Soccer Cleats

You can buy cleats online here-> Soccer Shoes

Soccer Cleats.

Why do I even bother to open this door that will cause me so much pain?
OK, this is my opinion through the years of playing, coaching and dealing with a youth player that needed new cleats every six months.

Rule number #1:
Spend an equal amount on cleats as the level of your players program.
If they are playing rec soccer and have a light schedule, keep the price low.
If they are playing on a "gold club level travel team", buy the best.
It really is the only investment you need to make in soccer gear.

Leather or Synthetic?
Leather, hands down.
This is my opinion and my experience only. Why?
Better friction against the ball.
Will "give" over time while feet grow during the season.
Protect against impact injuries better.

Many youth players find that "plastic or synthetic" cleats end up pinching or binding where the cleats form a fold / crease. Leather simply won't do this. We had the WONDERFUL experience of trying a pair of high end $130 youth synthetic cleats that had to be given away after one game.

What kind of cleats does Coach V wear?
Nike Legends.
They are great for old people too!

Soccer shoes come with varying sizes of cleats on the bottom of the shoe for different playing conditions. These variations allow players to get better traction on the playing surface.

There are 3 main types of outdoor soccer shoes.

FG (firm gound) style contains a good array of cleats around the edges of the footwear and a few in the middle area for good foot support. These type of soccer shoes are the most commonly worn and they work well for most field surfaces.

You can't go wrong with a pair of firm ground soccer shoes.

SG (soft ground) style has the least amount of cleats on the bottom of the footwear and only a bare minimum in the middle for foot support. The general purpose of these soccer shoes are for playing on slick surfaces (i.e. mud, rain)

The reason there are so few cleats/studs is so that mud and grass won't get trapped on the bottom of the footwear and make the soccer shoes become heavy.

HG (hard ground) style contains the most cleats of soccer footwear. These soccer cleats are shorter and give the best foot support of the three outdoor soccer shoes. They are often called turfs and are primarily used for some artificial playing surfaces.

Many referees prefer to use the HG style of soccer shoes.

A good majority of youth soccer players own two pairs of soccer shoes. One pair is the indoor and the other is usually a firm ground shoe. The reason for the FG style is because it gives the best overall rating for traction and foot support.