Choosing a Pickleball Shoe
A. Why Not Wear Just Any Shoe?
Wearing just any shoe for playing pickleball may have serious consequences.
Pickleball is a fast sport involving plenty of turning, twisting, shuffling, jumps and hops. There is plenty of side to side or lateral movements.
Ordinary shoes are not designed to handle these lateral movements. If you do not have the right shoes, you may injure your ankles, toes or heels.
You may need orthopedic treatment and even surgery. All these miseries can be avoided by using the right pair of shoes when you want to play pickleball.
B. Choosing the Right Shoe
Although there are specific shoes designed for sports like volleyball and tennis, so far we do not have any pickleball shoes.
However, you can use the court shoes, if you play pickleball indoors and the tennis shoes in case you play outdoors.
Court shoes are shoes designed for indoor court use and are most likely volleyball shoes. These shoes have rubber soles for traction and grip on the court surface. They also have stability built into the sides.
The other type of shoes that can be used for playing pickleball outdoors are tennis shoes.
These are bulky, tough and heavy shoes, which is good as they absorb the impact. They have flat soles without a rubber.
Whichever shoes you choose, they must be comfortable and must have sufficient cushioning and lateral and side support to assist you while twisting and turning the body.
C. Indoor and Outdoor Playing Can Change The Requirements
Your pickleball shoe must be appropriate for the surface on which you wish to play.
Indoor surfaces in a gymnasium are made of wood. The polished floor is smooth and lacks traction. They are often very slippery in case of presence of dust. Thus you will need a shoe that can provide good traction so that you do not slip while moving.
The shoes must also provide good grip so that you can move easily and fast.
Rubber soles are ideal for such requirements. The non-marking types of soles do not leave ugly marks on the surface.
You should choose volleyball or squash shoes to play pickleball on such surface.
In the case of outdoor play, the surface is made of asphalt or grass.
You need tennis shoes or even trainers as they are designed for such floors. Also, the shoes must protect against the rough impact.
D. Shoes to Avoid
Some shoes are not designed to withstand the requirements and rigors of pickleball. You must avoid such shoes as these will affect your play, as well as cause injury to your feet. Some of these types of shoes are:
- The Running shoes – Running shoes have very thin soles and can be bent at the middle. These lack lateral support and may get your feet twisted. They also lack heel and toe support.
- Lounge shoes or loafers – These shoes are not made for any active sport nor offer sufficient cushioning.
- Hiking shoes – These are made tough to withstand the terrain and bad weather. They have thick gripping soles and are very bulky, rigid and heavy.
- Trekking shoes – These are meant for trekking and built accordingly. They are not at all suitable for pickleball.
These tips and suggestions should be sufficient to make you well-informed. You should now be able to choose the particular shoe for your pickleball games.
If you do not wish to have two separate shoes for Indoors and Outdoors, then you must choose a comfortable and well-cushioned tennis shoe. It must have non-marking soles so that you can use it indoors too.
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