[tomegun]

Bktballref, I think 5 "marginal" traveling calls and "mysteriously" clean post play multiplied by most of the games this board does is a lot. It isn't just one or two games, it is the overall mindset that bothers me.


Inserts are a great thing and I don't know how someone could say any different. All athletic shoes have inserts, aftermarket inserts are just better. If a pair of shoes is comfortable, replacing inserts would make them that much more comfortable. This would apply to all athletic shoes with the exception being some good running shoes. IMO. Orthodics are a whole different animal. While I have found my orthodics to be good for day-to-day activities, they just don't cut it for officiating. Orthodics are too hard to run in for me. Oh, believe Tony when he mentions Spenco, they are great.

The taping method on the site is involved and would be hard to do. Also, when I've had a trainer do it, they did something similar to taping an ankle. It was just too much for me. Here is what I do:

1. Tape an X on the bottom of my foot from the ball to around the heel.
2. tape all the way around the ball and top of my foot to hold the front of the X in place.
3. Two (wide) or three (narrow) strips of tape from the outside, under and up, starting towards the rear area of the arch. I put some tension on the inside which helps raise the arch. I hope I explained that well; it is sort of like if you cupped your hand and placed it under the arch area of your foot.

When I do this, I split the roll of tape so I'm using approximately half of the width of the roll. After a game, when I take my sock off it still feels like I have an orthodic on. It feels so good, I might do this when I go on vacation and plan on being on my feet all day. I did find that a good running shoe store will carry one or two models that basically have a built-in orthodic (but soft). I got some Asics that are very comfortable.