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Goalkeepers spit in their gloves to make the gloves more sticky. By adding saliva to the palms of the gloves, the gloves will improve their adhesiveness by binding with the latex, which will make them feel more sticky and will allow the keeper to catch and hold the ball easier.
It’s common to see professional goalkeepers do this with their gloves.
A few things to keep in mind though are:
- You can also get your gloves more sticky by adding water into the palms of your gloves. You can simply keep a water bottle nearby and add it into your palms.
- Spitting into the gloves is actually unhygienic and can spread germs that could affect your teammates or even yourself, as the saliva will pass onto the ball and you will handle the ball along with the germs. This might increase the risk of illness, which could lead to you missing games or practice.
- Spitting into your gloves can also give the gloves a horrible smell. This might require you to wash them more often.
If you do want to get a product to make your gloves more sticky, you can consider using keeper balm. You can click here to see options on Amazon.
Improve your goalkeeping skills!
Click on this link to see the “Core fundamental sessions for soccer goalkeepers”.
Click on this link to see the “Goalkeeper training progressions”.
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