Keeper shirt which kind should the keeper use?

[Ray Luca]

During a Metrostar game this discussion came up.

The oppponents keeper wore a shirt that was loud orange and drew attention to himself.

Shep Messing a Metrostar announcer and a long time pro keeper said he wore a shirt that did not bring attention to himself he wanted to be invisible to the opponent.

I thought this was interesting and I put it on a coaching site and I got some very interesting comments both for and against.

So I thought it might be fun to put it on here, and see what responses it go here.

[napolivsavellino]

as a keeper.....i find that the colours i wear do have some affect...such as.......if i wear WHITE....it makes u look bigger then you are as opposed to black...its just one way how our eyes trick us......if you wear colours that are so flashy ...your opponent might not notice u sneak up on him...BUT it could work against u if your defender doesnt notice your bright orange jersey over his shoulder and you screaming KEEEEEPPPPER over the loud crowd..then you could be in for sum trouble....

[cleansheetbsc]

During a Metrostar game this discussion came up.

The oppponents keeper wore a shirt that was loud orange and drew attention to himself.

Shep Messing a Metrostar announcer and a long time pro keeper said he wore a shirt that did not bring attention to himself he wanted to be invisible to the opponent.

I thought this was interesting and I put it on a coaching site and I got some very interesting comments both for and against.

So I thought it might be fun to put it on here, and see what responses it go here.

Shep not wanting to bring attention to himself? Now that's funny.

Bo's jersey was HIDEOUS! As a goalkeeper, I would wear it in a second.

Actually it looks much brighter in person than on TV ( I assume it was the same shirt when KC played DC a week later).

Honestly, I don't think it makes much difference if you wear black, gray or highlighter green. Player's should know that they have a goalkeeper to beat in order to score a goal.

[Ray Luca]

There is a hugh difference from shooting 18yds and further out, then finishing which is usually inside the 18.

As for me I think a keeper shirt with a big light colored dot on a black shirt gets you the shooters attention when he looks up before he even gets a pass and before he shoots. Like a new driver he seems to drive to what ever he is looking at unless he purposely looks some where else to shoot. Most shoot at what they see first at any level.

Finishing close to goal is a different matter.

However I do tell a striker comming in from the left side shoot to the right side wall netting. So he might not see the keeper when moving from that direction before he shoots if he looked at the wall of the net.

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Another poster told me he went to a keeper clinic Messing ran, and he said the opposite at that time. Wear a shirt that gets the attention of the shooter so go figure?

I sent him an e-mail once on the MSG site on something else, and he answered. Maybe it is time to send him another e-mail on this.

[usscouse]

Interesting question. When I played I went for the darker colours, green, blue, even brown.
But I felt I did best when I switched to a yellow for the reason you gave. I got hit dead center more than average.

[blech]

nothing to do with stopping shots, but on a hot day i always tried to avoid the black jersey.

as for the rest of it, i don't buy that bright colors will help the shooters avoid you. the goalie's not likely to sneak up on anyone. and, if anything, it seems much more likely to me that the bright color ends up attracting the ball. BUT frankly this all just goes a step too far for me. wear whatever you want that suits your personal style, just make sure it's a different color than your own team and your opponent. the keeper makes the jersey work, not the other way around....

[usscouse]

nothing to do with stopping shots, but on a hot day i always tried to avoid the black jersey.

as for the rest of it, i don't buy that bright colors will help the shooters avoid you. the goalie's not likely to sneak up on anyone. and, if anything, it seems much more likely to me that the bright color ends up attracting the ball. BUT frankly this all just goes a step too far for me. wear whatever you want that suits your personal style, just make sure it's a different color than your own team and your opponent. the keeper makes the jersey work, not the other way around....It's probaly a good idea to read the other posts......never mind!