Why Do Men Volleyball Players Not Wear Knee Pads?

Lots of us ask when we watch male volleyball matches, why aren’t they wearing kneepads?

Is it because they don’t like the way they look? Or do they think they don’t need them? Lots of us ask when we watch male volleyball matches, why aren’t they wearing kneepads? There are guys out there who will say that it isn’t a macho thing, and that they just don’t like how they feel. But nobody likes how volleyball kneepads feel, right? It’s just a good idea to protect our knees, we thought.

Let’s talk about that macho thing first.

They’re not very comfortable. We know. But, knee pads are rapidly becoming associated with being “for girls”, and even just that approach is pretty questionable these days. A lot of guys refuse to wear them purely for the fact that they are seen as being more effeminate, and they don’t want to be made fun of on the court by the rest of their team, or anyone watching. That’s a pretty dangerous slope to be sliding down, so we think it’s important to try and stop it right here and now. Did the male volleyball players see women playing with knee pads and think, we don’t need those, our masculine bodies are more durable than those of the feeble female! We are men! Strong, and able to withstand heavy impact! Probably not, huh. But it’s important that we understand any other reasons for male players not wearing knee pads, before just playing along with the whole “boys shouldn’t look like girls” mindset.

Most male volleyball players won’t tell you they avoid wearing protection so that they look super strong, rough and ready. Some say they aren’t very comfortable, and others even give the excuse that they don’t like the way they make their legs look! So, it turns out that it’s not just us girls who are conscious about our appearance!

But are the boys so self-conscious that they would risk the rest of their walking lives to look good?

Most female volleyball players spend a lot of time slamming into the ground with their leg joints, but male players tend to land on their chest a lot more often. And that’s the reason that most players in men’s volleyball will give you when you ask why they don’t wear kneepads – simply, because they don’t feel like they land on their knees enough to merit them!

Umm, no thanks. Right? There’s nothing worse than landing on your front if you’re a woman, hence why we love the knee skids so much. Chest diving isn’t really an option for us (unless we’re like, some weird lady on YouTube who smashes melons with her breasts, or just… super dedicated). For men on the other hand, chest diving is totally A Thing. Watch a game of men’s volleyball.

How many times do you see them on their knees? A lot of male players say they weren’t even taught to dive on their knees, and learnt to land on their chest right from the beginning. So maybe it’s more down to our physical anatomies as human beings, than anything else?

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