Knee Pads- The Most Overlooked Piece of Equipment
Credit: Seth J Sports
Having interacted with so many goalies over the past couple of years, we have encountered many questions about equipment and our tips and tricks regarding different pieces of gear. One of, if not the most common piece of equipment that goalies and goalie parents struggle with is knee pads.
There seem to be at least 4 different knee pad issues that are common amongst goaltenders or parents:
Not wearing knee pads at all.
Knee pads placed on the knee improperly.
Knee pads falling down or moving out of position.
Trying to find the correct knee pads to use.
In this article, we hope to deal with these four knee pad issues, and guide you towards proper choice and use of knee pads so that you or your goalie can stay safe and perform at their best.
Why Wear Knee Pads?
The most obvious and correct answer is that they will prevent you from breaking your knee cap. Your knee cap and collarbone are two bones that aren’t surrounded by any flesh to protect them. Therefore, they are easily damaged by shots, and require extra protection to make sure they are safe.
“But wait… doesn’t my leg pad cover that?”
For the most part, it does. But, there will be times when pucks will sneak their way over your pad and into the top of your knee. These are typically lateral plays where the puck moves across the ice quickly, giving the goalie less time to adjust to the new angle, and therefore the puck being shot at the goalie almost from a 45 degree angle rather than directly in front of them.
Some goalies have said that wearing knee pads is uncomfortable, and while they may be uncomfortable in the short term, it is worth that short term discomfort to eliminate the risk that you have to deal with the long term discomfort of a broken knee cap.
Wear them for a little while, and we promise you will get used to them. Eventually, you will be more uncomfortable without them on than with them on.
How to Wear Knee Pads
Every knee pad has at least two parts— one bottom piece that you place your knee into, and a top part that extends above the top of your knee up your leg. This top piece protects your knee cap and other bones surrounding your knee, and therefore is usually beefed up with even more padding.
Below the cradle in which your knee fits, there may be another velcro attachment to help secure the knee pad to your knee.
Here is a picture of a knee pad for reference:
Credit: Sports Etc.
Here you can see the bottom piece with a velcro strap attached to it is where your knee goes, or as CCM calls it on this particular pad, the “KNEE ZONE”. It has cushioning to increase comfort, and pad your knee for dropping into the butterfly. The middle piece, which is extra padding extending across the front of the knee pad, protects the top of your knee or knee cap. The top third of this knee pad also has a velcro attachment, and extends up your leg above your knee for added protection.
DO NOT PLACE YOUR KNEE IN THE UPPERMOST PART OF THE KNEE PAD. Not only is this uncomfortable, but the top of your knee will be exposed, which defeats the purpose of the knee pad.
3. Keeping Knee Pads in Place
Knee pads won’t do you any good if they aren’t in position. While they have velcro strapping, this usually wears out over time, and isn’t secure enough to keep the knee pad intact. To counter this, there are multiple methods to make sure they don’t move:
Attach them to a garter belt— This is the most effective way of keeping them up. Almost all knee pads have garter belt attachments, and they make garter belts specifically for knee pads. These are typically a bit beefier than a normal garter belt. You can find them online, or possibly in local hockey stores. Some brands come with garter belts already attached to the knee pads.
Wear leggings or hockey socks over them— This gives them an extra layer of security in the form of compression from either leggings or hockey socks.
Tape them- This one is simple, but using clear tape to tape them will help immensely. There are many methods with which to do this— some goalies like taping the knee pads under the socks, over the socks, under the knee, on the knee, above the knee, etc. Find what works for you and what makes you the most comfortable.
If you implement all three of these methods along with the velcro straps attached to the knee pads, they won’t be going anywhere.
4. Knee Pad Recommendations
Some pads nowadays come with knee guards attached to the pads. While these may work ok, there are small areas that may not be covered by them, and therefore they are not as trustworthy as standalone knee pads.
Here are some examples of popular knee pads that multiple goalies or parents have recommended, or we would recommend ourselves:
*Disclaimer: we are not sponsored by any of these entities, nor have any of them asked us to include these in our recommendations. These are simply examples of good knee pads we have collected ourselves:
