Footwear

[ejstuart]

Greetings all...I'm an official for the other "football", but I hope you all can overlook that and help a fellow officiating brother...

I typically officiate my soccer matches in regular soccer spikes, which work just fine, most of the time. But, I really don't need the spikes for most situations, but they are killer on my feet when I'm officiating tournies.

So, I want to invest in some "turf shoes", which is what most of my colleagues use. They make pairs that are soccer official specific, but I have big feet (size 15) and they don't make them in my size :-(

I found this pair on Honig's that look like they may work:
http://www.honigs.com/detail.asp?Cat=2&Sub=9&Item=829

Does anyone have any experience with these? Any other suggestions for similar shoes in my size?

[Ed Hickland]

Can't help with the size 15 experience.

I used the Reebok shoe a few seasons ago and found it comfortable. Last season swithced to the Nike Air Diamond which is lighter and worked better for me on dry turf. A good point for the Reebok is it takes to rainy days much better than the Nike.

[stevesmith]

I have worn SpotBilt OS95's for 18 years of football without a problem. I also tried wearing them the last 3 years in lacrosse. I finally learned that they are not made for lots of running (ex. soccer) because of the lack of cushioning. I would think most turf shoes would be the same.

In January, I switched to the New Balance 609 (basketball court shoe) only because I figured that if they were good enough to cushion legs that were running up and down a basketball court, they sure couldn't hurt running up and down a lacrosse field. Since I changed, I have no more sore calfs, or shin splints! May be strictly coincidence, but I won't go back!!!

http://www.honigs.com/detail.asp?Cat=2&Sub=12&Item=635

[Ed Hickland]

I would trust the judgment of a wingman better than a referee liek myself when it comes to good shoes.

We all know us referees do move real fast. The true fact is a referee moves straight almost all the time while wings and judges move in several different directions with graceful speed. They need a tougher shoe much like a soccer official.

One last point. Last season I spent a number of hours in the gym working legs and a lot on concentrated work on my ankles only to strain my heel in the first game of the season -- it didn't heal all season, only pain.

The interesting thing was the rest of my lower leg area, shins, femor etc. responded very well to the rigors of football officials.

Get in the gym and workout and almost any shoe will feel good.

[Snake~eyes]

I'm actually thinking about getting those Reeboks, just afraid of ordering over the web.

[alabamabluezebra]

I wore these shoes last year during football season. I cut off the white "N' without a problem.

http://www.honigs.com/detail.asp?Cat=2&Sub=9&Item=756

[ref18]

I wear the spot-bilts for football. They are a very comfortable shoe, but they're made by saucony, so i expected nothing less.

I was looking into the 250's but i'm wondering if anyone else besides Honigs sells them, and how do they hold up for traction on muddy, wet fields.

Just out of curiosity, what's the average life span of a football cleat, i know i have to buy a new pair of basketball shoes each year, but i'm not sure how long the spot-bilts will last.

[stevesmith]

I usually get 3-4 football seasons out of my Spotbilts before the cleats on the outside edges of the shoe start to fall off.