Help Your Student Athlete Start the Season on the Right Foot With the Best Shoes

Take Our Idaho Foot Doctors’ Advice for Choosing the Right Athletic Shoes to Reduce Injuries

The movements required by a football player are different from those of a tennis player, which aren’t the same as a soccer player. These and other sports place a lot of force on an athlete’s feet and ankles but in various ways. At Canyon Foot + Ankle in Twin Falls and Burley, our podiatry team wants to help you keep your child safe from sports injuries that can impact their feet and ankles.

Choosing the Best Shoes for Each Sport

Buying different shoes for each sport your child plays may be expensive, but proper fit and solid support aren’t just about enhancing their performance: they’re about preserving their foot health and avoiding sports injuries.

Athletic shoes are engineered to provide different benefits. If your student-athlete plays a sport more than three days per week, experts recommend they have shoes specialized for that activity. At Canyon Foot + Ankle, we often suggest parents review the mechanics of the sport and related injuries, and use this information to select proper footwear to reduce injury risk.

Soccer

Players frequently experience ankle sprains, turf toe, ingrown toenails, and a form of heel pain known as Sever’s disease. Their ideal shoes should have good-quality footbeds to help support their arches. Additionally, cleats should be molded rubber, not screw-on, with a stud type designed specifically for the playing surface, such as:

Soft

Hard

Firm

Turf

Basketball

Sprains, stress fractures, and tendinitis are common foot injuries among basketball players. To help prevent them, choose thick, stiff-soled footwear that absorbs a lot of impact. High ankle construction supports sudden changes in direction.

Tennis

Courts have many types of surfaces, including acrylic, artificial or natural grass, clay, and hard-packed composites. Talk to a sports footwear specialist about the best treads for which court, as well as the type of shoe needed for speed or stability play. These details help protect feet from tennis injuries such as sprains, stress fractures, and Achilles tendinitis.

Volleyball

Volleyball players experience sprains, stress fractures, and tendinitis more often than other sports injuries. Their shoes should be lighter, have less midsole support, and allow for quick starts and stops.

Football or Lacrosse

Some of the most common sports injuries for these athletes include turf toe, Achilles tendinitis, and ankle sprains. Their ideal shoes should offer high ankle support, especially if they make frequent lateral movements. Proper traction on a grassy field, in both wet and dry conditions, is very important. Second-hand shoes aren't a good idea in these sports since ill-fitted cleats increase the likelihood of an ankle injury.

Baseball or Softball

Sprains, stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, and tendinitis are typical injuries in these sports. The ideal footwear for students who play baseball or softball offers support that prevents arch pain, especially for pitchers. Inserts may help with arch pain. Any athlete under the age of 13 shouldn’t have metal spikes on their shoes. For students over 13, multi-cleats can help reduce heel pain.

Running

Injured runners most often experience overuse trauma such as plantar fasciitis, shin splints, stress fractures, or Morton’s neuroma. Specific types of runner’s shoes provide shock absorption for high-impact forward movement, rather than lateral movement. Movement surface matters here, too, such as pavement, dirt trail, and track, so look into specific options for each. Additionally, we often do a preliminary examination of your child’s foot to determine their arch form and advise you on what shoes to select for the best support. Keep in mind that running shoes should be replaced every 600–800 miles or every six months.

Shopping for Athletic Shoes

It’s ideal to buy shoes for sports footwear from specialty stores whenever possible. The staff is more likely to have the training to answer questions you might have about various activities, and will properly measure your child’s feet, and provide the right recommendations for their needs.

The best time to try on new shoes is at the end of the day, following a workout or run. This is when your student’s feet are at their largest. During the fitting, have them wear the same socks necessary for their sport. Their toes should move freely inside the shoe, with a finger’s width between the longest toe and the end of the toe box. Make sure your student walks around the store a few times to assess the fit of shoe heels and the feeling of support.

Canyon Foot + Ankle Treats All Types of Sports Injuries

Clients rely on our Magic Valley podiatrists to treat every member of their family with kindness and quality information. Bethany P. says, “Dr. Devries was so patient with my special needs son. Explained everything that he was doing and made the visit pleasant! 10/10 recommend!” Put your trust in our foot doctors to ensure your child has the best care.

And if your student athlete gets hurt, don’t encourage them to just walk it off. Apply first aid immediately and contact us if pain and swelling aren’t reduced from rest, ice, compression, and elevation within the first two days. Failing to treat sports injuries can result in long-term issues, such as:

Chronic ankle instability and increased risk for future sprains
Reduced strength, flexibility, and range of motion in foot muscles
Arthritis in the feet and ankles

Our team will design an individualized treatment plan to get them back in the game quickly.