In soccer the only real protection you’ll need by rule is a good pair of shin guards. However, this a rough game and there will be times we when we will need more than a pair of shin guards to protect ourselves in the best way possible.
Injuries can be something that can drastically hold you back from improving as a soccer player. I wrote an article called “How to Prevent Injuries in Soccer” where you will find all the protection tips you need to protect yourself. In summary, most of the items I will recommend in this page will help maximize your protection in the best way possible.
Many people ask “How Dangerous is Soccer?”, Is it really necessary to wear protection at all? Soccer is a contact sport, and as in every other contact sport, there will be a risk from suffering an injury due to an accident or the roughness of the game itself. It’s true it’s not as dangerous as other sports, but we still need to protect ourselves.
Don’t exaggerate on protection gear either. Just buy the stuff you need and that you can use to protect yourself while playing, at the same time you feel comfortable. There are people who don’t like wearing any type of protection gear, and they even buy the smallest shin guards possible. Only use protection gear if you feel comfortable wearing it, otherwise it will become a distraction when playing.
#1: Storelli BodyShield Impact Sliders
The Storelli BodyShield Impact Sliders (click to check price on amazon) is the best item to reduce abrassion injuries. I would recommend these shorts for people that play on artificial grass and that likes a lot making slide tackles.
The thighs are normally the part of our body that suffers the most from skin abrassion with the surface. If you totally hate having red thighs when coming home after training, I highly recommend you to buy this item.
#2: A good pair of ankle guards
The best ankle guards for me are the G-Form Pro-X Ankle Guards (available at amazon). Being kicked in the ankle is very common in soccer. Everytime you fight for a 50/50 ball there is the chance of your ankle getting hurt. An ankle injury can be very painful and hard to recover from.
I seriously recommend that you buy a pair of ankle guards like the G-Form. They are cheap and are not uncomfortable to wear at all. Besides, they would look incredibly cool with a pair of G-Form Pro S Elite shin guards.
# 3: Head Guards
The head Guard I like the most is the Storelli ExoShield Head Guard (click to check price on Amazon). I’ve personally never used a head guard to be honest. However, I know a lot of people that would appreciate having one.
Concusions are one of the most common injuries in soccer, representing at least 5% of all injuries. It would be a good idea to buy a head guard to prevent them. Also, I would recommend parents to buy head guards for their kids to play, as they are prone to suffering from concusions at young ages.
#4: Protection for goalkeepers
Goalkeepers are constantly diving and making contact with the surface. They are the players that suffer from skin abrassion the most times. To prevent this, they must some type of protection clothing to reduce the friction between the surface and them. For me, the item that does this the best in the entire market is the Storelli BodyShield Goalkeeper (available at amazon.com).