How to Choose the Right Size of Goalkeeper Gloves

Goalkeeper gloves are an essential piece of kit for any goalkeeper out there. It allows them to have a better grip on the ball, as well as protecting fingers when stopping powerful shots.

There are a lot of different considerations that go into purchasing goalkeeper gloves. One of the most fundamental variables that need to be considered is the size of the gloves. If the gloves are too small or too big, then all of the other variables don’t matter, performance and comfort are going to be negatively affected. This is why it is important to make the sizing of your goalkeeper gloves a priority throughout the entire buying process.

This article looks at a set of rules that can be used to help optimize the probability of getting gloves that are a snug fit and get the job done as needed.

What happens if goalkeeper gloves don’t fit properly?

There are a few different negative aspects to wearing goalkeeper gloves that are either too big or too small. First of all, they are not going to be comfortable. Comfort plays a big role in playing any position in a game of football, perhaps most importantly when you are in goals.

Wearing gloves that are too small

If you are wearing gloves that are too small for you, your hands are going to feel overly restricted. You may not be able to properly spread your fingers when trying to make a save. You may not be able to catch the ball properly either due to the tightness of the gloves. As you know, inches matter when you are a goalkeeper.

There have been countless fingertip saves over the years that have been made at pivotal moments in the biggest of games. You don’t want the reason the opposition scored a goal to be because your gloves were too tight and you could not extend your fingers that extra inch to save the ball.

There is also going to be a lot of stress put on the stitching of the gloves, likely resulting in your gloves ripping or bursting not too long after you have bought them. This means that gloves that are too tight are not going to be very cost-effective in the long term, as you will soon be looking for a replacement.

Wearing gloves that are too big

If you are wearing gloves that are too loose, then they may slip as you try to catch or save a ball. You may not be able to get proper coverage on the ball and the grip will not be able to work as it was designed. It may also throw off a keeper’s performance mentally as they can forget about the loose material when factoring in their hand positions for a save.

All of these reasons showcase why you should pay very careful consideration to the sizing of your goalkeeper gloves when buying them.

Nuances with finding the right sized gloves

While it is important to know how to properly size your hands in order to buy goalkeeper gloves, you also need to be aware that gloves from certain brands will often be slightly different sizes than you will normally see. Therefore, this is something else you will need to factor into your decision-making process.

To learn more about the different brands, you can quickly find guides online that compare and contrast the differences between brands when it comes to the same sizes.

An individual may have slightly different preferences also when it comes to the exact sizing of a glove. After wearing goalkeeper gloves for many years one may have a preference of a glove that is a bit bigger than a goalkeeper would usually wear for a given hand size or vice versa.

Measuring your hand size

If you are looking to purchase goalkeeper gloves online, then it is important that you know the exact measurements of your hand. If you are buying goalkeeper gloves in a physical shop, you can try on the gloves and see how they fit. With online purchases, if you are not happy with the fit you will have to take time to send them back and wait for a new pair to arrive. You can eliminate a lot of this trouble by simply getting accurate hand measurements.

If you are young, it is a good idea to measure these every time that you go to buy a pair of gloves because you will likely be still growing and your hand dimensions can change. If you are older, it is still a good idea to check your hand size every so often just in case there have been some alterations or mistakes made with previous measurements.

You can find countless different methods to measure your hands in relation to buying goalkeeper gloves. Usually, the most straightforward methods are preferable as they are easy to do from the comfort of your own home. All you need is a tape measure and you will be good to go.

The easiest method

Take your tape measure and obtain the circumference at your hands widest point. These measurements should be taken in inches. When conducting this measurement, there is no need to include your fingers in the figure. Ideally, you should be measuring the point where your pinky finger comes to an end and above the point of your thumb.

When you have a number, you should then round it up to the nearest whole inch. Then you should add a single inch to this rounded number and this will tell you what size of goalkeeper gloves you need.

If the measurement was 6.65 inches, then you will round this up to 7 and add an inch. Therefore, you will be looking for goalkeeper gloves that are a size 8.

The reason you want to add an extra inch onto the measurements is because goalkeepers want to have as big of a hand as possible when saving shots while not compromising on performance. This is in comparison to normal gloves that people would wear in their casual day to day life that you want fitting almost exactly to the size of your hand.

Conclusion

As you can see, the process of sizing your hands in order to buy a well-fitting pair of goalkeeper gloves is very easy. While it only takes a matter of minutes to do, it can save you a lot of time and money over the long run by ensuring you are buying gloves that are a good fit for you. You should also experience no issues on the pitch concerning your gloves when you have properly measured and fitted gloves to your hand size.