What Company Makes the Best Soccer Cleats for DD?

What does everyone think? What models are best? Are some cleats better for certain positions? What cleat is best for a DD forward? For the same price are Nikes better than Addidas or the reverse?

There probably is no right answer, curious about different opinions.

As a former player myself, I will say the best cleat for me was definitely not the best for everyone else. Even in the same brand, certain styles fit differently, some better than others. I had a narrow foot with a high instep and tended to like Nikes (and showing my age here-Lanzaras). I could not wear any Adidas because they tended to be too wide for me, especially through the toe box. I think fit is more important than brand, as long as you are considering a well-made cleat with good material, and that is going to be very individual depending on the player.

Fit, not brand, not style, is the most important criteria when selecting shoes. Wearing shoes that don't fit properly can lead to bone spurs, turf toe, and I'm sure a multitude of other problems I don't even know about.

Most people just check the length of a shoe, but depending on your DD's foot, there may be other problem areas you aren't considering. Many DD's wear men's shoes even when there are women's styles available in their size. Most often, the men's versions are too wide in the heel and in the forefoot for DD's. And if your DD has short toes and wide feet, then it's not the length of the shoe that is most important, but the width. Quite often these kids will "outgrow" a shoe long before their toes reach the end of the toe box.

Flatback4 wrote:What does everyone think? What models are best? Are some cleats better for certain positions? What cleat is best for a DD forward? For the same price are Nikes better than Addidas or the reverse?

There probably is no right answer, curious about different opinions.

I agree with fjhmom. The bottom line is that the best cleats to buy are the ones that fit the best. With that being said, the general consensus of how both Nike and Addidas run is correct. I have a flat, wide foot and Addidas fit me the best. I haven't worn a lot of Puma or Umbro cleats, but the ones I have tried just feel completely off. Generally, you want cleats to be a bit snug as they will stretch. Unlike normal shoes, you need to get a really good feeling of the ball on all surfaces of your feet. Cleats, as with all shoes, will stretch, but the amount varies with the type of material they are made out of. Real leather, such as Kangaroo (which I prefer) will mold almost perfectly to your foot. Plastics will not.

Now there are a LOT of other factors that go into buying cleats as well. Some of them are the following:

How old is your girl and how much are you willing to spend? If she is almost full grown, then you might want to invest in a pair of $200 cleats, but that is your choice. If she is younger, I don't understand the craziness of buying $200 cleats every season, unless you are rich.

How strong are your girl's ankles? The reason I say this is because quite a few fields in Texas have a very hard, firm surface and girls I have coached have complained about sore ankles and injuries due to rolling them when playing. When they switched to firm ground cleats or even the small "indoor" style turf shoes, they have been much happier. My daughter and son actually prefer these cleats, because they have more "nubs" on the bottom and allow them to get a better feel for the ball. In wet weather or deeper grass, they switch to their longer stud cleats.

I don't agree with different cleats providing more speed, etc. Some people may disagree, but that is just my opinion. If you buy into this, then you may buy into what cleats are best for what position, but I think that is rubbish.

Everybody will agree, however, that the "best" cleats are those that fit the best.

General Principles in Cleat Selection By Howard Liebeskind, DPM

http://www.aapsm.org/cleatselection.html

DD had severe foot pain (heel) primarily due to growth. Doctor proscribed ice, motrin and a series of stretches. He said the stretching was by far the most important. In addition, he said we should consider a heel cup and a change of shoes. No recommendation.

In our search of recommendations, we talked to the coach. She was wearing Nike. He immediately recommended that we get out of Nike and into Addidas or possibly Dia Dora. Opinion was that you pay for the swoosh with Nike and they provided much less support. Further, because NT ground is so hard, he recommnded Turf Shoes for hard ground. Get out of the cleats and go with shorter, more evenly spaced nubs. Said it would cut down on shock as the cleats won't bite in NT anyway.

Back in the store looking at Addidas and maybe was the power of persuasion but I swore I could feel the better support in Addidas vs the Nike. Got DD Addidas Copa Turf shoes. Added the heel cup.

Pain was gone is a couple weeks. Been three years. She has a pair of cleats for muddy conditions but otherwise won't wear them. She is 100% sold on the Addidas Turf shoes.

No dog in this fight. Just one DD experience.

An ortho surgeon told us years ago that the turf shoe was considerably better for them than cleats here in NTX. Less shock and cumulative stress on the joints. The Copa is a great choice, but does tend to run a bit wide.

Gunner9 wrote:An ortho surgeon told us years ago that the turf shoe was considerably better for them than cleats here in NTX. Less shock and cumulative stress on the joints. The Copa is a great choice, but does tend to run a bit wide.

And wears out in half the time of the Nike Predator.

I really like the Addidas Mundials. They are made out of Kangaroo leather and mold incredibly well to my feet. I think you can find them for around $100 and in both the turf and studded style, so that's not too bad. Copas are also very good from what I hear. I wear the turf Mundials all the time since they can be used on Futsal courts, streets, tennis courts, etc.

