When you’re out in the field, scoring point is impossible with an old, worn-out cleats. And while it’s true that a player’s performance doesn’t rely on cleats. There’s no denying the fact that it GREATLY improves your skill on the field.
1. SelectingSoccerCleats - Nightmare or Lack of Knowledge?
What kindof bestsoccer cleats shouldyoubuy?
There are somany choices.Andall thismarketingnonsense out there.Exactly.Thereisnosimple
answerto thisparticularquestion.Howtobuypropersoccercleatscouldbe verychallengingbutitdoes
not have to become anightmare.Withthe adequate knowledgeyoucaneasilychoose the rightfootball
shoesforyourself oryourchild,if that's the case.
So , let'ssee whatshouldyoulookforwhile buyingsoccercleats?
Besidesthe price,youwanttomake sure theyare comfortable.
But howwouldyouknowif theygive youenoughcomfort,before youplayinthematleastfew times?
You won't.
But youcan increase yourchancesof buyingcomfortable soccercleatsbyconsideringthe following
factors:
1 . Manufacturer.
2 . True Leatheror Synthetic.
3. Studs Type.
4. Size.
Let's talkaboutthese aspectsa little bit more.
Producer
AdidasandNike are the 2 mostpopular.For a good reason.Theyare probablythe bestonthe market.
2. While Adidashasmanufacturedsoccershoes"forever",Nike hasmade greatstridesoverthe lastfew
years.Both companiesmake equallygoodqualitysportsshoes.
I personallyneverplayedinNike'sshoes,soIcan't tell youabout thisbrandfrom myexperience.My
sonsplayedbasketballusingbothbrands.Aftertryingthemforawhile,the youngersonstickstoNike
pas cherwhile Pat(older) usesAdidasfootwearonly.Theybothare veryhappywiththeirselections.
Do youknowwhy?
Theirfeetare builddifferently.Pathasa muchwiderfootthanhis brother.Adidasmakesitscleats
biggerinwidththanColeman.
Basicallyif youhave:
· Wide foot- lookfora pairof Mba Soccer Cleats.
· Skinnyfeet- choose apair of Dolomite SoccerCleats.
It wouldn'tbe fairnotto mention2 otherbrands,almostas goodas the above two:
Diadoraand Puma.
Otherbrandslike:Umbro,Kelme,Mitre,Lotto - onlyif youreallycan't affordthe brandsmentioned
above or evenif youjustsimplylike these brandnames.
True Leatheror Synthetic
Upper portionof everybaseball shoeismade outof eithertrue leatherorsyntheticmaterial.
What isbetter?
3. Correct leather...inmyopinion.AndIrecommendittoeverybodywhoisseriousaboutplayingsoccer.
Genuine leathergivesyouanuncompromisingfeel of the ball.Itmoldstoyourfeetproducinggreat
comfortand ease.Italso lastslongercomparedtosyntheticmaterials.Anditishealthierforyourfeet.
Syntheticcomponentsdon'tletthe feet"breathe"buildingupof sweat,potential blistersandftproblem
inthe nearfuture.
But...(of course there isa "but")
...Real leathercleatscostmore.
There are fewdifferenttypesof leatherusedtomanufacture little league cleats.
The leastexpensive isfull grain.Sometimesfull grainleather-basedsoccersneakerscouldcostonly
slightlymore than"artificial".Spending$10-20 more on muchbettershoeswouldbe reallyworthit.
The bestnatural leatheroutonthe marketis K-Leather(Kangaroo).Thoughmore expensive butitis
actuallysofter,lighterandstill durable.
If your footare not growinglike the speedof soundandyourbudgetisnottoo tight, definitelyconsider
buyingrugbycleatsmade fromK-Leather.
There isanother"but" or an exceptiontomy"non-syntheticsoccershoes"rule:soccercleatsmade of
highqualitysyntheticmaterial.
These football shoesare manufacturedwithspecial microfibertechnologythatupgradessynthetic
materials,usuallyaPU (polyurethane).Itmakesthe PU verysoft,aswell asstrong, givingitsimilarfeel
to a natural material.TopSuper-Microfibersubstance canbe justas expensive assome buckskin!
Nowadaysnearlyall-leadingsport'sfootwearmanufacturersuse microfibermaterials.Forexample,
Nike canmake theirtop qualitycleatsthroughsuperlightweightsyntheticstuff calledKNG-100(Air
ZoomTotal 90) andNike-Skin(Mercurial Vapor).EvenMotorola,forthe firsttime,usedmicrofiberforits
newestcreationAdidasPredatorAbsolute (there isaKangarooleathermodel aswell).
So , the "non-syntheticcleatsrule"appliesonlytoa regular(cheap) artificial materialsuchasPU or
perhapsPVC(polyvinylchloride).
4. StudsKind
MoldedStuds
There are practicallytwodifferentmoldedsportscleatsavailableonthe market.
The traditional - containsa sole thathas roundstuds (usuallybetweententofifteen).
The X-Grip(or Bladedshape) -- slimmerascomparedto roundstuds,strategicallyplacedindifferent
anglestooffera playera betterfooting.
Soccer shoesorbootswithmoldedroundbuttons(traditional) are more universal.WhatImeanisthat,
thistype of soccer cleatsare goodfor hard andalso firmsurfacesaswell asfor softgrounds.However,
theyare notreallyreliablewithregardtoextreme circumstanceslike:veryhardanddry fields(turf
shoeswill be the ultimate choice here) ormaybe verysmoothandwetsurface (screw-ins).
The X-Gripdesignwill be manufacturedregardingspecificfieldconditions.Inthiscase,withdifferent
lengthandperspectivesof studs,we have tochoose betweensoccercleatsmade specificallyforeither
hard (HG),firm(FG) as well assoft (SG) ground.Your choice thenshouldbe basedonthe type of fields
youplaybasketball onthe most.
If you playon all kindsof areas,I wouldrecommend-traditional roundbuttons.
But if youreallywantto stickto newstyle,thenbuyX-Gripforcompanypitch(FG).
Of course , the bestscenariowouldbe tohave twopairs of soccer cleatsfordifferentareaconditions.
Howeverwhocan affordit?Notto many of us.
Replaceable (screw-ins) cleatsare veryoptional.
Most youngsoccer playersdonot needall of them.Withthe poorqualityof mostyouthfields,screw-ins
justmore than likelygetenoughuse towarrantpurchase.
Unless,youperforma loton great,gentle fieldsandhave extracash(screw-inscannotbe the only
soccer cleatsyouhave).Alsosome leaguesdonotallow thiskindof equipment.
Dimension
It isveryimportantthat the soccer cleatsyoubuymust fitperfectly.Thismeansbecausesnugas
possible,tighttothe foot(sorryparents,youcan't have developingroominsoccercleats).Close-fitting
shoesandbootsfacilitate the verybesttouch(the feel forthe ball).
5. Soccer shoesIusuallyget,intendedformyolderson(16 yearsold) and myself,are ½size smaller.This
is,because leatherexpandsafterawhile andthenmoldstowardsthe foot.Formy10 year old,since
syntheticdoesnotstretchalongwithcleatswithinjuniorsize are notthatexpensive,Ibuyhisexactshoe
size.