Choosing The Right Shoes For Team Sports - Part One

Team sports are a great way to have fun amidst a healthy amount of team competition. It is crucial to use the right gear to prevent injury and support effective team play along with skill. For many sports, the magic is generally in the shoes. Understanding the anatomy of a sports shoe will help you choose the right gear for your gameplay.

Outsoles:

The portion of the shoe that actually touches the ground is called the outsole. The type of outsole you should choose will depend much on the kind of field you will play on. There are five different types of outsoles for soccer shoes:

Molded or Firm Ground (FG)

Natural surfaces that have a certain level of firmness to them are best for these types of shoes. These are perhaps the most popular and versatile outsoles as they have molded studs that will provide the necessary traction. Some shoes that are molded will have studs that are both bladed and conical.

Replaceable or Soft Ground (SG)

These types are for playing on muddy or natural surfaces that are frequently wet. These outsoles have used less of the well-spaced, but longer studs that were replaceable in the past. Most now use bladed studs that you cannot remove. These are generally the first choice of professional players; however, they aren't ideal for most US fields due to the firmness of the pitch used. Be careful when choosing these because if the surfaces are too hard, they can make stud pressure pain, leading to injuries.

MultiGround (MG) or Hard Ground (HG)

These are used for hard natural surfaces such as sun-baked, rock hard ground, or artificial turf. Generally speaking, these have numerous short studs distributed evenly over the entire surface of the outsole. These are a good option for fields that have frozen over and are frequently used as a great backup pair for most players.

Turf Soccer Shoes

With their extremely durable outsole made of rubber, turf shoes, or turf boots, have small rubber studs, or sometimes patterns, on the outsole for improved traction. These are used on naturally hard fields as well as artificial turf. When you need a backup pair of shoes for playing on hard surfaces or want shoes for training, turf boots are a great option.

Indoor Soccer Shoes

As you might have guessed from the name, these are used for dry, artificial surfaces and indoor play. These shoes have a gum rubber type of flat outsole that works well for indoor soccer or games played inside a recreational or gym facility. Some like to wear these shoes on the streets, often referred to as "flats." Indoor shoes feature a non-marking sole made from rubber.

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