GK Clothing/protection

pewpew

SILVER ELITE
Just thought I would throw this out there. Noticed a coach at our club limping slightly. When I asked him about it..he said he got a turf burn on his knee that became really infected. He was now on antibiotics and crutches to take pressure off the knee and let it heal.
I always see GKs at training sessions wearing shorts and short-sleeve shirts. Then in games they wear long pants/long-sleeve jerseys etc. I don't get it. You are working much harder during a training session I would presume. Goes back again to my comment on another thread.."train like you fight."
My kid ALWAYS wears long pants/long sleeves even on the hottest days regardless if it's grass or turf. She doesn't want to be burned. She's had a few nasty ones over the years and that was because she didn't tell me she needed new pants and continued training on the worn out ones. It's a rare occasion that she switch to a short sleeve jersey. Might happen at a tournament where she's already played the same field and it's decent enough to make the switch but usually only based on how hot it might be as well.
 
Just thought I would throw this out there. Noticed a coach at our club limping slightly. When I asked him about it..he said he got a turf burn on his knee that became really infected. He was now on antibiotics and crutches to take pressure off the knee and let it heal.
I always see GKs at training sessions wearing shorts and short-sleeve shirts. Then in games they wear long pants/long-sleeve jerseys etc. I don't get it. You are working much harder during a training session I would presume. Goes back again to my comment on another thread.."train like you fight."
My kid ALWAYS wears long pants/long sleeves even on the hottest days regardless if it's grass or turf. She doesn't want to be burned. She's had a few nasty ones over the years and that was because she didn't tell me she needed new pants and continued training on the worn out ones. It's a rare occasion that she switch to a short sleeve jersey. Might happen at a tournament where she's already played the same field and it's decent enough to make the switch but usually only based on how hot it might be as well.

My daughter always wears pants now, earlier we had some issues with the skin on her knees and thought it was just burning/ingrown hairs embedded dirt/grass, etc. come to find out she had developed a bunch of tiny warts on her knees that she had to have frozen off. her doctor did not know for sure if she got them from playing or not but it scared her enough to always use them. I would recommend all GK wear some type of knee protection whether it pads or pants.
 
I cannot get my kid to wear the keeper pants - just refuses. She says it is too restrictive. I have given up. Maybe a bad case of road rash will make her change her mind. I don't push as much anymore since she trains almost exclusively on grass.
 
I cannot get my kid to wear the keeper pants - just refuses. She says it is too restrictive. I have given up. Maybe a bad case of road rash will make her change her mind. I don't push as much anymore since she trains almost exclusively on grass.

Same here. My DD won't wear pants (only exception was in HS when it was pouring rain and played always on turf - she wore Nike Pros mostly to keep warm). She actually now prefers Nike shorts with built in sliders (like running shorts). Color coordinated with Nike keeper jerseys - she only wears long sleeve even in the heat both for sun protection and cause she is more comfortable with protection on her arms. She also has had some really bad turf burns mostly on hips and thighs - permanent scars. But no infections (fingers xx'd). That said, her boyfriend (football and rugby star) has had a couple bad staph infections on his face and hands from turf burns. Nasty stuff. Turf burns are one of the biggest negatives for keepers - lots of scars and repeat burns on the same locations due to the nature of what they do.
 
Leggings are the way to go. They are light weight, pretty much skin tight and prevent those nasty burns. Only problem is that we do go through about 3ish pairs a season between training/practice/games.
 
The timing of this post couldn't be better. My daughter has always worn Storelli pants (they recently got much better with the knees) and she is 13 and all of a sudden said, "Most Keepers don't wear pants. I think I am going to stop wearing pants." As soon as I read to her the infection post, she will be convinced that wearing pants is a good thing. My point is, besides the obvious of injury, why take the chance to scar up your legs for the rest of your life. I believe an adult girl would regret that decision. Thanks for posting!
 
My daughter always wears pants now, earlier we had some issues with the skin on her knees and thought it was just burning/ingrown hairs embedded dirt/grass, etc. come to find out she had developed a bunch of tiny warts on her knees that she had to have frozen off. her doctor did not know for sure if she got them from playing or not but it scared her enough to always use them. I would recommend all GK wear some type of knee protection whether it pads or pants.
I bet it was from playing because my daughter has one big one in the center of her knee that we need to get in to have frozen off. While she wears pants, there were a few times they were ripped in the knee because the knee pads were awful. I can't wait to read her your post to ensure she keeps wearing her pants!
 