Good Luck!

BTW, Kangaroo tastes FANTASTIC! It's like steak, so don't think they are killed for just cleats! LOL!

Adidas Copa's.. or Umbro Speciali's.. Both made of kangaroo leather. Both have been around a long time for a reason. Quality

Thanks for all the great advice.

I think it also depends on the position your dd plays. We too were told to go with turf over cleats but our problem is dd is a keeper and she has not grip when she is trying to change direction quickly or make a hard jump dive. She was constantly losing her footing. We went back to cleats.

She wears Nike CTR360 and has for awhile now. She used to wear Adidas F50 but the Nike has more toe & sole paddling.

Hard ground shoes or even turf shoes work well in North Texas because the fields tend to be dry and hard. If you can find a hard ground shoe with a midsole, that will give her more cushioning and reduce the stress on her joints.

Also, I have been told by people who I trust that conical cleats (like Adidas Copas have) reduce the likelihood of knee injuries compared to bladed cleats (like the Nike Maestrs have) because they don't stick in the ground when the player pivots.

Uncle Numanga wrote:

Gunner9 wrote:An ortho surgeon told us years ago that the turf shoe was considerably better for them than cleats here in NTX. Less shock and cumulative stress on the joints. The Copa is a great choice, but does tend to run a bit wide.

And wears out in half the time of the Nike Predator.

What the McLovin are Nike Predators?

DD has had much success wearing the women’s Adidas adipure with the k-leather upper. She also has a pair of Nike tiempos with kangaroo leather but continuous to get blisters, so they stay in the bag!

adidas adiPure 11Pro TRX FG Women's Firm Ground Soccer Shoes

Full-grain calf leather upper; adidas miCoach Speed-pod compatible; women's boot (fit better than men's equivalents)

Limited colors to choose from...but its all about comfort and fit.

wolf2.0 wrote:

Uncle Numanga wrote:

Gunner9 wrote:An ortho surgeon told us years ago that the turf shoe was considerably better for them than cleats here in NTX. Less shock and cumulative stress on the joints. The Copa is a great choice, but does tend to run a bit wide.

And wears out in half the time of the Nike Predator.

What the McLovin are Nike Predators?

Meant Tiempo. My bad.

For my little princess the three most important factors (in order of importance) are:
1. Color - does it have bright colors? Pink? Does it accessorize nicely?
2. Size - do they have it in her size? close enough?
3. Fashion faux-pas - does anyone else on her team have the same cleats? Kinda like wearing the same dress to a party...

So...needless to say, its a battle between her and I when we go shopping for cleats. I am constantly having to talk her out of ill-fitting cleats! At her size, they are all the imitations anyway, so not a huge thing yet. But when she gets bigger...

#1- Adidas Copa Mundials- $89.99 Kangaroo leather- mold to your feet!!

My daughter, although only 8, constantly used to complain of sore ankles. She was into fashion too (and she only wore the nike mercurial mostly because they are stylish and come in cool colors). For indoor I have switched her to the nike ctr360 turf shoes. She likes them because they feel better for her ankles and they come in stylish colors.

However, she still wanted some cleats to wear outdoors so we were on the search again. We finally settled on Diadora Maracana MD PU JR's and not one sore ankle since she has been wearing these. She quickly got over the stylish thing fast - good trade off!

After two years of constantly complaining about her ankles, I never thought that the type of shoe, let alone if it was full grain leather or not, would have this much of an effect on her ankles, but it did.

Flatback4 wrote:What does everyone think? What models are best? Are some cleats better for certain positions? What cleat is best for a DD forward? For the same price are Nikes better than Addidas or the reverse?

There probably is no right answer, curious about different opinions.

DD only wears Puma. Her favorite pair are discontinued. Kept buying a size up each time for 3 years online until I could no longer find any. She now wears Puma King ( Kangaroo uppers ).
Similar to 10sDad her main criteria is
1. No one she knows can have the exact pair or even close.
2. Puma
3. No weird colors needs to be mainly white, black, red , silver but not stand out to much.

JH01 wrote:

#1- Adidas Copa Mundials- $89.99 Kangaroo leather- mold to your feet!!

Too wide for a lot of girls.

Lawnboy wrote:

JH01 wrote:

#1- Adidas Copa Mundials- $89.99 Kangaroo leather- mold to your feet!!

Too wide for a lot of girls.

Not if one of them was my daughter. Unfortunately, she has her Daddy's BIG, WIDE feet! LOL!

My daughter went with Copa Mundials a number of years ago and loves them. The style and fit never change. It is great to walk in and ask for them in a particular size, pay for them and walk out wihtout even trying them on knowing they will fit the same EVERY time.

Adidas adiPure 11Pro TRX FG Women's Firm Ground Soccer Shoes, I feel are fairly similar to the copa less the long tong that flaps over. Back in the day the lay over tong was the bomb but my DD will not play with it! I grew up wearing nothing but copas and world cups, but could not convince her.