You need very good shoes to play volleyball as you will run, jump and make a lot of maneuvers with your feet. To make sure that your shoes can keep up, it is important to buy shoes with good stitching and qualitative materials. You will have to check your shoes every few months to see if there are no tears or other damage. The problem is that not all the big brands are offering volleyball shoes so it can take some research to know which ones are the best. Let’s dive into what shoes are best for men and women to play volleyball. We have discussed the different parts of volleyball shoes before.
Best volleyball shoes for women 2022
If you want cheap shoes that are still decent to play with, you can consider the Ligra Track by Adidas. These shoes have a rubber sole, breathable mesh to pick up the sweat, and a reinforced toe to make them stronger. These shoes also have recycled materials to reduce the environmental impact. The soles are designed to provide a lot of grip, which is important when you play volleyball. Overall they are quite wide so if you have small feet, you might want to look at other options.
These are mainly meant for volleyball players that play only once a week. If you play more often, you might look into other options that provide more padding and protection. They are good starter shoes but players that partake in a competition might want to upgrade to shoes that offer more support.
If you plan to play a lot of games, it might be better to take a look at the Gel Rocket shoes of ASICS. These are more expensive but they contain more padding. The gel in these shoes makes it softer to land and can help you to jump higher. They have also added some foam that makes the shoes more flexible and allows them to move faster. These shoes can be used for other indoor sports as well so this can be great if you want to play badminton from time to time.
These shoes offer a good balance between protection while they are still lightweight. It is easy to add a lot of gels and foam but then it is hard to run with them. These shoes do a good job finding the perfect middle point between these two requirements.
Best volleyball shoes for men 2022
Once again we arrive at ASICS as they produce high-quality shoes. This shoe also uses gel and foams to dampen the impact and make you jump higher. At the same time, they have a lot of structural strength because the fabrics that are used are of high quality.
It is important to know that the insoles are not removable in these shoes. The shoes are rather narrow so if you have wide feet, you might want to look elsewhere. I always recommend trying several shoes before you buy them as it is hard to know which ones are comfortable for you if you haven’t tried them out yet.
It is also important to consider the sole of the shoes. Some sports arenas prohibit black soles as these can leave an imprint on the floor. Check with your coach if this is something that you have to consider if you buy shoes with black soles. Some teams have other specifications as well to make everyone in the team uniform (for example the brand or color) so it might be best to check with your team what they expect before you buy shoes. A lot of teams play with ASICS shoes so these are probably not a problem.
The best shoes also depend on your playing style. Some players are just passing all the time and are not off balance that often. Other players are diving a lot and need more grip. The shoes of ASICS might not be the best option for this.
The second pair is more expensive but I think that they are worth the upgrade if you run around a lot during the game. These shoes by Adidas are offering a lot of grip and stability. This can help if you dig for a lot of balls or have to stand off balance quite a lot. I have been playing with these for several years and enjoy doing so. Sometimes they change small items between models but overall these shoes remain quite similar over time.
Some people don’t like the usage of flashy colors on their shoes so this might be something that bothers you about these shoes. Some players don’t enjoy standing out from the team as it can attract attention from the opponent. A lot of shoes use uniform colored shoes and these are less unique.
What I always test before buying new shoes is how they perform over wet surfaces. There is often sweat on the floor when you play volleyball. Some shoes don’t offer a lot of grip if you go over this and this can lead to a big slide. Therefore I find this a very important aspect of buying shoes as I have seen a lot of players fall because their shoes were too slippery. You can clean them from time to time but sometimes you forget to do this.
What shoes do the best volleyball players wear?
Let’s take a look at what shoes Olympic athletes wear.
Mizuno volleyball shoes were worn by the USA Olympic team during the last Olympics. This is also mentioned in the following documentary about the women’s volleyball team:
Mizuno is a Japanese brand and they have been developing shoes for volleyball for a long period of time. They use rubber and foams in their soles to find a balance between stability and agility. These shoes work very well and the Olympic athletes were able to deliver great results with them. There are cheaper shoes on the market but the added boost and stability might be worth the extra cost if you play a lot of volleyball. These shoes are also very durable so you have to replace them less often. They allow you to turn faster than regular running shoes would.
To conclude, we can state that there are several good volleyball shoes on the market. It is often worth it to spend slightly more on this as you will use them a lot. More expensive models offer more padding and stability by adding gels and foams. These offer a good balance between stability and agility. This can make the difference between winning and losing and therefore it is important that you spend quite some time thinking about what shoes will fit your playing style.
You can try several pairs and see what works for you. Once you have found a model that is fitting you, it is possible to use these for several years. Therefore you only have to check the market once and after this, you don’t have to think about this too much anymore. You can ask other players on your team what they are wearing to get an idea of what works for them. Your shoes will adjust more to your feet after wearing them for a while so they can become more comfortable after playing with them. It is best to start wearing new shoes during training as they can still need some adjustments. If you wear them during a contest, it might be quite challenging to keep them on as you put them under a lot of pressure, to begin with, and they didn’t have time to adjust to the size of your feet yet.
