tommyalexander23

Hi rebound right hand (second generation)

hey awesome people!

I wrote a previous article, regarding the Hi Rebound Right hand, and I wanted to share further developments with you guys! =)

Almost a year ago, I managed to get hold of the new mercian right hand glove… and I have to be honest! I really really liked it!

I liked it so much, it gave me some ideas on what I needed to do… to my already modified right hand!

I personally believe that a gk’ers stick is an extension of the arm and the technique/ philosophy, “should be used as if your catching a tennis ball with a straight arm”.

So I removed the whole back of the glove… so that the stick could be inline with my forearm.

put the inner foam back in its original spot and cut the same line!

Secure it with tape

Also I removed the wrist strap entirely and put in a thumb strap… similar to the Hi control glove… & tape through the stick gap to make the finger strap!

In the original models I put the thumb strap close to the front foam… and something that I have noticed when struck around the thumb area it bloody hurts!

so I added a slice of a left handed protector on top which gave better rebound and protection, but moving on from that, I simply relocated the thumb strap further back into the glove… preventing the thumb being compressed by the ball on the foam!

I personally think it has all the benefits of the hi control movement and keeping the stick at the same angle as the glove (especially on the deck) with the high rebound foam and surface-size! =)

The only 2 areas I’d like to improve on the glove is the bottom part – where the glove rounds off… If that could become flat so when diving bottom right or logging the glove doesn’t rotate making the save with the front foam and the flat side of the stick! second! thicker foam (similar to the LH) as its very thin in comparison!

Warning!!! there is very little protection on the back of the glove on mine! I have seen keepers with unusual movements been hit there so just be careful if you do these mods as protection will be less and keep the moments correct!

happy goalkeeping

xoxo

Making the Robo HR Left Glove even more ‘Perfect’

Hey Keepers (me again)

With such positive feedback and interest with ‘making the HR right hand even more perfect’ 😀

Something I touched on in my previous article was the OBO ‘left’ hand. I wanted to show you the alterations I’ve made on this glove which I think makes the glove a lot better (I’d say perfect)!

When I wore my first Robo kit (hi control) in 2003 at 13 years old something I always did was to leave the wrist strap undone, to have full wrist movement. To me this strap seemed point less and I removed it! I’ve seen many other gks do this. Chris Hibbert (South African Keeper) demonstrates this in the picture below!

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Talking to the goalkeeping wizard Jimi Lewis (who also removed this strap) showed me the modifications he did for all his career in OBO and playing for Great Britain in the Athens Olympics (same picture) 🙂

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I want to show you the 5 stages to make the left hand even more ‘Perfect’

Riem-handschoen

Stage 1, remove the strap (keep the strap for your perfect high rebound right hand alterations as a ‘spare’ just in case 😉

Stage 2, mark the cuts! keep it about 1-2cms above the indents on the soft foam

Stage 3, cut along your marking

(Optional stage 4) if the glove is brand new… doesn’t matter so much, it’s better when the glove is loosened. Have some strong tape. Put it in the middle of where the soft foam meets the harder foam and wrap around tight!

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This is becoming more common on different brand gloves as well. Shown by Nick Brothers (Current England Goalkeeper)

Stage 5, enjoy!!!

xoxo

Making the Robo HR Right Glove even more ‘Perfect’

Hi Keepers,

I’m Tommy Alexander and I play for Scotland U21s and Surbiton in England!

If your the type of keeper who likes to angle the gloves and let the foam do the work (like me), this will suit you!

I was a massive fan of the OBO Hi Control right hand glove but playing at higher level, it became more apparent I needed similar surface area as the left hand and OBO offered the Hi Rebound RH Glove. I really liked the size and rebound of the glove but felt it was restricting in terms of wrist movement (similar to the Left hand but removing that strap makes the glove perfect!).

Midway through the second half of the season (playing for Reading at the time) I got in contact with Jimi Lewis (Ex England and GB Goalkeeping Legend) to coach me. We discussed the OBO HR right hand and he showed me what cuts he did with a Stanley knife to his when he played at the Athens Olympics.

Here are the 6 stages to Making the Robo HR Right Glove even more ‘Perfect’ 😀

Make sure you remove the strap and the softer foam.

Stage 1 (marking the cuts) I’ve made a straight line from in between the 1st and 2nd indent on the left. Then a line across, leaving a thin strip from the velcro underneath. Then a line back down on the right, roughly in line with the gap, where the strap would of come out from originally!

Stage 2 line your wrist and arm in the middle of the glove (where it would be in a match. Make 2 cuts either side of you wrist of where you’d like the strap to be relocated (personally I have it just below the wrist bone)

Stage 3 At the bottom of your cuts (cuts should be about 3-5 cm long), join the original two cuts with a straight line. Making 3/4s of a rectangle (don’t be afraid of going to deep, once you feel the hard plate, do not cut any further)

Stage 4 put the strap under the cut and tape it back down

Stage 5 the soft inner foam should be put back in the original place. Cut away to the same shape as the new cutting (if needed apply tape to keep it steady)

Stage 6 Enjoy 🙂

Tommy alexander xoxo