During summer it can be too hot to play volleyball in a sports arena. Therefore a lot of players enjoy playing volleyball outside. We have considered different undergrounds if we think about what the best shoes are for this. You can play on grass, sand, and hard surfaces (such as concrete). Each of these has different requirements as some of these undergrounds are slippery or don’t provide a lot of traction. Let’s discuss what the best outdoor shoes are for each of these options. We have discussed indoor shoes before.
Best volleyball shoes for grass (or mud)
A lot of people play volleyball in their garden during the summer. This is a lot of fun as you can play it with friends at any point of the day. The disadvantage of this is that the grass is sometimes low quality and can be slippery. Therefore you need shoes with a lot of traction. A lot of grass fields are also not completely flat or even so, this will require even more traction as there is sometimes mud or small pits in the field.
There are not a ton of outdoor volleyball shoes so you might have to take a look at running shoes instead. These should work quite well to play volleyball with as well as they provide a lot of protection and stability. They also use gels and foams that can be found in indoor volleyball shoes and therefore they should work quite well to play volleyball in the grass. You can check before you start to check if the grass isn’t too wet and if you have enough traction with the shoes that you are wearing. If it is too slippery, you might want to consider playing somewhere else.
A lot of locations also offer synthetic grass to play volleyball on. These are small pieces of plastic that resemble a natural grass field. It might be possible to use your indoor volleyball shoes on this but check with the owner of the field to see what they recommend.
Best volleyball shoes for sand
Beach volleyball has gained quite a lot of traction during the past few years. This is often played without shoes as the sand is quite soft and the weather is hot. Some players prefer to play with open shoes to make sure that there are no stones or glass in the sand that can hurt them. This is a type of barefoot shoe that offers a sole and some support but the rest are quite similar to playing barefoot. Other players prefer closed shoes. This can be a challenge to play with as sand enters the shoes and can add some friction between your feet and the socks. Therefore not a lot of players were closed shoes while playing volleyball in the sand.
In Brazil, which has a lot of beaches to play volleyball on some people wear Havaianas flip flops as the sand can get quite warm during certain periods of the day. It takes some getting used to if you want to play volleyball with these and you have to be careful if you play with them (especially if you jump a lot) but it seems to work for some people. If you are not comfortable, you can always look at shoes that offer more protection (Crocs comes to mind). Playing beach volleyball or volleyball in the sand can be very intense as you have to run around and can get sand everywhere. Shoes can help you to keep your feet cold and to get more traction.
Best volleyball shoes for hard surfaces
These shoes are quite similar to shoes that you can use indoors. Often they have better water protection and offer more grip. You sometimes can use your indoor shoes outdoors if the surface is offering enough traction. Be sure to clean them thoroughly before you use them again inside as a lot of dirt and dust can build upon them when you play outside.
Once again we can take a look at running shoes for this use case. Playing volleyball outside requires a lot of the same movements so there is a big overlap in the requirements of a runner and an outdoor volleyball player. Therefore running shoes can work quite well to play volleyball outside on hard surfaces. I have been playing volleyball with running shoes for quite a while and it works for me. These shoes offer a lot of grip so you can play with them even if the surface is wet. Always check for yourself before you start playing as some surfaces can be very slippery and this might be too dangerous to play volleyball on.
Best shoes for pool volleyball
A lot of people have bought a pool recently. Swimming gets boring quite fast and therefore it is a good idea to buy a net and play volleyball in the pool. Playing pool volleyball can be very intense as you can’t swim as fast as you can run. Therefore it is a lot of fun but you might miss out on quite a lot of points if you can’t swim well.
A lot of pools are not that deep and you can often stand on the ground while playing volleyball. In most instances, people don’t wear shoes to play this but water shoes can help you to get more traction and can be a secret weapon. If you have more traction, it will be easier to smash and dig. You can run in the water instead of having to swim. Therefore water shoes can be very useful during a game of pool volleyball. If it is the pool of someone else, it is best to check in advance if you can wear shoes in them as some people don’t like this at all as some people think that it can damage their pool or make it dirty. These water shoes can really make a difference when you play pool volleyball. I have used them before and think that they are helping you if you can’t swim that well.
Do volleyball shoes make a difference?
For indoor volleyball and volleyball on hard surfaces shoes are very important as they provide protection when you land after jumping. You have to jump a lot during volleyball training or matches. Special foams and gels make sure that your feet land softly on the ground. Shoes also offer support when you are moving fast or sliding. You need a lot of stability when you play and even when the floor is slippery, you should be able to play. Therefore shoes are very important in these situations. Another important function of shoes is to retain sweat. You can sweat a lot during a game and this can become very slippery. Good shoes are able to attract and hold this sweat so that it doesn’t land on the floor where it could affect other players.
When people play beach volleyball in the sand, they often don’t wear shoes as the sand is very soft. The same is true when people play volleyball on the grass. The main reason why people wear shoes in these situations is to protect them from impurities in the sand (such as glass or stones) that could hurt their feet. Grass can be slippery and this might be another reason to wear shoes.
Overall we can say that shoes make a big difference in volleyball as they have multiple functions and make sure that you can play for a longer period of time. On some surfaces such as sand, they might be less useful but some players wear them anyway.
You might have to try multiple shoes before you find the right fit. Shoes also take some time to expand and get their final shape so you might have to be patient with them and use them in a few training sessions before they are finally completely comfortable.
Do volleyball players wear special shoes?
Yes, volleyball players wear sports shoes. This makes sure that they have enough stability and agility to catch the ball. These shoes contain special gels and foams to do this. They also have a special sole that makes sure that the player is able to start and stop very fast. This is an essential part of volleyball and normal shoes would break quite fast if you do this.
Furthermore, these shoes are stronger as they use special materials and stitching. This makes the shoes last longer. Finally, sports shoes are also able to absorb sweat a lot better. Normal shoes don’t offer these advantages and are therefore less suited for volleyball training or matches. There is a difference between shoes that volleyball players wear indoor and outdoor. Outdoor shoes have soles that have more grooves that create traction. Indoor shoes also have groves but they are less deep as indoor floors are flat and don’t contain a lot of objects that can destabilize you.
These added materials make the shoes more expensive but you can get good shoes for about 50 USD so the added expense is not extreme and it is worth it given the additional benefit that volleyball shoes offer.
To conclude we can state that shoes are very important to play volleyball. You have to adjust your footwear to the underground that you are playing on. Some terrains are slippery or can be hot. Make sure that you think about what shoes will work best for your given situation before you start playing volleyball. This makes sure that you can perform at your best and don’t have to deal with slips and slides.
