Choosing The Correct Footwear
Turfs vs. Cleats vs. Flats
Quick comparison on the different types of soccer footwear.
Paying attention to playing surfaces will dictate what type of footwear to purchase. While the proper footwear can greatly improve performance and ball handling, it can also prevent injuries, provide the grip needed to prevent slipping, and often certain types are not allowed. For example, cleats can damage turf/artificial grass and is often disallowed. The last thing you want is to show up to a game and not being allowed to play due to incorrect footwear.
Here are the 3 main types of soccer shoes:
Cleats - best playing surface: natural grass.
Cleats (pictured in the middle) have the biggest studs on the bottom of the shoe. These are best for gripping natural grass, which tends to be longer than artificial grass. Unless you’re playing on professionally curated grass, which most youth leagues are not, it can also help with muddy, and weather prone elements.
Several other sports use cleats, so be sure to look out for soccer specific cleats. For example, track cleats are often have metal spikes to grip the track. Baseball & softball cleats can also have metal or rubber spikes but usually have a spike on the toe. American Football cleats usually have a high-top shoe profile covering more of the ankle and longer studs.
Some professional soccer players use metal cleats or screw-in studs, which are not allowed in youth soccer for safety reasons, and typically at the youth level, they don’t need to try to optimize their performance down to using expensive professional quality shoes. Referees will sometimes ask to check the bottom of players’ cleats before starting a game to make sure there are no metal spikes.
Turfs- best playing surface: artificial grass/turf grass.
Turfs (pictured on the left) have many small studs/pegs/nubs on the bottom of the shoe. These are best for gripping very short grass, usually artificial turf, which tends to have a slipperier texture than natural grass, especially when wet. These can also be used if you’re so lucky to be playing on a very curated natural grass field (which will look and feel like a golf course), however when wet, cleats are usually still better on these fields. Cleats, if allowed on turf, can be a decent second choice, especially if you don’t have the budget for two different shoes; although, it may feel like you’re playing on top of a hard surface rather than feeling the studs gripping into the surface like soft natural ground, and can cause joint pain.
Flats- best playing surface: futsal court/gym court/artificial grass (especially indoor turf).
These shoes do not have any studs/pegs/nubs on the bottom of the shoe and are best for gripping a hard court surface for futsal which is often played on a gym/basketball court with no grass, or indoor turf that does not get wet. While the bottom of the shoe is very similar to running/gym shoes, the actual shoe tends to be thinner, tighter fitting, with a lower profile for better ball handling. While you could get a good grip when using running shoes, it’s difficult to wrap your foot around the ball, or to get your toes under the ball in a higher profile shoe with a thicker sole.
Ensure you are purchasing soccer specific cleats. Many other sports have similar cleats, but they are slightly different!
Notes:
I have found after decades of playing on all surfaces that as I age, I can really feel the difference in my joints when I use the wrong footwear, most noticeable when I wear cleats on artificial turf, and will sometimes even use flats on turf (mainly indoor turf that doesn’t get wet). Despite worn joints with age, when my kids was 8 she also noticed her feet hurt more when she wore the wrong type of shoes. So if your player is complaining about foot or joint pain, make sure they’re using the correct footwear, the correct fitted size, and the correct size socks. I’ve had to replace shoes mid-season after a growth spurt!
If you are playing in a hot climate, or even in the summertime on artificial turf, you may want to consider a white/light color shoe. Dark color shoes can get hotter and melt. Outdoor turf surfaces can get much hotter since many use a ground up black rubber material to give the turf more of a natural soft ground “bounce”, which can increase the temperature of the ground much higher than natural grass.
If your athlete’s shoes tend to get really smelly really quickly, try switching to a shoe that is made with real leather. Cheaper synthetic materials doesn’t breathe as well and breeds bacteria more quickly. They may cost more, but will last longer and not smell as badly.
Personally, I am not loyal to one brand of shoe, but I usually stick to the major well-known brands, such as Adidas, Puma, Nike, Diadora. Each brand will fit differently depending on your foot shape, so trying different ones to figure out which brand is a better fit will help.
The 3 shoes in the picture are my daughter’s actual shoes, and while they are all Adidas, we have tried other brands. Adidas tends to fit her foot shape best and they often are on sale for youth sizes. At this age, price is a major deciding factor for us since she has already outgrown these shoes as I am writing this. We have tried cheaper knock-off versions available online and they fall apart REALLY quickly, don’t fit very well, and usually get smelly more quickly due to the cheap synthetic material. Check out our Recent Deals section for current deals, where I found discounts on the shoes pictured.
