Another comment from TheGloveBag.com: Hi "spiderman". Just though I would let you know I recieved the gloves yesterday!!! I must admit they are bizaare!! But I have football training friday night and intend on wearing them there!!
A baseball player or cricket wicker keeper wouldn't think so, but in the world of soccer/football, yes, they are very different looking. Be prepared for some quizzical looks, and maybe even some good natured taunts at first. When they see the saves you will begin making once you get used to these gloves, your mates won't have anything but praise for them, and for your courage in trying something so different. Fortune favors the brave.
Remember to relax your hands more than you do in other gloves, and catch on the fingers v. the palm. You will have much more finger strength in these gloves, and a much softer touch on the ball (better grip and control) staying on the fingers, especially with the more relaxed hand.
Once you tune in to that, start walking the shots up your fingers to see how far up you can still hold onto the ball. Check out parry and deflections as well, being sure to keep the impact on the fingers to get full effect. Also check out deflections on the outside fingers. On shots that you don’t contact evenly with all the fingers, you will still have significantly more strength, even on just the little finger.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Does Black Spider take the Skill out of Goalkeeping?
Comment from TheGloveBag.com: (The webbed Black Spider gloves) would take the skill out of goalkeeping.... Sounds strange but i dont want goalkeeping to be easy, i want to hold shots because thats what i work on in training and because i'm that good, not because i've got some massive glove that does half the work for me.
The Black Spider gloves won't quicken a player's reaction time in getting his hands in front of the ball, his sense of positioning, or his strength when challenging for a ball or leaping for it as needed, all of which is a very large part of the position. After all, what good is having “good hands” if your positioning is all wrong, you are slow to move toward the shot, you don’t get your hands in shape in time to meet the ball, or you are easily knocked away from the ball (or afraid to challenge for it in the first place). The notion that these gloves will make goalkeeping easy gives them much more credit than we claim or deserve.
The same argument was used against oxygen for mountain climbers, face masks for hockey goalkeepers, metal and then fibreglass skis for ski racers, and better/safer car design for race car drivers. These engineering improvements make the sports safer and usually more challenging, oftentimes allowing us to do things as sportsman we couldn’t do otherwise.
The webbed glove started out to increase protection of the fingers. It was only after we got some prototypes made that we discovered how much it increased the ability to hold onto the ball, strength when parrying/ deflecting, and distance and accuracy when throwing.
I still think the issue of safety is important, and not just to prevent back-bending injuries to the fingers. Especially for those balls that hit the keeper’s hands and then fall loose in the goal area, it is instinctive for the keeper to lunge for such loose balls, yet the ball is then fair game for the strikers as well. These are very dangerous moments, as we have all seen.
I am struck by how many balls hit the keepers hands and rebound into the goal area, even at highest level play. One night I kept count while watching an EPL highlight show, and fully 1/3 of the shots hitting the keepers hands were not held. That is a lot. I don’t expect these gloves will mean that every ball is held. The shape of the hands at impact is very important, and some shots just come in too fast to properly react.
Beginning keepers will get the greatest obvious advantages out of this glove design, but even the most experienced keepers will get some benefit in the areas mentioned above. At the highest levels of any sport, it is split-seconds and millimeters that make the difference, so even slight advantages for a well-trained keeper will be important.
The Black Spider gloves won't quicken a player's reaction time in getting his hands in front of the ball, his sense of positioning, or his strength when challenging for a ball or leaping for it as needed, all of which is a very large part of the position. After all, what good is having “good hands” if your positioning is all wrong, you are slow to move toward the shot, you don’t get your hands in shape in time to meet the ball, or you are easily knocked away from the ball (or afraid to challenge for it in the first place). The notion that these gloves will make goalkeeping easy gives them much more credit than we claim or deserve.
The same argument was used against oxygen for mountain climbers, face masks for hockey goalkeepers, metal and then fibreglass skis for ski racers, and better/safer car design for race car drivers. These engineering improvements make the sports safer and usually more challenging, oftentimes allowing us to do things as sportsman we couldn’t do otherwise.
