US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Goalie parents, when did you purchase gear?

(reposting from the Girls 2031 thread)


At what age did you get your daughter her gear?

My daughter has shown a strong interest in playing goalie and has been volunteering to play the position on her PAL team whenever offered. We don't own any goalie equipment as we've been borrowing from the PAL team on the day of games.

She doesn't play on a club team yet, but she will be trying out this summer.

Do they have tryouts for Goalies at this age (going into 5th)?

I'm leaning towards purchasing gear so she can get some training/practice in because I'm concerned she'll be up against experienced goalies.

I had bought it in 3rd grade, just so she would always have it available. Yes, they have tryouts for goalies, but given the lack of kids wanting to play, most teams struggle to have 2 goalies, which is a necessity. The one recommendation I would make is getting the goalie gloves now - goalie gloves have extra thumb protection given the hand position on the stick. People will tell you - "they do not shoot hard at this age, etc" - just buy them and save yourself 6 weeks of recovery time

Yes. Goalies tryout at almost every age. Welcome to the very expensive position.

Lacrosse unlimited is quick and easy for equipment. A little pricy but you can go try stuff on.

You need a helmet (w throat guard), chest protector, padded goalie pants (shorts w pads), lacrosse gloves and shin protectors (they have big lax ones or you can get soccer ones)

Pal will also make your kid have coverage over their knees (knee pads). Sometimes the goalie pants will cover them.

She’ll need a stick. Don’t just buy one off the shelf. Get a pocket put in. Throwing with goalie sticks is difficult. This makes it easier. (Still hard)

If buying a helmet. Go w white. You don’t know what club she’ll play with in future or school team.

We did not buy my daughter her own gear until like 8th grade. Before that town club let her use gear the Stx girls like light blue is sized for girls. Goalies are a commodity, so not really tryouts just like where they are on a depth chart. Definitely agree about goalie gloves they are a MUST, if you need small size Stx makes size small(10 inch). The Unequal brand (bright green) chest protector is great for girls molds and is less restrictive than ones with plastic plates. Have Mr. Wanderful string a head makes all the difference in throwing!

Otherwise, disagree about goalies being a commodity. I think coaches and directors (at any age group) that play high level tournaments in Maryland and in high stakes games ending with a score or 6-5 or 9-10 would say that a high skilled goalie is a necessity. I guess once you get out of the traditional top 30 clubs maybe the commodity ref is reasonable otherwise need a good one. can carry you far in tournaments especially when your offense stalls or your defense is having an off game.

Would defer to someone else about goalie tryouts. I imagine they vary depending on club. can also tell you some clubs have goalie coaches some don’t. some have Goalie camps during winter and summer run by clubs and others don’t. Don’t go to a club that treat you like a commodity

My apologies, I looked up the definition of the word, commodity and I meant the opposite. I meant like “prized commodity”, meaning that they are not likely to be cut just ranked. My daughter played up with older girls most of her time at club traveling to Maryland, etc. She would play her games and be walking in parking lot and get asked to play as many as 8 games a day. That is what I meant highly sought after not interchangeable. Sorry for any confusion I am a goalie dad and no way was I trying to down play the value of any goalie. To your point each person’s club and experience is different. The club was great getting her experience playing with high level girls and seeing shots from quality players. Playing up was good and bad. She got to play with better players, but recruiters thought she was in a different class. Some found and recruited her anyway to my point goalies are highly sought after. In the end for us the ID clinics or prospects days at colleges of interest are what got her a scholarship. Everyones journey is different. Best of luck to all the amazing kids who put up their hands and volunteer to play what is the hardest position on the field!

Make sure if she is offered spots on a club team to ask if goalies play free or get a discount. My son is a goalie and he either played for free or at a discounted rate. Invest money you save in private goalie training. Most clubs don’t train their goalies.

100% hardest position on the field. Respect to all the girls who raise their hand!

Thank you for your replies!

I think were going to try and get her some of the gear this week. Hopefully it will get a lot of use in the near future.

Your use of the term was accurate. "Commodity" means a useful or valuable thing. Goalies are a commodity, especially good ones.

As your goalies go to tryouts, want to set the benchmark for what a tryout for goalies should look like:

A good club will do a full warmup to start. Then they'll do shots to see footwork and fundamentals. After that move to drills with the field players, then to scrimmages or full games. If they just throw the ball at your kid a few times and then put them in goal you can bet they A) aren't evaluating goalies at all OR B) don't have a goalie program.

Over the years have just seen kids being thrown in the cage.

let me know what you’ve seen across Long Island or elsewhere.