Do you guys wear shin protection? [Archive]

LAX383

03-05-2007, 09:52 AM

First off I played for 24 years and then walked away 15 years ago.

Some people on the local school board found out that I used to play, and asked if I could help their HS Lax program. The head coach is a great guy but never played.
So I volunteer a few days a week. (I own a business so it's all I can do)

Anyway I played goal 6 of those 24 years. My first game in goal was for the "B" team in College. Had to start somewhere and yes I became the starter
two years later. That first game I took 50+ shots on goal.(Ouch)
I wore shin guards the rest of my years in goal.

Fast forward to now. I am helping out the HS goalie here.
With peer pressure what it is in High School, is wearing shin guards these days not COOL?
I'm for whatever gives the kid confidence by the way.

Thanks for your replies.

Lax383

Lacrossebum03

03-05-2007, 01:44 PM

Well i dont know how he is, but I'm so used to getting hit in the shins, I don't even feel it. Its up to him, personally I look down on it, unless you had a bad experience with the shin shots.

bigbeckinthenet

03-05-2007, 01:53 PM

i only wore one shin pad when i broke it my shin in a tournament but after that everybody just makes fun of you

sam.karcher

03-05-2007, 02:07 PM

I have a knee/shin guard that is part of my (knee) ACL brace but that's because of too many knee surgeries. My other shin is bare though. I don't see any reason to not wear them if you feel like they'd bring your confidence up, I just don't because it's more stuff than I care to wear.

Laxdawg14

03-05-2007, 02:09 PM

i wore one when recovering from a midshaft tibia break...

LAX383

03-05-2007, 02:30 PM

When I wore them they were the soccer style. Fit under your sox.
Style was different then, sox went up higher than now.
(Just look at the old NBA posters from the 80's- early 90's)
Anyway they were so thin and so light you could hardly tell you were wearing them.
I'm not talking about Baseball catcher type of equipment here.

Anyway, I am just rying to get a pulse to the High School mind set for goalies.
I don't want my guy to be made fun of either.

Thanks. any more comments?

Lax383

EHSLAX12

03-05-2007, 05:37 PM

nope, and never will. bring the pain.

nemiman18

03-05-2007, 06:35 PM

nope, and never will. bring the pain.
yup :grin:

but if he wants to...

bpercival

03-05-2007, 07:25 PM

I knowmy team if they see a goalie wearing shins they know hes scared. Saying that they willdrill him 3 or 4 times just to see if he gets tense and scare him a bit. I wouldnt unless hes injured and thats on the shin that hes injured on ex. collucini wore a thing on a leg due to injury i belive. If hes that scared then let himtest it out.

E-Crosse

03-05-2007, 07:30 PM

i wear my 6 year old sisters soccer shin guards, they fit under socks and arent noticably visible, its more for the ankle protection though.

AttackMan17

03-05-2007, 07:38 PM

i wear my 6 year old sisters soccer shin guards, they fit under socks and arent noticably visible, its more for the ankle protection though.

Same, i wore/wear a small shin guard over my ankle brace on my left ankle just because my ankle is bad, and a sot would make it worse.

TitansGoalie11

03-05-2007, 10:20 PM

Tell him to wear the shin guards if he wants to play more confident. like i tell other people. Many goalies will say this "its better to look like a dumbass and wear shin guards and be able to walk the next day, then look like a badass and be limping and not being able to play well the next." its a matter of personal preference. If hes scared of what other people might think tell him to man up and do things in his own interest because it doenst matter what others think. ITs not that big of a deal and it will probally prevent you from fracturing some part of ur shin and being out for the rest of season.

EHSLAX12

03-05-2007, 10:53 PM

yup :grin:

but if he wants to...
thats just me...

i dont disagree with it at all if you want to, its your choice. not like i can force him to make a choice. as long as your a goalie and will step infront of the ball with no fear than you have my respect.

Dadabhoy_Muzzi

03-05-2007, 10:57 PM

I wore them in my first year. It made me feel more confident. I would rather have a confident goalie who can stop shops then a goalie who is afraid of the ball. I do not wear them anymore. Its all part of the mental edge.