The webbed glove started out to increase protection of the fingers. It was only after we got some prototypes made that we discovered how much it increased the ability to hold onto the ball, strength when parrying/ deflecting, and distance and accuracy when throwing.
I still think the issue of safety is important, and not just to prevent back-bending injuries to the fingers. Especially for those balls that hit the keeper’s hands and then fall loose in the goal area, it is instinctive for the keeper to lunge for such loose balls, yet the ball is then fair game for the strikers as well. These are very dangerous moments, as we have all seen.
I am struck by how many balls hit the keepers hands and rebound into the goal area, even at highest level play. One night I kept count while watching an EPL highlight show, and fully 1/3 of the shots hitting the keepers hands were not held. That is a lot. I don’t expect these gloves will mean that every ball is held. The shape of the hands at impact is very important, and some shots just come in too fast to properly react.
Beginning keepers will get the greatest obvious advantages out of this glove design, but even the most experienced keepers will get some benefit in the areas mentioned above. At the highest levels of any sport, it is split-seconds and millimeters that make the difference, so even slight advantages for a well-trained keeper will be important.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
"Getting used to” the Webbed Design
Having the fingers constantly linked to each other by the webbing feels strange at first, since it forces them to behave as they always should when catching, parrying or throwing the ball. In these actions, the hand and fingers must each follow and support the other in a smooth contour. Otherwise power and accuracy are lost, and the risk of injury increases. Initially this can feel like a restriction, but it is actually training you to be always ready for a shot. Once you start taking shots, you won’t notice that “strange” feeling. What you will notice is increased power to stop, hold, parry and throw the ball.
The gloved hand can still be stretched to flat and full width, though against some increasing resistance, beginning a bit sooner than normal. Maximum coverage is therefore maintained. The only times a flat hand at full width should be used is when the keeper is just trying to cover as much space as possible in what we call those "Oh No" moments: i.e., when something unexpected or highly unpredictable is happening (close in header, deflections, unexpected spin/velocity on the shot, etc.). In such moments, instinct and reaction take over, and the somewhat increased resistance of our glove isn’t noticeable.
The range of motion (ROM) "End Feel" begins earlier than normal. A "hard stop" at the point where damage to joints begins does not feel natural, so we designed a gradually increasing resistance which still stops at the point of danger. This approach more closely matches the natural sense of stretch one feels when any finger or other joint approaches its unsupported or natural End Point. We just started the natural "End Feel" sooner, and in so doing strengthened the End Point short of danger without the hard, stiff sticks. Hence our motto: "Nature. Improved."
This increasing resistance sooner than End Point also contributes greatly to the gloves ability to stop and hold on to fingertip and hard shots, and its throwing power. The increased accuracy of the throws is more a function of the perimeter band controlling the consistency of the release, though the increased power of the glove curve is a factor there as well.
The gloved hand can still be stretched to flat and full width, though against some increasing resistance, beginning a bit sooner than normal. Maximum coverage is therefore maintained. The only times a flat hand at full width should be used is when the keeper is just trying to cover as much space as possible in what we call those "Oh No" moments: i.e., when something unexpected or highly unpredictable is happening (close in header, deflections, unexpected spin/velocity on the shot, etc.). In such moments, instinct and reaction take over, and the somewhat increased resistance of our glove isn’t noticeable.
The range of motion (ROM) "End Feel" begins earlier than normal. A "hard stop" at the point where damage to joints begins does not feel natural, so we designed a gradually increasing resistance which still stops at the point of danger. This approach more closely matches the natural sense of stretch one feels when any finger or other joint approaches its unsupported or natural End Point. We just started the natural "End Feel" sooner, and in so doing strengthened the End Point short of danger without the hard, stiff sticks. Hence our motto: "Nature. Improved."
This increasing resistance sooner than End Point also contributes greatly to the gloves ability to stop and hold on to fingertip and hard shots, and its throwing power. The increased accuracy of the throws is more a function of the perimeter band controlling the consistency of the release, though the increased power of the glove curve is a factor there as well.
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