[Mike Simonds]

I noticed I've become somewhat of a shoe horse....

I'm a big fan of the Spot Bilt brand... Love those cleats... I have 2 pairs of their Stud style... The old pair I use for Pop Warner and rainy days. Great traction... The newer pair is for dry field day-time games when we wear shorts. I love the traction and the grip on the field plus they are light on my feet... The only complaints I have is that my socks get dirty around the ankles... And they don't have the best ankle support...

Last year I tried the Riddell Raider... very comfortable and light, decent but not the best traction... I use them for step aerobics now, and retired them from football...Work great... the only thing I don't like is that there are only 4 eyelets on each side and they don't seem to lace up really tight and secure enough for football use but work just fine for cross-training...

So now I'm trying the New Balance 250 for varsity... I love the high cut style... I don't think I'll be getting any dirt stains on my white socks anymore... Good support and a nice wide base... They come in wide and regular widths which the Spot Bilts don't have... Good traction, appear that they can be useful on field-turf, astroturf as well as grass... Plus they are well constructed like New Balances always are... Metal eyelets and the nice high quality laces...

As for shoe care I started using the Shoe Magik brand combination kit... Comes with a shoe cleaning solution that preps the shoes, cleans and softens... Then the wax polish finishes them off... Boy these products really recondition old tired leather... And get-off all the old built-up polish... I would recommend it very much over the store bought Kiwi brand...


Plus having 3 pairs of shoes in our uniform inventory is a great way to extend the life of each pair... I don't think I'll have to buy another pair for at least 2 or 3 more seasons... Plus the New Balances can also be retired for casual and cross-training use...

Wonder if Imelda ever had a pair of New Balances in her closet?