Why are cleats important

This process includes changing the locations of the studs and tweaking the geometry of individual studs to see how they react to the pressures of the foot. Max Blau, Nike's vice president of football soccer footwear, says using a virtual model speeds up the design process. The quick-moving world of digital analysis has already produced a major shift in design for speed cleats. Nike used a bladed stud for explosive speed—the conical stud helps with multi-directional movements, while other geometries with differing sides help to either decelerate a player or move in a specific direction based on the angle of the flat surfaces—but FEA data showed that chevron shapes offer increased propulsion and multidirectional movements over the blade.

The typical soccer cleat plate will often include a mix of conical and chevron an inverted V shape geometry. When the Dassler brothers started offering rubber molded cleats around it was a major materials advancement.

And the s gave us some new placements of those studs, but still in a typical conical stud. The rubber conical stud remained a mainstay of the s and it has taken a research effort—whether materials or geometry—to move the cleat beyond the conical. Heidi Toth has been writing professionally since Toth has a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in business administration, both from Texas Tech.

Soccer Equipment. By: Heidi Toth. Published: 25 June, Aggressive defender? All-around midfielder? Do you prefer to make a quick pass under pressure, or take on defenders one-on-one? We can make recommendations on the features you should look for based on your playing style and role within your team. The places you play. Do you spend most of your time on water-logged grass? Dry grass? Bare ground?

Newer artificial surfaces? Older artificial surfaces? The cleats you choose—and in particular the type and arrangement of the studs—make a huge difference here. While there are no specific rules that force a player to wear cleats, it is highly recommended. And, almost every soccer player wears cleats, ranging from the youth levels to prep and collegiate all the way up to the professional level.

Generally speaking, outdoor soccer players wear cleats while indoor soccer players where shoes. The outdoor game is played on grass, or a grass-like surface, and so all the benefits that cleats offer can be utilized. Indoor soccer is played on an artificial surface.

Depending on the specifics of the surface, players will utilize cleats or turf shoes. That brings us to the second factor that determines whether you should wear cleats: the type of field surface. The type of surface is more of a factor in what type of soccer shoe to wear than whether it is indoor or outdoor.

For example, outdoor soccer can actually be played on natural grass or artificial grass. Completely artificial surfaces are banned in leagues like the English Premier League , but are very common in other professional leagues like the MLS in the United States.