sports culture: Between The Pipes

Between The Pipes

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Here it is the most important game of the hockey season. This is it, time to make it or break it in the Kelly Cup finals. As a netminder, aka the goalie, you have quite a few jobs. Of course, as we both know, it is important to keep the puck out of the net and away from the goal crease. While you are not frantically skating up and down the ice, checking, or shooting the puck, you have perhaps the most important role on the hockey team, watching the puck, preventing the other team from scoring, communicating with your team and the number one personal role, your own safety and protection.

When the opposing team is barreling down the ice, directly towards you they have only one task in mind, scoring a goal. That means at some point, very soon you will have a puck flying right at you, which might be traveling at extremely high speeds. Therefore, it is of highest importance that you have the best and highest quality of goalie protection available. What do you need? You need a high quality goalie helmet, a blocker, and a catcher.

Does this mean you should run out and buy the first helmet you see? Absolutely not! The helmet must be a goalie helmet. The helmet has to be specific for goalies. There are several reasons for this, the first reason being that the goalie helmet has to be light in weight. You have to move quickly and a heavy helmet will weigh you down. Another feature of a goalie helmet is that it is shock resistant, with all the spills, hits, and tumbles a goalie must endure, you want to make sure your head is protected. Some other features include a comfort foam lining, sweatbands to absorb the sweat, and face protection by way of a wire net. This wire net provides protection for all areas of your face, ensuring safety from a flying puck or another player.

Of course, as you know the blocker and catcher are two very important pieces of equipment for a goalie too. In fact, they differ from any other type of hockey gloves. As a goalie, you will have to catch fast moving pucks and you spend a lot of time on the ice. This means you must have protection for your hands against the speed of the puck, as well as the blades of other player's skates. When it comes to the blocker and catcher, the catcher is placed on one hand, the blocker on the other. Of course, this will depend on what hand you use the most.

The blocker is a sturdy glove, placed on the hand that holds the stick. This glove works to deflect high shots on goal and provides your hand with a massive amount of protection against the elements of hockey. A catcher is designed very similar to that of baseball catchers. It comes with a deep pocket for handling the puck, it is important when choosing a catcher that you choose one that works well with your needs and abilities. With a catcher, you can catch the puck, cover a puck, or deflect a puck, without damaging your hand.

Of course, there are other elements of protection that a goalie must have, but the goalie helmet, blocker, and catcher, are three of the essential elements of playing
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