Leg Pads

[HaverGoalie]

Had to say something and this looks like the place to do it. I'm noticing an unfortunate trend in the Men's goalies of the Southwest: entirely too many are showing up to games with some form of leg pads. We need to preserve our reputation as the few, the proud, the freaking insane, and wear less, not more padding than everyone else on the field. Leg pads are for the ladies. Bulky padding just slows you down and tells an opponent that you're not as confident as you should be. Bare arms and bare legs are the standard uniform for the position. The only time leg pads are acceptable is to prevent aggravation of a severe injury, and in that case, one must wear the pad on only the injured leg- assymmetry says "I'm still moderately crazy." If you need to wear pants, roll up the cuffs knicker style to just below the knee to show that you aren't using them to cover girlie padding. Lets step it up Keepers of the UK! Ditch the superfluous padding and embrace your manhood!

[Mr.Stanford]

All in favour of that, this sport is all about looking cool. Best way to do that is copy the pr0's and uni's. gloves, chest plate, box and helmet is all you need! Thats what i do if i step in. Im rubbish in goal, and have only done it a handfull of times, mostly in mixed, twice in mens. But if your gonna get hurt you may as well look good while doing it!

[kayftara]

Spot on!

Pads will slow you down. Use your stick to stop the ball , not pads.

[mandy]

anyone else notice also that your stick moves twice as quickly and your reflexes are ten times better if you're wearing legal minimum padding?

when a keeper steps in goal padded up like the michelin man you just know they're **** scared of the ball and people then shoot form all over the place cos they're so confident against him

it's all about looking good (and being crazy for a keeper - or if you're faking it as a keeper at least sounding like you know what you're doing!)

[HaverGoalie]

Damn right, glad you all agree. I feared that leg pads were just standard practice all over this country.

Mandy, to my American sensibilities that sounds like a girl's name, (but then again so does Ashley, I've been wrong before.) I hope you are a girl supporting freedom from leg pads as well, because that is even rarer in both countries. I'd love to see the women here going padless like most of the American DI women's goalies do.

[mandy]

nah mate it's just a nickname (despite what other on here will no doubt say!), my real name's andy and some people thought it would be hillhairyarse to start calling me mandy (far too many reasons) and its kinda stuck

[HaverGoalie]

OK, gotcha. Then the campaign to make UK women drop the leg pads continues...

[UKLaxfan]

OK, gotcha. Then the campaign to make UK women drop the leg pads continues...

Looks like you are trying to maintain some other American traditions

Yanks 1945: Over Paid, Over Sexed & Over Here!

[HaverGoalie]

We try. I'll have to settle for equipment discussions, because fine Oxford ladies walk the other way when they hear an American accent.

[Ian#4]

I hope you are a girl

LOL!!!

[HaverGoalie]

I hope you are a girl

LOL!!!

What can I say, Mandy is a pretty common nickname for a girl named Amanda where I come from. I was excited to hear that some girls don't need bulky pads to hop in the cage, alas, my hopes and dreams were shattered.

[Ian#4]

It is his nickname for the very reason that he is a bit like a girl, mainly when playing mixed.

[Moaning Git]

Discussed this issue tonight over a good few beers with four mature goalkeepers, and two youngsters. After a comparison of strange and permanent bumps, discolourations, dents and abrasions on each others legs the view was that macho young fools may wish to look cool and wear no padding, but those who do not want to suffer undue pain and suffering, or miss games through injury do.

Fashion sense or common sense seems to be your choice!

[HaverGoalie]

I must disagree sir. No matter how much we might like to claim it, there's no real injury that can come from getting hit below the knees and above the feet with a rubber ball. Having stood in front of shots from some of the best in the world back home, including an AJ Shannon blast that was clocked at 105mph at a camp, I've never gotten a leg injury from a shot in my career playing elite prep school and University lacrosse in the states. Come on. Sure it stings, but it's not going to do anything lasting. While it's a creative argument, it's not one that any who steps to the ball with confidence would make. There's not a soul in this country, let alone in America that can shoot hard enough to break a bone or cause serious damage to a bare shin. Knees of course are susceptible, but leg pads don't take care of that. No capable goalie wears leg pads and it's not because of fashion. As anyone will tell you, goalie is a position that is about 85% mental, 15% physical. When you strap on leg pads, you are accepting a gap in your confidence, instead of overcoming it. Beyond looking stupid, it sends the message to your opponent that you are not as strong on the mental aspect as you should be, and if they shoot hard, you'll flinch and let it in. Giving the opposing player this confidence is the last thing any goalie needs to do. Projecting the all confident persona is central to tending goal against serious opposition. If that shooter thinks for one more second about the likelihood of his shot going in at a certain angle against a fire-breathing, insane motherf....r of a goalie, the defense is given an advantage.

In summation, the only reason to wear leg pads is if you are a bad goalie and don't wish to improve.

