Please help me help my daughter!

April 29, 2007 7:44 AM

Help me find the right soccer shoes for my 7 year old daughter with ultra sensitive feet.

My 7 year old daughter likes to play soccer, and she's good at it. She plays in a non-competitive league. HOWEVER, once we get the first pair of socks, the shin guards and the cleats on, she often freaks out, says it feels horrible and won't play. She in fact freaks out, it's almost an emotional response. She can't "play through it."

(She has very sensitive feet to feeling, she had to wear seamless socks as a child and in general won't wear shoes, just loose fitting boots and sandals.)

Are we doomed? Can we get any really comfortable shoes that she could wear? They don't have to be cleats, in fact she can wear ANYTHING as long as they work with shin guards. Help me out here, we're baffled.

(BTW, she feels like the cleats are too loose and she's afraid they're going to fall off, even though they are really really tight, and I'm afraid even too tight.)

posted by visual mechanic to sports, hobbies, & recreation (11 comments total)

This doesn't sound like it has anythig to do with the shoes.

To be honest, at her level (espcially in a "noncompetetive league") she doesn't need soccer shoes or shin guards. Let her play in her boots and a few weeks of teasing from the others and she'll suddenly be ok with the shoes.
posted by jmgorman at 8:00 AM on April 29, 2007

My kids wear shin guards with regular sneakers. We have cleats, but mostly they mostly wear their Skechers or Adidas to soccer. I would buy any comfortable athletic sneakers she is happy with. If you can find seamless knee socks that suit her, you could velcro the shin guard over the sock.

Check out New Balance or Adidas for kids. They have a lot of cushion and are comfy.
posted by LoriFLA at 8:03 AM on April 29, 2007

To be honest, at her level (espcially in a "noncompetetive league") she doesn't need soccer shoes or shin guards.

This makes sense, but the poster's league probably requires shin guards. My kids play for the YMCA, and it's very informal, but they require shin guards.
posted by LoriFLA at 8:04 AM on April 29, 2007

I'm not sure if you've already tried this, but you can usually find shin guards that don't have the little sock thing that comes down around the ankle. Perhaps one less layer to fit into the cleats (or any other shoes) would help a little.
posted by jjb at 8:36 AM on April 29, 2007

seconding jjb: I assume that you are using shin guards like this, but it will be perfectly good enough for her to just wear something like these, and with them she can wear any shoes she likes, so long as she can put up with wearing knee length socks.

As far as safety, I play (adult) soccer, and I know a lot of guys playing at a high level who just wear the second type.
posted by jacalata at 9:07 AM on April 29, 2007

This question is about "cleats" right? Let her try on lots of different shoes until she finds a pair she can "play through". I know exactly what she means when she says this. I play regularly and HATE wearing shinguards and proper cleats (we call them boots over in the UK though). Hell, I even hate having my socks pulled up, they have to be rolled down and I play on astroturf in Nike Pegasus running shoes. Reasons? I can feel the ground better, they hug my feet better, I feel more connected to the game with them on and I feel the ball better allowing me to control it more naturally and pass and shoot better. I have an expensive pair of Nike leather boots which I just can't play in, it's like my feet are blind when they are on.

And one pair of socks should be enough. If I have to wear guards i'll wear the strap ones straight onto bare feet and pull the socks over. if I wear the lighter, non-strap ones I just put them down the front of the sock and tape them in place with electrical tape. If she dislikes the feel of the strap on ones against her bare feet then try very thin ankle socks on the foot first.

The upshot is she has to wear something she can forget about once they are on her feet. If that happens to be a battered pair of her fovourite sneakers then so be it and uniform be damned. It's how you play not what you're playing in than wins matches.

Hope you find a solution and wish her luck for the season from me!
posted by brautigan at 9:44 AM on April 29, 2007

Shoe choice is going to depend upon the surface. If you're playing on firm pitches that never really get moist with dew or cut up, then she could probably get by with Adidas Sambas, which are very comfortable but . But that's going to be rare, so perhaps the Absolado Turf is a good compromise.

As for shin guards, perhaps the mouldable ones might help conquer your daughter's reaction: soak them in warm water, fit them to her shins.
posted by holgate at 9:54 AM on April 29, 2007

I advise against detachable-cleats shoes. I'd give her a 14-cleats (definitely not 6), soft soccer shoe, light socks, and as holgate said mold the shin guards. it's no biggie, really.
posted by matteo at 10:20 AM on April 29, 2007

Maybe instead of knee length socks you can get seamless socks like she's used to, and some sort of legwarmer? Like, even take the soccer socks and cut the foot off, turning it into a legwarmer? (maybe stitch the end so it won't fray. or sew it right to the foot of the seamless socks).
posted by Kellydamnit at 10:20 AM on April 29, 2007

This may sound awful, but I think she'll get over it. At her age, I had the exact same problem with shoes and socks gloves and sleeves... no one believed it was that annoying, so nothing was ever done about it.
I think that if anything had been "done", I would still be having those emotional responses... I swear she will get used to it.
Think of a circumcised penis- I'm sure that for the first while the sensitivity is unbearable, but with constant exposure to the stimuli (cloth, etc), it gradually adapts.
posted by sunshinesky at 11:14 AM on April 29, 2007

Finishing my sentence, Sambas don't offer enough grip for an outdoor surface with any kind of slickness or 'give'. And following matteo, the reason to avoid interchangeable studs is that they're often susceptible (esp. at the low end) to pressure points in the sole around the screwholes. Go with moulded.

Above all, look for ankle protection, because even non-competitive matches carry the risk of turning an ankle or getting an inadvertent kick, and if you're going light on the shinpads, the boots will need to compensate.
posted by holgate at 1:14 PM on April 29, 2007