The goalie also knew as goalkeeper, goaltender or netkeeper is a hockey player who stands on the defensive position in front of the goal and tries to prevent opposing players from scoring. Hockey has various forms namely ball hockey, ice hockey, field hockey, floor hockey, and others. Hockey is an international sport played in many countries with passion. Hockey is traditionally played with a stick each player has to hit the ball into the opponent’s goal.
Goalie pads are worn by goalies to prevent themselves from any injury. These leg pads are meant for the protection of the goalkeeper. Over these years, sports have also changed and hence, now it is compulsory to wear helmets, gloves and leg pads which were not even used in earlier times. Considering the serious injury, a hockey puck (ball) can make, wearing protective equipment is a rule. Goalie plays a crucial role in the sport because his performance can create a big impact on the victory of the team.
Why Are Goalie Pads Important?
With the revolutionary changes made in sports and technology, sports have also changed their faces multiple times. Including helmet, gloves, and masks, goalie pads are as essential as others. They are also very important to protect the goalie from any kind of injury. The benefits of wearing these shields are as follows-
- To prevent injury from the ball or puck which is a disk made of vulcanized rubber and does serious injury if thrown at a high speed, like is done in hockey. That is why all sports played with balls have made it mandatory to wear protection in form or helmets, gloves, and pads.
- The sports like ice hockey, which are played on ice layers and ground, are tending to be slippery. There are more chances to slip and getting hurt. The pads not only work as morphed protection to the puck but also create balance to avoid slipping on the ground.
- Nevertheless, the fact that today the game has advanced a lot and the rate of slap shots can be 100 miles per hour and more. It has become very important to wear pads for better protection because one gets hurt by it. It is not easy to continue the game with the same stamina and passion.
A leg pad, therefore, consists of thigh risk, knee rolls, break, shin and boot. These parts support different parts of the leg making it flexible to move and bend. Also, to protect from any injury from the stick with a curved surface or ball/puck or from slipping down the ground and falling, protective pads help a long way to avoid any accident and hurting legs, limbs, ligaments or knees.
