat flow, but any other help would be appreciated since I have had my glasses fog up slightly while playing.

[Justin Liedloff 13]

I can't speak as to playing with glasses on, but I would think you would have less fogging, as the heat and humidity isn't being trapped behind a plastic visor, but is open to the air with the cage.

[woody31 1]

I play with glasses to and the only time they fog up is when i have my chin pointed down into my monkey suit for too long when i look down

[Sputnik20 46]

From years of exerience of playing goal and selling gear, I can tell you that nothing is better from breaking in the catch glove than playing and sweating into it. That said however, there are a few things that you can do to help. When you go to your game/practice, bring with you a low power hair dryer. While you are getting dressed, plug it in and stick it in the glove to warm it up. That will make the materials pliable and the glove will "work itself in" and will stiffen back up after the game. Do this a few time until you feel that it's become soft and pliable at all times. Avoid adding any extra water to the glove, never a good idea. After every game/practice, I air my equipment out by laying it infront of my dehumidifier, the stuff dries in a matter of hours, and never smells.

Skate sharpening is personal preference, and depends on how you play. I used to get my skates done at 3/8", and that was some 7 years ago before I quit playing goal.

As for pad rotation. Using the lace to attach your skate to the pad, give yourself a 1" to 1.5" slack. Tighten the bottom strap (around the heel of the skate), make the next strap up looser, next one looser than that, etc, until the top area around the knee is very loose. Also, your pad folding under you is most likely due to the fact that your butterfly doesn't flare out, but rather you leg goes straight back (or close to) behind you. Practice, and trial and error will fix it.

Glasses, you can pretreat with fog spray sold in most LHS or even automotive stores. At the very least, you can use hand soap or shampoo on both side of the lens.

[MatthewRoach7 130]

I just started to puchase goal equipment too and this has been a big help. Thanks to all!