March 2021 – Collaroy Cromer Strikers Fooball Development Program

What boots should you buy? – part 8

28/03/2021/in The more you know /by Liam Bonney

Let’s talk online shopping. You must resist the temptation in solely buying boots online. It should be simple but even I have got caught out by this … numerous times. Your looking online at some football boots and you see some on sale. Lets just assume for argument sake that it’s a reputable website. You think to your self “oh wow there 40% off, high end model must be good and they are in my normal size!!!” sold. But there is one problem, you haven’t tried them on and have no idea if they are wide enough or if the US size correlates to your correct foot size. Little tip always go off the Japanese sizes, they measure the boots in CM not some random archaic size system. US, UK and Euro sizes can fluctuate by up to a CM which doesn’t sound like a lot but tell that to your heel after you get blisters.

Now let’s assume you know all that, the guy on YouTube said it would fit most people and it has fantastic reviews. Yes, always check the site your buying from and the product reviews. But you still do not know how it feels on your feet. Boots feel different, some are designed to lock your foot in like a fighter pilot and wrap your foot extremely tightly. This creates the most responsive sensation under foot. Others have a more comfortable fit and are flexible and move with your foot very naturally. Its all down to what you like, and yes maybe you will get used to them but there is the possibility that you won’t and guess what once you wear them our of your house you cannot return them. Some brands do offer money back guarantees and you can try your luck with by coloring over any scratches that might of happened but good luck.

Here is what I do, whenever I now need new boots I go into the store. I openly tell the sales person look I am not here to buy I am just trying them on then I am going to buy them online because they are cheaper. If anyone else comes in go and serve them. I then try on literally ever top end pair in my size and then make a decision based on that. I then go online and make sure its 100% the same boot and then I buy them at a fraction of the cost. I live in Australia so shipping adds to the cost so I first surf the Australian football boot websites, at the moment hardly any of the Australian football boot websites have artificial grass boots. So, I look overseas. Beware of two things when doing this, 1 the exchange rate and 2 international shipping. They both suck and that is why it is always go to check the Australian sites first.

What boots should you buy? – part 7

21/03/2021/in The more you know /by Liam Bonney

For adults, it really depends on how much you play. Regardless of this though you still 100% need to find boots that will feet your feet properly. You want to be able to flex your toes outwards, otherwise your foot will stay scrunched up inside of the boot for 2 hours. Imagine sitting uncomfortably for 2 hours… eventually you are going to get cramps. Similarly, if the blood flow is restricted … this will also lead to cramps. So, buy a boot that is wide enough for your foot.

If you play constantly and throughout the year then you should look at getting a top end boot. The build quality should be substantially better and will therefore last longer. Even if it doesn’t, football boots surprisingly have a warranty of about 2 years if the boot breaks for whatever reason. So if it breaks within 2 years provided you haven’t voided the warranty by oh I don’t know say playing on a surface that the boot was not intended for i.e. using firm ground boots on artificial grass surfaces. Then whoever you bought the boots off should replace them or at the very least give you a credit towards a replacement pair.

If you only play for half the year in a team that only trains once a week well then you could probably go for the low-end models. Realistically you will only be using them around 48 times with a maximum of 50 if your team makes finals. I use my boots everyday of every week so for me, comfort and quality is of the utmost importance otherwise I would be replacing them every 2 months.

What boots should you buy? – part 6

14/03/2021/in The more you know /by Liam Bonney

Now we know what football boots are, lets talk about what ones you should buy. I shall start with kids. Kids are constantly growing. So my recommendation for any parent is to buy a cheap leather football boot. Leather as discussed before stretches. Cheap leather boots tend to over stretch, this is perfect for growing kids because the boot will stretch with a child’s foot to a certain point. This means that a child is more likely to be able to use a leather boot for longer than a synthetic or knitted one. Furthermore leather will mold to the shoe of your child’s foot, not the other way round. Meaning that they’re feet will be able to grow as intended hopefully leading to less problems down the track. Cheap leather boots might not last as long as premium leather boots but just remember, they are only kids and premium leather boots tend to have less stretch in them as the leather is often supported by structure to prevent over stretching.

Generally speaking kids out grow a pair of boots every season, that’s at least how my feet grew. Most of my boots were tossed out or given away as the boots themselves were still in good condition but were unwearable because I had outgrown them.

Cost is another thing to consider, the gap between full price top end boots and bottom end boots is around the 200$ mark, this is taken even further if the boots the low-end boots are on sale this can then take the gap to $240. 240$! Why, that’s the same cost as Northern Beaches football coaching over a full winter season. And I can guarantee that a full season of northern beaches football coaching is 100% more likely to improve you game than a pair of expensive football boots.

So, my recommendation for kids is to buy cheap leather boots, as I believe they will last longer due to the extra stretch that they can provide.

What boots should you buy? – part 5

07/03/2021/in The more you know /by Liam Bonney

Ok, lets talk soleplates. There are 5 current types of soleplates on offer for all forms of football. They are soft ground, firm ground, artificial grass, turf and indoor. Soft ground boots are most commonly seen in Northern Europe and I would imagine Canada. These boots are designed for fields that are often waterlogged, muddy and wet most of the time. Think England when you think of soft ground boots.

Firm Ground boots are the most common pair of football boots and are used everywhere. These are designed for natural grass fields that are dry with good grass covered. There used to be a class of boots called hard ground boots although this type has since died out seemingly because of firm ground boots.

Artificial grass boots are made for synthetic grass fields. These boots tend to have shallower studs, have thicker soleplates and other adaptations to make them more durable on the abrasive surface. Not to be confused with turf boots.

Turf boots are suitable to be used on turf, and to a lesser extent the street. The soleplate on a turf boot is a hard compound rubber or plastic making it more durable. You can wear turf boots on artificial grass although there may be some traction issues, personally I have not worn turf boots ever so I do not know how well they work on an artificial grass surface. You cannot however wear artificial grass boots on turf. I would also imagine turf boots being good for hard ground surfaces such has fields that have lost all their grass and only have hard compacted soil on them.

Indoor court boots are strictly for indoor wooden surfaces or specially designed outdoors surfaces. The soles of these shoes are a soft non-marking rubber that would disintegrate when used on any abrasive surface. As well because they have no studs you would be slipping and sliding all over the place if you were to wear these anywhere other than the surface it was designed for.

Why are there so many different types? Because football is played everywhere, and in order to make the game safe and accessible for people to play everywhere you need boots for each of the different surfaces. The boots are also all different and specifically designed for their surface to ensure safety, durability and better performance so that players are able to play the best they can.