So what kind of equipment should a soccer goalie consider having?  Let’s take a look from the feet up to the head.

• A good pair of soccer cleats (or indoor soccer shoes, if you’re playing on that surface)
• Soccer shin guards
• Soccer socks
• Padded goalie shorts or goalkeeper pants
• Goalkeeper jersey
• Goalie gloves

Of course soccer is all about using your feet instead of your hands… except for the goalkeeper.  Nonetheless, the last thing you want is for the last line of defense to be slipping around due to bad traction or having unnecessarily heavy boots on their feet.  You also don’t want to have your first line of offense to be shanking the ball in crazy directions because they have clunky shoes on their feet instead of real soccer cleats.

Soccer shin guards are a necessity both for protection and because it’s part of the laws of the game.  With all the kicking going on, it only makes good common sense to protect your shins with a good pair of shin guards.  And to help keep them in place, you really should use actual soccer socks which are designed to accommodate such equipment and to help keep them in position.

As mentioned above, a goalkeeper is going to be diving and sliding on the ground a lot.  Having a good pair of padded soccer goalie shorts or goalkeeper pants will help protect their hips (and knees when using the keeper pants), from unnecessary bruises, scrapes and grass raspberries.

A good keeper jersey will also have some padding in the elbows for the same kind of protection as mentioned above in the padded keeper shorts and pants.  At least as important is also the fact that the different color of the goalie jersey helps to distinguish the player in that position from all other players on the soccer field.  This not only helps the referee to quickly identify exactly who is allowed to use their hands, but it also helps the opposing team recognize the goalie, even if just out of the periphery vision.  This is important because a soccer goalie is afforded a bit of additional protection on the field, much like the quarterback in American football.  This is because they often need to focus on the ball in a manner with outstretched arms and hands, such that they are less able to protect their own bodies.  As such, players need to recognize this and not crash haphazardly into them as serious injuries could result.  The distinct goalkeeper jerseys help with those identification efforts by everyone.

Finally comes the goalie gloves.  Considering the fact that soccer balls can come flying in at them at tremendous speeds, having a bit of cushioning on the palms of the gloves is very helpful.  Also, because soccer is played in all kinds of weather, the soft, spongy material built in to the palms of soccer goalie gloves helps to maintain a tacky surface to ensure a confident grip on the ball regardless of the conditions.  And of course there is also the fact that, as already mentioned several times, the goalkeeper is often sprawling out on the ground, so a bit of additional protection for their valuable hands is more than worthwhile.

If you’re wondering who makes the best equipment for soccer goalies out there… I can’t tell you (well I could, but then I’d have to kill you).  Of course I’m kidding.  The fact is, trying to say which one brand is THE best is not only impossible as there are so many variables and personal opinions and preferences, but it is also a potentially volatile endeavor to even attempt.  You see, soccer players can be as fanatical as they come.  If you think you’ve seen heated debates over whether Ford is better than Chevy or PC vs Mac, you haven’t seen anything.  Get hardcore soccer fans talking about adidas versus Nike, and add in Puma, Umbro, Uhlsport, Diadora and a whole host of others, and you have a battle in the making!  They all make good soccer gear covering a wide range of price points.  Get what you like and you’ll be fine.

So as you can see, while soccer is a simple game not requiring an excessive amount of equipment, when it comes to goalkeepers, there is a little bit more involved.  And when you consider the fact that they can single handedly keep a game alive by making a spectacular save, making sure that your man (or woman) between the posts has the best soccer goalie equipment possible makes all the sense in the world.