POCK3Ts

03-05-2007, 11:30 PM

yeah i wore them my freshman year(started varsity and it was my first year as a goalie) but stopped about 3/4 through the season after i felt comfortable but i always wore pants in games so it didnt matter the other team never saw which is really what matters...i would say do that or just have him wear them in practice to get comfortable but not in games

Laxman3221

03-06-2007, 05:13 PM

Only to protect an injury.

kevLAXpro

03-06-2007, 05:35 PM

Think about it this way, if you don't wear shin guards and you get a really hard shot at your shin and you get hurt, you can't play anymore.
Wear shin guards.

laxgoaliebm16

03-06-2007, 06:36 PM

I would look down upon that, my shins are num now tho

Goalie37

03-06-2007, 06:37 PM

No I never have and probably never will unless I get seriously injured in the shins. If you get down on the ball shins should be the least of your problems.

EricL

03-06-2007, 06:51 PM

Nah, its not cool these days..... , but it is more cool than padded shorts =P

nopain

03-06-2007, 07:56 PM

don't most goalies wear sweat pants?so you would not see the shin pads?

somrandomguy

03-06-2007, 08:03 PM

don't most goalies wear sweat pants?so you would not see the shin pads?

Most goalies I see/know wear shorts, though I guess that partly depends on the climate too. Though alot of goalies I see wearing sweatpants wear them New York style, so you can still see their shins anyways.

New Lax Love84

03-07-2007, 06:52 PM

I do, but I have to. Because I'm in girl's lax.
But if it wasn't in the rules.. I wouldn't be wearing them.
If that says anything.

meestagoaliemon

03-07-2007, 08:18 PM

You might want to get the opinion on what the goalie wants to do.

It's all in how you feel in net. If you feel that you need shin guards because you feel vulnerable to a serious injury or you just can't take the pain, then go ahead and wear them. You shouldn't worry about how you look and what you wear. As a matter of fact, one of my middle school games I had to wear shin guards because they were seriously bruised and the other goalie made fun of me for wearing them. As it turns out, I made him look like the idiot when I got my first shutout and he let up eight.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, wether you wear them or not doesn't matter. If you think they will help you do better then wear them. Whatever will make you better

carmelgoal069

03-08-2007, 08:56 PM

man theres another goalie in mi grade that goes 2 mi school he wears shin pads n pants and all he does is get in front of the ball and take hits but he wears HUGE shin pads

MadCowDisease

03-09-2007, 12:44 PM

I dont get why in field goalies wear next to nothing and in box they look like friggin hockey goalies or something?

EHSLAX12

03-09-2007, 02:37 PM

I dont get why in field goalies wear next to nothing and in box they look like friggin hockey goalies or something?
anyone who plays box can correct me if im wrong.

i think its because a really hard shot can come from nowhere, and also the surface on bounce shots can accelerate the ball. its like a really short cut turf kinda material from what i can see. shots also are coming form a shorter distance than in field. a normal shot in field is at least 5 yards longer out than a normal box shot.

MadCowDisease

03-09-2007, 07:55 PM

sam.karcher

03-09-2007, 08:12 PM

anyone who plays box can correct me if im wrong.

i think its because a really hard shot can come from nowhere, and also the surface on bounce shots can accelerate the ball. its like a really short cut turf kinda material from what i can see. shots also are coming form a shorter distance than in field. a normal shot in field is at least 5 yards longer out than a normal box shot.

Also, from what I've noticed in watching indoor, since the goal is smaller, there isn't a good reason to keep your stick up, which is why they hold it like a hockey goalie stick, on the ground (Common, obvious, knowledge). This being the case, it's harder to move your stick to stop a shot in the same way you would as if you were holding it like a field goalie.

Again, as said above, correct me if I'm wrong, but this is just something I've noticed from emulating a box goalie when I'm fooling around and from watching indoor.

lax39er

03-10-2007, 05:58 AM

I were only one on my right leg because my shin is all messed up.

Guardian

03-10-2007, 09:03 AM

i wont ever but to each his own i guess. there too constricting.

MadCowDisease

03-10-2007, 12:02 PM

Also, from what I've noticed in watching indoor, since the goal is smaller, there isn't a good reason to keep your stick up, which is why they hold it like a hockey goalie stick, on the ground (Common, obvious, knowledge). This being the case, it's harder to move your stick to stop a shot in the same way you would as if you were holding it like a field goalie.

Again, as said above, correct me if I'm wrong, but this is just something I've noticed from emulating a box goalie when I'm fooling around and from watching indoor.
SO basically, there isnt a lot of room to get your stick up in the top part of the net in box so they depend on big gear to cover that part, and the stick covers the ground, whereas in field the nets are larger so theres a larger area for the stick to be used. Thanks for clearing this up guys.. I'm only like three months into lacrosse and trying to get information about everything!

