Soceer: help a newbie out

[MamaSnoo]

Am signing DD up for spring soceer, she will be 5. 43 inches and 40 lbs. what kind of shin guards would you recommend?

[o_mom]

I like the ones like these:
http://m.target.com/p/franklin-girls-pee-wee-shin-guards-pink/-/A-12925035

They have some padding around the ankle and a stirrup to keep them down. Don't get the kind that are sewn in the socks. You then have to wear the uniform socks over them, so two pair of socks, and have to wash the guards with the socks.

You can also get the kind that just strap on, no stirrup. Those are probably adequate for her age. The one good thing about those is that you can take them on and off without removing the shoes.

[Kindra178]

We had similar ones linked from O Mom by Nike. They were about $12 from Dick's. I liked the ankle protection. Don't concern yourself too much with the sizing. I think what we go DS1 was for 9-11 years old (and he was a new 6). DS1 started the spring season with just velcro strap kind. Although way easier for on and off, they didn't always stay on during the game, especially if his sock fell a bit.

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12614265&cp=4406646.4413887.4414021

[mom2khj]

We use the same kind as PP.

We do try to find the ones where the velcro connects in the front, on the hard part. The ones that connect on the side or in the back sometimes have the girls complaining that it's itchy. And I don't have overly sensitive kids, typically.

ETA - it looks like Adidas are the ones that do that:

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12620735&ppp=42&cp=4406646.4413887.4414021

[KpbS]

Your DD is very close in size to my DS (turning 5 soon). I would make sure that you get shin guards that are not too "tall" for her shins if that makes sense. While my DS2 is tall for his age I found that the next size up shin guards were really a poor fit for him and would actually impede his running. You might need to size down if there are two options available.

hth

[niccig]

For sizing, I was taught a couple of my fingers down from his knee.

[roseyloxs]

They have some padding around the ankle and a stirrup to keep them down. Don't get the kind that are sewn in the socks. You then have to wear the uniform socks over them, so two pair of socks, and have to wash the guards with the socks.

Most of these aren't actually sewn in. In my experience they are just inside a pocket in the sock. The actual shinguard is removable for washing. You can wear the sock for practices and then slide the guard out and as long as the uniform socks are tight enough just slide them in the game day socks. We did this with ds and it worked out great. I played soccer and I found the slide in guards in high school and they were by far my favorite. Very comfortable. If the guards are sliding down you can just use some athletic tape and tape around the ankle to prevent the guard from sliding below the ankle.

We used these (both have removable guards):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WEIJ0M
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UNMU3G

[o_mom]

Most of these aren't actually sewn in. In my experience they are just inside a pocket in the sock. The actual shinguard is removable for washing. You can wear the sock for practices and then slide the guard out and as long as the uniform socks are tight enough just slide them in the game day socks. We did this with ds and it worked out great. I played soccer and I found the slide in guards in high school and they were by far my favorite. Very comfortable. If the guards are sliding down you can just use some athletic tape and tape around the ankle to prevent the guard from sliding below the ankle.


It depends on the exact ones. Some of them are actually sewn in, like these: http://www.amazon.com/Nike-Youth-Soccer-Shin-Socks/dp/B004TQTF6G (hand wash, even!). Slide in ones would solve part of the problem, but then you still have the problem of the uniform socks not having the pocket. I know mine would have freaked out about having tape around their ankles at that age.

When I played in HS and college, and even as an adult, I preferred the ones that have padding around the ankles and that I could use with any socks.