SC Blog

adidas Predator - A Fond Farewell

2015-06-08T15:18:00-05:00

As many of you know, there are some major changes in the works for adidas soccer shoes. As of July 1st, all of the current adidas soccer lines (silos, from the brand terminology) other than the classics are going to be retired to make way for a new generation of soccer shoes. The adidas campaign #BeTheDifference has been promoted widely to showcase the new lines of footwear, including the Ace, the X and the all-new Messi. You can see the videos for more on the new styles. But an unfortunate bit of collateral damage to this enthusiastic embrace of the future is the demise of the Predator.

Other than the adidas Copa Mundial and the Puma King, the Predator is perhaps the most iconic name in soccer footwear. Debuting in 1994, the concepts behind the Predator revolutionized the possibilities of what a soccer shoe could be, and forever changed the approach to design, performance and marketing. The original version promised, or at least suggested, the ability to control, swerve and manipulate the movement of the ball for the average player in a way that only professionals were truly able to do. And while the marketing of the performance capabilities of the shoe was tempered over the years, the Predator brand became more and more popular, featuring on the feet of some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game. There is a nice history of the boot at Complex, complete with pictures to show the evolution of the shoe over it's 20-year run.

And while the Predator will live on in adidas lore, the final iteration of this classic style is one of the best. For the 2015 adidas Black Pack of shoes, the Predator Instinct is a fitting farewell to one of the most popular boots of all time. All of the high-end features are there (Hybridtouch upper, 3D rubber grips, Control frame outsole), but it is the clean design of the all-black final Predator that really stands out. As far as endings go, adidas could not have done any better.

So to the adidas Predator, we say goodbye. A fond farewell to a beautiful and innovative shoe, and a new classic in its own right.

How to Size Your Shinguards

2015-05-18T13:54:00-05:00

As a companion to our recent post about how to size your soccer shoes, we are adding this post about how to properly size shinguards. For most older players, the sizing of shinguards is simply a matter of what is comfortable. But for parents new to soccer, sometimes getting the shinguards sized for their new player isn't always as obvious. But making sure that your child has an appropriate level of protection isn't really too complicated. It comes down to two questions:

1) Does the shinguard cover enough of the area that needs protection?

2) Is the shinguard comfortable on the leg?

That's it.

There are, of course, a couple of factors that can complicate the issue, such as whether to use ankle guard protection or not, whether you prefer straps or sleeves or nothing at all, and NOCSAE standards for high school players. But in the end, it always comes down to the two questions mentioned above: Am I covering enough? And is it comfortable?

For most young players, the parent and child will work together to answer those questions. You'll usually want ankle guard protection for players just beginning to play the game to protect the ankle bones from the wayward kicks of other players. So the best way to size is to try on the shinguard itself. Pull the ankle guard on, strap the shell around the leg, and have the player stand up. You can cover as much of the shin area as you like, as long as the plastic shell is not touching the soft area below the knee cap. Some players might be comfortable with a small plastic shell covering the middle of the shin, while other players will want to cover every millimeter between the ankle and the knee. That is very much a personal preference for the player and parent to decide. If the shinguard feels a little short on coverage, check the next size up. If the plastic shell is rubbing against the bottom of the knee cap, go back down by one size. And once the size is determined, make sure that the guard feels comfortable on the leg. If you never notice the guard while you are playing, then you've found the right comfort level.

How to Size Your Soccer Shoes

2015-04-29T15:00:00-05:00

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.