Laxgoalie4282

03-10-2007, 04:07 PM

i havent had that much of a problem from getting hit in the shins. mostly, i get hit in the thighs. but shinguards could up his confidence and make him play better. you should let him decide if he wants to or not

RazzMaChazz

03-10-2007, 04:38 PM

chicks dig bruises.

goalie08

03-10-2007, 05:17 PM

I've been playing without shin guards and got used to the shots, but it was hard work and after all that my coach tells me that they made it a rule that i have to. like its mandatory. i am furious >=O

GrymesGoalie

03-10-2007, 11:26 PM

No shinguards for me when I played goalie. "I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees." is a good quote there. I'd rather be remembered for getting hurt from a shot than being the kid that wore the shinguards.

Jimmy-Mac

03-16-2007, 02:20 PM

I don't wear shingaurds.

claxbucky

03-16-2007, 03:09 PM

Let your goalie decide whether or not he wants to wear them. They can be helpful in preventing long term problems with shins probably. A little semi-horror story here... One of my friends played goalie for 2 years on our JV highschool team, then quit because he couldn't handle varsity. He went to get his legs x-rayed or something and had 27 bone bruises. I dunno if those have any sort of long term effects on your legs, but yea, let your goalie choose what he's most comfortable with, since if you're not comfortable in the cage, you're not going to be focused on the game and playing your a game.

GeorgeUVA

03-16-2007, 06:14 PM

EHSLAX12

03-16-2007, 06:37 PM

Lax 383,
I can only share my own experience. My first year in goal was freshman year in high school on JV. I didn't know any better, so I wore shorts like everyone else. I was pretty good (and my high school team not so great), so I was the starting varsity goalie as a sophomore. Now, with only a year of experience against pretty good teams, I was a bit timid at how these older guys would rocket shots. So I wore floor hockey pads (lightweight plastic with foam behind I purchased at Sports Authority) on my shins and my wrestling kneepads (thin neoprene with about 1/2 inch over the knee). I wore sweatpants to cover them up, so the other teams never knew, nor did the fans. Needless to say, I played a heckuva lot better that year than if I hadn't. As I got older and better, I did away with them. I'd let the kid use them if they make him a better goalie, and let him decide what to do over time.
thats definetely a good way to go about it. the most ive ever done was i wore the mcdavid knee pad on my shin and then had my knee brace on the same leg, so my right leg was covered. i had gotten hit with a bat there because some retard on the baseball team was swinging it around and hit me, so i didnt want to irritate it too much worse. ive said already that i dont use shin protection, but if you do its your choice. the mcdavic pads are actually pretty good, you justhae to wear a higher sock and tape them on.

flyersrule9733

03-17-2007, 12:04 AM

if u think you will be more confident and play better then wear them. personally, i dont wear them. i am thinking about getting the goalie pants though because the thigh shots are a pain, but i probably will end up not getting them

BOMBERd-pole

03-24-2007, 03:53 PM

well yesterday during tryouts i took about 20 shots off the legs and shins and cup most of them from my coach i came home with bruises eveywhere and now im being forced to wear them they dont restrict your movement if you have soccer shingaurds and they prevent alot of abuse to your bone i dont really like wearing them because it makes you look weak but it helps with injuries. ive never been afraid of the ball, i was even told by my coach that te varsity goalie doent take as many off the legs as me but if you think they will help you stop the ball betterthen wear them id rather have alot of saves and look weak then harldy any saves but look tough

datLAXnukka#38

03-24-2007, 07:42 PM

if u think it will bring his confidence up then do it...so what if kids make fun of him its watevers best for the goalies confidence that can win you games

chargerslax92

03-24-2007, 09:37 PM

Well i dont know how he is, but I'm so used to getting hit in the shins, I don't even feel it. Its up to him, personally I look down on it, unless you had a bad experience with the shin shots.

thts the same w/ me it doesnt hurt in the arms either, when u get really "excited" and all it doesnt hurt at all, in the moment at least

smashingpumpkin

03-24-2007, 11:45 PM

Nope, I've never used them.

wolfenburg

03-26-2007, 05:45 AM

Also, from what I've noticed in watching indoor, since the goal is smaller, there isn't a good reason to keep your stick up, which is why they hold it like a hockey goalie stick, on the ground (Common, obvious, knowledge). This being the case, it's harder to move your stick to stop a shot in the same way you would as if you were holding it like a field goalie.

Again, as said above, correct me if I'm wrong, but this is just something I've noticed from emulating a box goalie when I'm fooling around and from watching indoor.

