It is time for us to buy metal cleats for the 1st time, and was just wondering what the current thoughts are on metal cleats for this age? We are seeing some pretty good on-line deals for the Nike Shox. Does the number of metal cleats on the bottom of the shoe matter? If you end up in a tournament with a portable mound, does your pitcher use the metal cleats or would he use rubber cleats?
Our pitchers at 13s were able to use metal cleats on most portable mounds, but its not a bad idea to also have a turf shoe at that age for batting cages anyway, and if a kid has a problem with a portable mound he can switch to the turf shoe. Nike Shox is a good metal cleat.
You may want to hold off on buying cleats until the spring models are out. Nike is making a baseball version of the Vapor Jet which is an incredibly light shoe build for speed.
Let's see... $29 now for $99 Nike Shox steel cleats or wait until the spring to spend $129 for the Vapor Jet. I am sure the Vapor Jets are worth the $100 difference ... do they come with a guarantee to reduce the time to first by two seconds.
Couldn't agree more. Nothing wrong with exercising a bit of fiscal restraint and a practical head. Unfortunately, too often we all buy into the Madison Avenue hype for our kids - the hot new bat constructed of some scientifically advanced material, the coolest-looking and lightest new shoes, the new instructor or coach on the block selling his pro credentials.
Yeah, spikes are spikes. We bought a pair of $60 Nikes from Sports Authority a year ago and he still wears them. Must have been a little big when we bought them. No need to spend a fortune. Just make sure they feel good when you put them on. My son is a pitcher and he wears them on the fake mounds without a problem.
13U -- Time to Buy Metal Cleats
Posted - 08/29/2008 : 12:59:19
