Any competitive athlete is always looking for ways to gain an advantage over their opponents. This competitive advantage may come via good old fashioned hard work and training, it may come from playing mind games with the opponent or it may come in other ways. For hockey goalies, one point of debate is whether the color of your pads has anything to do with how you perform. Specifically, some hockey players and coaches believe that white pads give goalies a slight advantage compared to those who play with dark pads. We examine:

Making the Case for White Pads

Many hockey players swear by wearing white-colored pads for two main reasons:

    -The thought that white pads make them look bigger in the net.
    -White pads blend in better with the white net mesh, making it more difficult for shooters to pick their spots.

Some hockey coaches and trainers have even gone on the record condemning dark-colored pads, as it allows shooters to see where the equipment stops and where the goalie can be beaten.

The Case Against White Pads

While there are those that are all for white pads, others brush it off as a silly thought. Here are some of the common arguments against a competitive advantage tied to goaltender pad color:

    -All pads are designed and manufactured the same way, regardless of color.
    -The color of the pad doesn’t make a goalie move faster or play smarter.
    -The color of the pad won’t prevent shooters from aiming for the corners or picking their spots as they’ve worked to do since they began     playing hockey.

Furthermore, many will also argue that dark-colored goalie pads are more advantageous than white-colored equipment due to the fact that referees are more apt to lose sight of the puck in scrums around the net, something that could result in goaltenders getting faster whistles to stop play.

No matter your take on whether white pads give goaltenders a competitive advantage, it goes without saying that the best way to excel at the goaltending position is through hard work and dedication. And while game time action can surely help in this regard, so can attending goalie camps. For more information on our goalie camps, contact us today.