The correct way to find your soccer shoe size
The most commonly asked question from our customers is "How should my shoes fit?" Sometimes, it's for the person trying on shoes, and sometimes it's for a child that has a hard time explaining how shoes may feel. In either case, the same rules for sizing soccer shoes will apply.
- Don't get hung up on the numerical size of the shoe.
The numbering system used for shoes of all kinds is somewhat arbitrary.
Yes, we know that a size 9 fits bigger than a size 8 of the exact same
style. But it doesn't mean that it's exactly the same as a size 9 of
another style. If you're buying shoes based solely on the number on the
tongue, you're probably not seeing all of the options available to you,
and you might be looking at a shoe that doesn't fit quite right simply
because the number seems like what you thought you needed. The
numbering system gives us only a starting point. From there, you will
want to try on anything that is close, and maybe several sizes of the
style you like, to find out what fits the best.
- Soccer shoes are made to fit like a glove.
The most common concern we hear from anyone trying on shoes is "I have a wide foot." Honestly, more than 90% of all of our customers have claimed that their foot is just too wide for this style or that. And while there are certainly players out there who have trouble fitting into a good soccer shoe (We've seen them!), most of the time, the difference between a casual shoe (or running shoe, or flip-flops, etc.) and a soccer shoe is what creates that feeling. And the snug feeling that you get in a well-fit soccer shoe is exactly what you want! The soccer shoe is the only athletic shoe that uses every part and every side in direct play. Gaps and space create a buffer between your foot and the ball, which leads to a lack of ball feel and diminishing ball control. What's worse, if you leave enough space for your foot to move inside the shoe, you can quickly develop blisters. And with even more space, you can have instability that can lead to injury. The key is to find that style that wraps around your foot with a glove-like fit without crunching it. Which leads us to point #3...
- The most important aspect of fit is the shape of the shoe.
This is often an underrated part of sizing soccer shoes, lost behind the arbitrary numerology and the desire for anything "wide". But this is the characteristic of the shoe that can matter most to you when playing. Every soccer shoe has a slightly different shape: the tapering of the toe box, the curve of the heel cup, the flatness on top of the toes; where it is wide, where it is narrow, and how sharp the angles are between the arch and the heel and toe of the footbed. All of these can be different from one style to the next, sometimes by only millimeters. But with a shoe that is intended to have such a close fit, those millimeters can make all of the difference when you're out on the field. On top of that, every person's foot is shaped differently, and each of those variables will affect each player in a different way. What works for you may not work at all for your friend, your brother, your teammate. And that's why it is so important to get your foot inside many different shoes: To find the shoe that shapes to your foot, the shoe that matches your physiology. It's not about a number, or a single measurement, but about the best match for each player individually.
So when someone comes in to find a new pair of shoes, our recommendation is always the same: "Try on as many shoes as you want." Find your starting point, and try on anything that is close. And keep trying until you find the shoe that has the best shape for you.