Equipment Quirks?

Anybody do anything others may consider strange and unusual to their equipment, or does anyone have some weird mannerisms they partake in before/during/after a game?

Personally, I wear surgical gloves underneath my catch glove and blocker. It keeps the leather inside nice and soft, and I feel it greatly lengthens the life of the glove/blocker. In addition to all this, gloves can be purchased quite cheap in bulk (200-300 a box)--a much smaller price to pay as opposed to having to replace a blocker because of the leather in the palm has rotted.

As for rituals/mannerisms, the only times I wear my jerseys correctly are in the actual games. All other times, be it practice or pick-up, I wear my jersey inside out.

-BG29

i dont have an parquilanties in my kit but i will always be first on and last off the ice pluse i always put water around my goal posts and hit all of my posts

Im not the only one wearing gloves beneath my goalie gloves...

I wear those "magic" gloves, those one-size fits all cotton (or whatever) gloves that stretch a lot. It absorbed all the yucky sweat, keeps the smell out of my glove, felt comfy. Then of course there was a losing streak, and off came the gloves, and I found success, so now I'm back to barehand beneath the gloves. I tried golf gloves once but they didn't have enough elasticity to provide enough flexibility to my hand.

Rituals - I tap my posts a certain way the start of every period, a different variation at every other face-off.

[KDB]

I've wondered why certain goalies (Beezer, etc) wear a golf glove. Is it for feel? Fit? What?

i dont know why they wear golf gloves but i had a pair of gunn cutt nike gloves that kept my hands dry and gave me some extra padding

[TartanBill]

The persperation in my hands just destroys gloves. I cannot get a golf glove to last more than a few weeks.

I wear a pair stretchy synthetic fabric gloves to wick up the sweat. This exetends the life of my expensive gloves and also improves my grip inside the goalie gloves.

[Bryan]

I don't know how I missed this thread before, but I modify my gear a lot.

I like to have a lot of mobility. Maximum movement takes precedence over protection to me. Bruises heal, but goals stay on the score sheet. So I:

1) Removed the knee locks and thigh guards from my Brian's pads. Too restrictive.
2) Removed padding from the front hip and inner thigh of my goal pants because it was too bulky, and stiff.
3) Opened the stitching on my throat collar and cut down the protection so it doesn't stick up so high. BNQ certified is all fine and dandy, but I gotta be able to move my head!
4) Took the plastic sheet out of my blocker so it's just the foam board. It was too stiff before.

AND the one thing I do add to my gear:
5) A 1"x2"x3" foam block encased in nylon sewn to each side of my pants at top. My jersey covers it. It helps take up the gap between your arms and body so pucks don't squeeze through. It allows you to be compact but still hold your arms in an increased wingspan. Patrick Roy has used these for years. As far as I know, even with the equipment crackdown, He still uses them.

[Bernie]

Damn, Bryan, you're the first person I've heard of to REMOVE padding from equipment.

Personally, I got sick of those deep thigh bruises on the inside/back of my thighs so I sew in a couple soccer knee pads to protect that area. They do feel a little restrictive at first but it's well worth getting used to.

Bernie

[Brett]

It's interesting to see this thread, which I too had missed, because it confronts something I thought I had noticed happening in the game.

Let me know if I'm totally off base, but I seem to remember always adjusting, adding too, and modifying my gear throughout my career, starting as young as 10-11 years old. (I can still remember loosening my Brown catcher's cheater and inserting clothes hanger wire into it so I could stretch it out while the play was on, but push it back down if the refs came towards me with a gleam in their eye)

Perhaps the gear then demanded more attention, but having coached my fair share of goalie students in recent years, the vast majority of kids I worked with didn't look like they would even consider relacing their glove with skate laces to hold onto the puck better.

This may be sounding like a "kids these days" rant, but it does seem to me that, generally, the goalie population around us really is less "inclined" to mess with their gear than in yesteryear.

Anyone else notice that? Or maybe disagree completely? Ah, well. Maybe it's just me...