[Rian]

Now having played 6 games in goal I am trying to shy away from the pads (hockey ones), not using any in training. But with my chicken legs it might be better to have the extra goal coverage of the pads

[UKLaxfan]

In summation, the only reason to wear leg pads is if you are a bad goalie and don't wish to improve.

I don't agree with summation, if leg pads were completely negative in restricting movement and showing confidence then Box Goalies wouldn't wear them.

A lot depends on what sort of shots you will be facing and what experience you have as a goalie.

If your defence is very poor then you will see a lot of close range shots, and if playing at a lower level, less accurate shots.

So there may be a case for pads, until Team Defence improves or you play at a higher level where you'll face better shooting.

Secondly, expecially with young goalies, I've seen numerous keepers try to emulate the Tilman Johnsons of this world with minimal padding then after getting hit a few times start to flinch or shy away from the ball.

Much better to start playing with as much padding as you feel confident in, then as you gain experience and confidence take it off. So you are never scared of the ball, eventually you will realise that your leg doesn't fall off when hit and chicks dig bruises.

I'd rather see a kid in pads confident and trying to stop the ball, than a kid looking the part but scared of being hit, trying to get out of the way.

HaverGoalie: You need to meet John Marr 60+ playing in nets for Brooklands and one of best Goalies in Premiership (62% Saves).
He wears more pads than you can shake a stick at, which is what usually happens.

John Marr: http://www.englishlacrosse.co.uk/vsite/ ... em,00.html

Brooklands - GP - Sh - S -- S% -- GR
2 G John Marr 7 - 178 111 0.624 69.22

UKLF

[HaverGoalie]

I took for granted that we were talking about field lacrosse. Of course box is a different story. The whole point of playing goalie in Box is filling the goal like a hockey goalie. No one would consider not wearing pads because the apparel lessons come from ice hockey, not the lacrosse we know and love. I don't think the analogy is a useful one. They aren't wearing huge pads because they're worried about injury with close shots, but merely because they need to wear huge pads to stop anything, in the high scoring indoor game. The stick, as you know, does not play the same role in box.

I also must strongly disagree with your contention that it is best to start a new goalie with pads and then gradually wean him away from them. What I was getting at with my final point, that no one who wants to improve should ever wear leg pads, is that it is essential for any goalie who wants to rise to the highest level to get used to the feeling of getting hit with the ball from the start, playing through it, and not allowing a little sting to get in one's head. I'm grateful that my first coaches started me out the way a goalie should be dressed and talked me through the pain with positive reinforcement everytime tears sprang to the corners of my eyes. Soon enough, I realized that stepping hard into a low shot hurts less than getting hit by it, (much like heading a soccer ball.) Little revelations like that are important to the development of proper goalie technique and a keeper that starts out with shinguards will be at a huge disadvantage from the start. People like John Marr seem the exception to the rule, and I would love to see the guy in action. Every padded goalie I have seen uses them as an excuse for a lack of technique, to stand stock still and hope the ball hits you on its way into the back of the net. It takes a long time to overcome the mental disadvantages created by wearing leg pads, and I hope that all the coaches on these boards will take note when training new keepers. Start them out the way you want them to finish, skip the shinguards and help them to understand that the sting of a shot is a great feeling, that ones team appreciates, and the opposition fears.


p.s. I'm pleased you selected a picture of modern indian lacrosse. I have an all wood goalie stick made up for me on a Reservation like the one that keeper is using. It's probably too big and heavy to bring back here after Christmas, but I'd like to introduce some purist goalie Wood to the southwest.

[dmiddie]

A big difference in the approach to goalkeeping in this country compared to the USA, and it shows on the pitch!

You can easily spot the goalies who've been coached in the US, or originate from the there. It stands out a mile in basic technique. US coached players get the stick to the ball more than goalies over here. That's a difference in technique and it comes through coaching.

I'm not disputing the fact that stopping the ball going into the net is the prime aim - that's obvious! The next important thing is to get it into the stick if possible for the turnover of possession.

You see that demonstrated far more by US and US coached keepers. John Marr is a great keeper but he stops far more with all and anything - no problem with that, but the turnover of possession ratio?

England took a relatively inexperienced keeper to the World U19's who was also a shot stopper. It looks good and it achieves the main purpose, but what an advantage to have the stick skills and basic technique required to achieve the turnover of possession?

So, pad up by all means if you're an out and out shot stopper, but pad up less if you want the moblity to take goalkeeping to another level.

[HaverGoalie]

So, pad up by all means if you're an out and out shot stopper, but pad up less if you want the moblity to take goalkeeping to another level.

Well said dmiddie. Hope to see you on the pitch.

[bam bam]

I have to say that the difference between coaching is a major factor, during games I pay little heed to my lack of armour and just go all out, usually because i'm far too busy to think about the causality of pain meeting unpadded flash= pain. Injuries sustained while playing a game of lax are viewed as necessary payment.

However, in practice when you have people just wanging them at you in a 1:1 situation and you don't have the testosterone (sp?) running high sometimes I think pads are a good idea. This is especially true when you just don't get proper training and just take part in an offensive training.