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How can I deal with the dazzle?

Question:

I am in my first year of goalkeeping – playing for my club and English County (Under 14s)

I played on Sunday and had a great deal of trouble from a low afternoon sun – and lost sight of the ball on one or two occasions. I wear glasses normally – but contact lenses for sport. How can I deal with the dazzle?

I did let in one or two (or three/perhaps four) goals too many – it wasn’t my best performance – how do you cope with the bad days? I’ve had plenty of good days – feeling good about my performance and my teams’, this is the first time the game went from bad to worse.

Answer:

Depending on the kind of helmet and cage you wear, there are a couple of things to try. First off, sunglasses if you can fit them under your helmet. Second, there is something called eye black that American footballers apply under their eyes that cuts glare. When the low sun is really bad, you might try white adhesive tape applied to the top part of your cage. Not so that it covers your eyes, but so it shields them. You should also get used to using your stick or glove to shield from the glare when you can.

As far as bad days, know that they can happen. The biggest thing I try to do is go back out and work with a plan to make sure they don’t happen. That starts with a journal. Keep track of goals, saves and different game situations. Assess what happened, what you did and what you might do differently. In the course of a game, I try not to think about what happened, particularly if it was a mistake. The last thing my team-mates need to see is me reacting to something I can’t do anything about. I need to keep playing and I need to keep my team-mates playing with me. Get back on the horse!

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