Soccer cleats are important gears in playing soccer. They offer a better grip for better control and also optimize players’ abilities on the soccer pitch.
Sometimes, soccer cleats can be quite tight, especially if they are new. This phenomenon tends to make it a little difficult for players to adjust to their new cleats on time and sometimes makes the entire process of playing soccer painful when it really shouldn’t be.
This is what makes stretching out soccer cleats so essential for players. So, every player must learn how to stretch soccer cleats.
Which method will work for you may differ depending on both your preference and the cleats you are using. Let’s take a look and some of the best methods of stretching out your soccer cleats.
Best Ways To Stretch Out Your Soccer Cleats
Here are the ten best ways you can stretch out your soccer cleats.
1. Wear Them Around
One of the most effective ways to stretch out soccer cleats is to wear them consistently. The age-old practice of wearing tight shoes until they stretch out to fit perfectly to the feet also applies to soccer cleats. You should wear your tight new soccer cleats around.
You can put on your pair of socks and walk around the house in them for about thirty minutes or until you start feeling discomfort. Also, putting on thicker socks or several pairs of socks can aid in the stretching of your soccer cleats.
2. Steaming
Another effective method of stretching soccer cleats is through steaming. It’s preferable to use this method just before putting on the cleats.
By wearing the cleats just after steaming, the cleats become more flexible, fitting the player’s feet better and providing more comfortable wear.
This method can be used on old and new cleats, ensuring soccer players wouldn’t have to play the sports with uncomfortable and painful cleats.
3. Using a Hair Dryer
You can also use a hair dryer to stretch out soccer cleats. All you have to do is put on your pair of socks and slip on your soccer cleats, turn on the hair dryer on high heat, and heat each cleat carefully for about five minutes.
Be careful not to focus on a part of the cleat for too long. Instead, gently move around the surface of the cleat, that way every aspect of the cleat gets the appropriate amount of heat.
After heating up, you must keep walking with the cleats on for another ten to twenty minutes so the cleats can keep stretching.
4. Stretching Soccer Cleats With Paper
Find different pieces of paper, either newspaper or magazine and push them up inside the soccer cleats. Fill the cleat with the paper until it’s stuffed up with paper.
Pay more specific attention to the uncomfortable parts of the cleat and add more paper. Once the cleats are completely stuffed with paper, leave them stuffed overnight to stretch appropriately.
5. Lose Your Laces
Many times, the discomfort from soccer cleats comes from the laces. If your soccer cleats have laces, lose the laces completely for both cleats and put your feet in the shoe. But this can only work for cleats that are tight enough to stay in place even after the laces are removed.
If that doesn’t work for you, you can simply try loosening the laces. Adjust the tongue of the cleats for comfort, and tighten the laces again around your feet, without making it too suffocating.
6. Stretching Soccer Cleats with Tennis Balls
When your new or old soccer cleats are feeling a little too tight, you could place tennis balls deep into the cleat until they are filled up.
Leave the tennis balls in the cleats overnight to allow the tennis balls to stretch the cleats properly.
7. Use Iced Water
The iced water method is also an effective way to get your soccer cleats stretched. Get some bags of water, place them into the cleats, and place them in a freezer.
As the water in the bags freezes in the cleats, they begin to expand and stretch the areas of the cleats that are tight and uncomfortable. This ensures your cleats become more comfortable for use.
8. Stretching Soccer Cleats with Your Hands
You can also stretch your soccer cleats by stretching them back and forth. This can be done during a player’s free time. This method involves bending and manipulating the cleat back and forth to loosen it up. You can repeat this method on each cleat for five minutes each.
9. Boot Stretcher
There are many available boot stretchers available for use for different sizes of soccer cleats. You place the boot stretcher firmly into the cleat until the tight areas are stretched. Then, you leave the stretcher in for twenty-four hours for it to appropriately stretch the cleats.
10. Dampen Your Boots and Socks with Water to Stretch Them As They Dry
With this method, you only have to dampen the soccer cleats and socks with preferably lukewarm or cool water.
When you’re certain the socks and cleats are properly damp, you can then put them on and let them dry up while you’re still wearing them so they can adequately mold to your feet.
Conclusion
Uncomfortable soccer cleats are not the best for optimal performances by professional soccer players. Therefore, it’s imperative that players of the sports are conversant with various techniques they can adopt to optimize their performance.
The art of stretching soccer cleats is a skill that’d prove to be helpful with those tight and uncomfortable cleats, helping you play your best soccer.
