As a pickleball enthusiast, refining your skills and achieving proficiency is undoubtedly the ultimate key to perfection, However, without proper gear, it is highly likely that your performance on the court is drastically hindered, especially if it’s footwear.
While some individuals might be inclined towards using alternatives such as volleyball shoes, there are some preliminaries you need to look forward to. Speaking of which, in this article, we are going to discuss the importance of the right footwear and its correlation with volleyball shoes for pickleball.
So strap in because this guide is going to get elaborate so that you can grasp the idea behind these shoe types.
The Importance of Proper Footwear in Pickleball
Understanding the importance of footwear is extremely relevant even if you aren’t too keen on following the dress code. Since pickleball is all about agility and quick movement which is usually known as sidestepping. If you are wearing volleyball shoes, make sure these bad boys have these properties.
- High Top Ankle Support
First thing first, wear anything that protects your ankle during rapid and lateral movement. So if you are using volleyball shoes, make sure you only opt for the ones that have supportive midsoles so that your feet have perfect stability when pivoting or performing side-stepping shuffles.
On the other hand, volleyball shoes with a lower ankle cut are also highly important because you clearly want some freedom when shifting from left to right. Lastly, in terms of support, it must never leave marks, as it violates the Pickleball court rules.
- Gripping For Extra Connection
Secondly, you need as much traction as you could possibly can since traction is highly important to get your feet on the ground because those lateral movements could cost you a lot if your feet are all too slippery or simply cannot connect with your sudden movement because, without it, you might as well be floating all over the place which certainly ruins the body language of the player.
Traction also helps you jiggle and dodge the player much more easily with little effort, as you aren’t applying much force to keep yourself stable. Without a proper grip, you are focusing more on keeping your feet stable rather than actually playing the game.
- Comfort Through Foam Density
Support and traction aren’t the only things you would need to ensure you play with ease on a pickleball. Make sure the volleyball shoes you are using also have enough padding to provide reinforcement for your feet when you are side-stepping.
In much simpler and refined words, you clearly don’t want to deal with explosive damage on your feet when performing those lateral movements, especially in hotter regions where your skin is much more vulnerable to rashes and irritations.
On the other hand, the lack of shock absorption technology will cause strain on your joints and toes, which is extremely difficult once you have your feet out of your shoes, it’s like removing a cast.
Softer cushioning will also prevent unnecessary friction and help you move around much more comfortably without worrying about causing damage to your soles or ankles as they are prone to irritation especially when hopping around or jumping.
Lastly, you would be playing for hours, the dense foam not only ensures the shoe is comfortable but it will also ensures that the impact effect is lessened to a great degree, all you don’t want to experience feet getting cramped or muscles strained in the middle of the session. Simply put, padded shoes make long matches or practice sessions less taxing on your feet.
- Breathability & Lightweightedness
In addition to comfort level through the integration of padding, make sure your volleyball shoes also have mesh material. Most volleyball shoes nowadays tend to have lighter fabric integrated into them, which allows plenty of air to circulate to keep your feet cool and dry.
In other words, happy feet translate to a happy mind as the blood circulation isn’t hampered, boosting your efficiency tenfold. On the other hand, if it has mesh material or lightweight fabric integrated into it, you wouldn’t have to use much energy to lift your feet from the ground, and trust me, in pickleball you would often notice plenty of movement as staying on one spot will eventually cause you a loss in your team.
Precise and tactical movement is the key. If you have swift and lightweight movement, you will eventually see yourself dominating the court.
Difference Between Volleyball Shoes And Pickleball Shoes
After reading the above section, I am fairly certain that we might be on the same page about volleyball shoes used on a pickleball court. However, if you compare volleyball shoes with Pickleball shoes, there are a couple of reasons why you cannot actively use them interchangeably in the long run or at least in competitive settings.
Properties Of Volleyball Shoes
- Volleyball shoes don’t really have the property of agility, in fact, most of their shoes tend to be moderately thicker in nature when compared to Pickleball shoes.
- Volleyball shoes are also notorious for having marking soles, which is a massive “no-no” for Pickleball courts.
- Lastly, Volleyball shoes are all about straight or vertical movement, hence they have pointed shapes to promote their dynamic forward movement.
- Volleyball shoes may have features like extra cushioning in the forefoot for jumping, while pickleball shoes provide reinforcement that increases durability during lateral movements.
Properties Of Pickleball Shoes
- Meanwhile, since your feet touch the sides of the shoes due to the nature of the game, it has dense padding across its soles, to absorb the shock, promoting agility.
- The outsoles speak volumes in terms of traction and grip all while perfect high-top support for your ankle, in other words, proper pickleball shoes have peak stability.
- Henceforth, that is exactly why you would see the shoes are much more comfortable when side-stepping because they promote quick pivots which is often the case on Pickleball courts.
And That’s A Wrap
The theme of pickleball might be stretched towards the recreational spectrum, however, it is extremely crucial that you get your hands on shoes that are tailored towards side-stepping or lateral movement of pickleball, otherwise, you are clearly putting yourself and your team on an unnecessary disadvantage that could be easily mitigated by investing in the appropriate gear.
On the other hand, this advice is targeted specifically towards those individuals who partake in professional or competitive matches and casual or recreational players can find leisure in the choice of their footwear without the need to put much of an afterthought, after all, it’s all about having fun.
In Simpler words for the time being, volleyball shoes for Pickleball would keep you entertained. However, if you are looking to gain an edge, consider investing in better footwear.
