Soccer Goalkeeper Gear

"It's more than just what you wear."

When people talk about soccer goalkeeper gear a lot of times they also mean soccer goalie equipment. Yes. it is what you will wear, but it is also what you will use to learn more about the game and improve your skills.

On Your Body

The first place to start is to equip your body. When you have the right soccer goalkeeper gear, we can then talk about your mind.

You will need a good pair of soccer cleats, or soccer shoes. Cleats for grass, (or dirt) fields, turf shoes for artificial turf, and indoor shoes for indoor surfaces.
A sturdy pair of soccer shinguards will protect your legs when you come out to challenge for the ball.
Soccer socks will cover your shinguards make sure they continue to cover your shins.
A pair of padded, soccer goalie shorts or goalkeeper pants will ease the impact when you are flying after those balls that come at you. They even come super padded now.
A soccer goalie jersey that is a different color than your team's jersey. This allows the referee to make you out among the masses that sometimes challenge you for the ball. These also have padded elbows.
Soccer goalie gloves that will give you extra grip to grab the ball for those fingertip saves.
If you desire, you can also get separate elbow and knee pads that will help protect you even better from the crashing you get as a goalkeeper.

Training Aids

Soccer goalie equipment can include training aids as well. If you really want to improve your game you not only have to look good in your gear, but you need to work on your game as well. You are serious about this, aren't you?

A weighted trainer ball, or medicine ball can be used for many drills to improve ball handling. After all, when you handle a weighted ball in practice doesn't that game ball land in your hands a heck of a lot easier?
A good soccer rebounder will allow you to practice on your own. What's better than taking shots at yourself anyway? You should know where the shots are going.

Your Mind

Visualization (forming mental images or pictures) is another important tool for goalkeepers, or for anyone at all. Seeing in your mind how a play is going to build, or how a shot may come at you, can help build your reflexes and vision. You can practice this in a couple of ways:

Record the game of the week on tv. Watch it. But don't just watch it. Watch how the plays develop. Watch where the ball goes, and how it gets there. Then at some point during the soccer game , pause the play. Figure out where the ball is going in your head. You still have the tv screen to refer to so that will help.
Now after you have done that, press play and see if you visualized it right. If not, keep trying. You will surprise yourself.
Goalkeeper training dvd's and books will help you train your mind as well as your body. With the dvd you can freeze the frame at any point and practice what you see on the screen. When you do this enough, the moves become second nature.

So soccer goalkeeper gear is about the right gear for your body, the right training equipment, and the right mental image and attitude. That will make you a top-notch soccer goalie.

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