Due to the smaler goal and the distance between shot and goal, in box th goalie makes most safes by being in the right possition. Therefor you get hit more often and it gives you a big advantage to be big. On the field you must make the safe more active i.e move your Stick to the ball. Therefore padding is less effective than speed in field.

bplaxg33

03-26-2007, 08:26 PM

only wore one on my right leg at the end of last year b/c my leg was bruised up and i needed to give it a hance to heal, temporary and for comfort in the goal is about all i would use them for

lax21goalie2008

03-26-2007, 08:41 PM

I'm kind of looking into them now, after getting hit by my coach who has a 90-95 mph shot, straight in the shin. I can barely walk and its been almost 6 hours.

laxgoalieguy123

03-26-2007, 09:15 PM

it doesnt really matter if he wears shin guards, because when you are confident you perform better, and no one is going to make fun of him when he stops a lot of shots, if he is afraid of it hurting, then he should wear shinguards untill he feels confident enough without them, thats what i did :thumbsup:

Garor

03-26-2007, 09:56 PM

I'm kind of looking into them now, after getting hit by my coach who has a 90-95 mph shot, straight in the shin. I can barely walk and its been almost 6 hours.

That was my consideration too. I almost missed the season because I could hardly run on that shin. Spent the season being pretty sedintary and wearing one very large catcher's leg. (cut down to the minimum of course). Next season I wised up and realized pride wasn't nearly important as playing.

lax21goalie2008

03-27-2007, 09:00 PM

Yeah, I just got hit in the same spot in a game by a pretty hard shooter. Now its even harder to walk. Oh well.

wolfenburg

03-28-2007, 03:22 AM

I take so many shots on my shin's that i am wearing them.

NAHSLAX15

03-28-2007, 06:38 AM

i only wear shin pads if got a diesel bruise. like a deep muscle or bone bruise

laxgoalie17

03-29-2007, 08:35 PM

I have never worn shin gaurds, it has never been a problem it only hurts when I get hit in the thumbs and inner thighs. If I see a high school goalie wearing shin guards and elbow pads and such I just look at him and say to my self "N00B!"

LAXBEAST#26

03-30-2007, 11:37 PM

NO!!!!!!!!!!! i would look pretty wimpy if i did

rynolax

03-31-2007, 09:36 AM

i wear field hocky soft shin gaurds under high socks, so i don't look they don't show. they are made by stx by the way.

wolfenburg

04-02-2007, 02:56 AM

I ware as well field hocky soft shin gaurds but mine are from TK :-) I Think of replacing them to some better ones but I play field Hockey as well. (Its a mans and womans sport in Germany).

konkomania

04-02-2007, 12:18 PM

I am wearing one small pad because i have a really bad bruise from getting hit twice.

GottaBeRed

04-02-2007, 04:07 PM

It seems two factors prevent most field lacrosse goalies from wearing shin pads:
Ridicule and mobility.
I've never played the position, but my kid (who plays at the youth level) thinks they have helped him to be more aggressive to the ball since the pads have removed any fear of injury. And he wear full blown baseball catcher models.
I sorted through all of his various photos to find the one that shows the pads most obviously:
http://www.lacrosseforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7970&stc=1

ehsgoalie

04-02-2007, 08:38 PM

personally i think he should wear shin gaurds, atleast just soccer ones, cause my first year of goal i took so many shots to the shin the circulation was cut of to my ancle cause of the swelling and i had to have surgery and now i have pernement damage in them. So, i would say he should wear atleast soccer shin gaurds like i do cause your teamates should respect you even if you do if you try really hard.

laxmasta258

04-11-2007, 08:39 PM

i wore them when i first started in middle school, and they helped with my confidence. once i got to high school, i took em off, and im fine w/o them

ccindacrease9

04-12-2007, 10:12 PM

Yea I like wearing rolled up sweatpants because it makes me feel like im wearing an extra layer as if im wearing pads. Plus you can get a few extra saves because their kinda baggy.

Pdoherty

04-13-2007, 05:56 AM

I don't do as well without my shin guards. =/ mental thing. All I use is simple soccer shins

NVLAXDAD

04-13-2007, 07:41 AM

I'm 45 and play goalie so my son and daughter can shoot on a live goalie in the backyard. They both play high school ball. I took a ball off the shin a few years ago and still have a deep bone bruise to prove it. It was a bounce shot too. I'd say wear them. I use the soccer type. I never played and lets face it, I'm damn slow in the reflex department, so I need all the protection I can get. :crazy:

Peer pressure can be tough, but to avoid injury I'd say use them. Also, make sure the goalie learns to use his stick more than his legs to stop shots. He'll probably stop wearing them after his stick skills get better.