If you play in a distinctly hot and sunny climate, glare is going to be a continuous problem and bane to your playing abilities. Rather than standing around with your glove put over your eyesight to try and block out the sunlight, it’s better to have something to maintain the coverage against glare. With summer hockey now upon most western european countries (like the UK), the sun becomes more of a prominent issue when trying to perform at your best. The basic method of blocking out sunlight is to tape the top of the helmet you wear. You will often seen internationals doing it when it is particularly sunny (like Australia’s goalkeepers did in recent tournaments), so even the best use its simple methodology!
Taping the helmet
A simple, but really effective way of keeping the sun out of your eyes is to tape the top of your mask, above the eye line. By doing this, you cut off the light showing down on you, eliminating the sunlight that would otherwise get through to your eyes. You want to tape over the bars of the helmet, to make sure it blocks out the light, before taping the ends onto the sides of the helmet, to keep it on.
‘Gaffer’ tape (which is cloth based tape used for stage production) will give your a bigger coverage, so you do not have to do multiple layers in order to block out the sun. Insulation/duct tape (used to insulate electrical wires) makes a great alternative (it is less likely to leave behind a gooey stain!), but due to its thin width, it often requires a few layers to get good coverage (just simply tape below the original line to get another). It is also good to know about the colour you use. Taping with white tape will reflect the sun light, rather than absorbing it (like black or a dark colour), making it easier to see.
Been using ‘gaffer’ tape for years as a visor – even in the winter season. Got so used to it now when spent ages holding arms up to the sun. Even keep it on indoor now – I find it tunnels the sight and you don’t get the glare from the indoor lights either. Grey seems to be happy medium for all conditions.
Dinga
awesome idea – will definatly give it a go.
It definately helps and reduces water in the eyes when playing in the rain. Make sure you have a water resistant tape.
Great advice I agree with this totally. Been doing it for a few seasons now, definitely makes a huge difference. I use gaffer/duct tape.. Tip: always keep a roll of tape in your kit bag anyway, very useful bit of kit!
Will have to try that as always get stuck in sun and end up with a tired arm! Another good thing is to wear cycling sunglasses which are fitted to the face so fit under your helmet and does help a lot!
Yeah, this is great tip. I’ve been doing it for a couple years, in the sun AND in the rain(especially on a windy day!). Helps for both.
Sun glasses are a good idea, however sometimes you may play with a darker coloured ball. Not good! :L
I use shaded inserts for motorcycle visors. These are made of flexible plastic, which can be fed behind the grill and trimmed to suit. As they are flexible like paper they won’t shatter and can be purchased in different grades like sunglasses. If it starts raining it’s easy to pull them out of the gap at the side.