[Bryan]

Oh yeah Brett. I've always messed around with my gear. I've completely disassembled lots of pieces to modify or rebuild them. Built my own catcher from scratch once! It has to be a major repair job (that requires a shoemakers sewing machine) before I'll let anyone else repair my gear.

A lot of the goalies I know don't even bother with regular maintenance, they just wear it until it falls apart, then they buy new stuff. Lots of guys are proud to have the latest gear all the time. I'm proud of how long I'm able to make my gear last. I wore the same leg pads for 14 seasons!

[TartanBill]

Built your own catcher Bryan? That's ambition!

I actually enjoy working and tinkering with my equipment. My skill is modest and my work is slow, but I find it satisfying. I always keep a sewing kit and a small tool kit in my gear bag.

I started when I was nine or 10 by relacing my baseball glove.

I rebuit my old Cooper "Waffle" blocker several times in the 80's. Once I cut out a hand pattern from an chamios, another I replaced the palm with a welder's glove. I never liked the replacement foam board though.

I canabalized a set of football shoulder pads to beef up a VIC Chest&Arm. When I finished it had a great floating belly flap and the best wrap around rib protection I have ever seen. I beefed up the rather poor arm protection with an old pair of soccer shin guards. Overall, the fit around the body was outstanding with almost no sacrifice in mobility. I could never get the arms or the upper chest right though.

I relaced the trap in my old Brown catcher so that I could grip the stick. I also replaced the insert with a more flexible lexan piece.

[Bernie]

Yeah- what Bryan said. (Seems like we're starting to find some common ground) I also believe most younger goalies don't even maintain their equipment with any respect, much less take time to modify it in any way.

But I think on average goalie equipment is much better and larger than ever before so there is less need to modify it or make improvements- and it even needs less care too. Secondly, I think the whole state of goaltending is different nowadays. I'm sure it was of greater benefit to modify equipment earlier, but now with the butterfly style and bigger goalies and also the "science" of goaltending being more the trend, there may be less need to focus on equipment mods but rather on playing the position correctly. In fact, I remember seeing a special on "Nova" where a professional hockey team hired a "Geometrics and Computer Specialist" who used the computer to help instruct an INDIVIDUAL goaltender (Height, size, weight, etc..) of where he should best be positioned in different situations to maximum his effect of cutting down the angle.

Thirdly, and finally, I believe this new focus on goaltender instruction and the science and art of goaltending instills more confidence in younger goalies because. Plus they have all the "me too" top line equipment so this super confidence might make them feel less need to modify their equipment to stop the puck better, if you follow.

So basically, my humble opinion is that less goalies modify their equipment because they feel there is less need to, not because they are lazy or inept at sewing.

Bernie

Good thread..

I think one other thing is, I've always had to modify/fix my own gear because I didn't want to spend or didn't have the money for new gear. I'm actually shopping now for my first new set of leg pads.. and I've played goal since I was 8 (now 36).

Over the last several years, I've stiched up my blocker, pants, catcher, leg pads, etc more times than I can count. It's pretty funny, my 3 year old daughter just asked me to show her how to sew some time the other day..

So don't forget about economics in this.. goal gear is expensive, so it's much cheaper to fix up stuff to fit then buy custom. Now, it seems like everyone has the money for custom.

-Mark

[VaughnGP]

i have no idea if anyones been here in a while but i just want to let everyone know that im 16 and i have done something to every piece of my equipment somethings major some not but i have and i take excellent care of my stuff. and me to would like to be able and use the same stuff every year but due to that thing called growing i am unable to do that

I don't feel confident undoing most of my equipment. I have fixed some of the small tears-(thanks in large part to the suggestions here on the BB), but i really don't think i can do the shoe-lace thing without messing the whole thing up.
--you know another thing for me is being 24 and starting to play goalie i have had to learn/develop my style of play and even my equipment choices on my own. i'd love to find some goalie clinics for adults here in chicago. Now that summer is coming i can just see myself signing up for a camp and being in the beginners section with a bunch of 6-9 year olds. i might fit in- i'm only 5'6".