My keeper used to wear storelli GK pants, but they kept on ripping at the knee after only a few times being worn-and they aren't cheap! Storelli sent me a new pair, but still, I wasn't happy. The replacement pair Storelli sent out also tore, and I resorted to hand sewing patches on the knees until they looked like Frankenstein's monster. The things you do for your kids (and to save a buck). :) We tried the tights, but as an earlier comment mentioned, that gets expensive after awhile. When the last pair of GK pants tore, my boy went just to padded shorts for his hips, and that's it. He likes the mobility, and I guess he's willing to live with the potential of turf burn. However, it hasn't been really cold at evening practices yet, so maybe that will change.
 
My keeper used to wear storelli GK pants, but they kept on ripping at the knee after only a few times being worn-and they aren't cheap! Storelli sent me a new pair, but still, I wasn't happy. The replacement pair Storelli sent out also tore, and I resorted to hand sewing patches on the knees until they looked like Frankenstein's monster. The things you do for your kids (and to save a buck). :) We tried the tights, but as an earlier comment mentioned, that gets expensive after awhile. When the last pair of GK pants tore, my boy went just to padded shorts for his hips, and that's it. He likes the mobility, and I guess he's willing to live with the potential of turf burn. However, it hasn't been really cold at evening practices yet, so maybe that will change.
FYI...very recently they made a major upgrade to the knee material and we haven't experienced the ripping at the knees that used to happen.
 
Field space is hard to come by so now a lot of us train as well as play on an artificial surface. I am not against pants and long sleeve jerseys, however lets make sure we know what we are wearing and why. Storelli is a great company and offer great products. I would argue that those of us in warmer climates may overheat in the warmer months with some of the heavier gear. IF your keeper has been properly trained on how to dive, then the concept of protection is for turf burns and not heavy padding for a softer landing. I encourage my keepers to wear long sleeve compression shirts and tights/leggings. I wear them when i play and only wear shorts/short sleeve jerseys when playing on nice grass.
 
The timing of this post couldn't be better. My daughter has always worn Storelli pants (they recently got much better with the knees) and she is 13 and all of a sudden said, "Most Keepers don't wear pants. I think I am going to stop wearing pants." As soon as I read to her the infection post, she will be convinced that wearing pants is a good thing. My point is, besides the obvious of injury, why take the chance to scar up your legs for the rest of your life. I believe an adult girl would regret that decision. Thanks for posting!

Scars are cool!
 
Field space is hard to come by so now a lot of us train as well as play on an artificial surface. I am not against pants and long sleeve jerseys, however lets make sure we know what we are wearing and why. Storelli is a great company and offer great products. I would argue that those of us in warmer climates may overheat in the warmer months with some of the heavier gear. IF your keeper has been properly trained on how to dive, then the concept of protection is for turf burns and not heavy padding for a softer landing. I encourage my keepers to wear long sleeve compression shirts and tights/leggings. I wear them when i play and only wear shorts/short sleeve jerseys when playing on nice grass.

Regardless of proper training. I see the padding as protection for the body as a whole. Especially hips and knees. The number of times GKs are diving throughout their years on the pitch during training and games adds up to quite a bit. I'm looking at the protection long-term. I don't want my kid to be so banged up when she's older that her hips and knees are in pain from years of diving as a kid. If I can minimize that even a bit then I don't mind replacing her Adidas GK pants as needed to give me peace of mind that I'm doing everything I can to keep her protected as much as possible.
 
My keeper wears Mazuno knee pads. They are not soccer gear, but volleyball knee pads. They are thin enough for comfort and do the job for knee protection. He's been wearing them for years, he too will no longer wear goalie pants.
 
Train in pads and long pants. In games, unless the surface is extremely bad, I recommend compression shorts under your goalkeeping shorts. I was never a fan of the hip pads because they just felt bulky and unnecessary. The compression shorts actually provide a "slick" contact between your skin and keeper shorts, which helps save you some burns, and is more forgiving.
 
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