The Choice of Volleyball Shoe

       Hi, my name's Faith and I will be blogging about techniques I read in the book, Volleyball Essentials by Marv Dunphy and Rod Wilde. I will be listening to the tips I am given from the book and trying them out as I practice for my club team. Before I begin changing my actual techniques of the game, I wanted to try what the book said about equipment, in this case shoes. For this first post, I wanted to see what volleyball shoes were recommended and what shoes are the best to wear to play volleyball.
       Unlike basketball and soccer, volleyball players don't have a wide variety of footwear options that many other sports do. According to Volleyball Essentials, volleyball shoes should have good traction, and be well-cushioned (Dunphy, Wilde 14). Like every other sport, I want to have the best shoe possible to help me play better and won't get in my way. However, there are really only three brands that produce shoes specifically made for volleyball: Mizuno, Nike, and Adidas.  As a result of this shortage of variety, most volleyball players resort to one of three options.

The three shoes that I used to compare, from left to right:
Basketball, volleyball, and running shoes.

        The first choice is that players wear running shoes that they use for other sports or just going outside. I have noticed that these types of shoes are worn by players of lower level play. When I wore running shoes for volleyball in elementary school, I slid and couldn't really run fast without sliding at the end. By the time I had stopped sliding, most of the play was already over and the ball had been sent over the net. I do not recommend wearing these types of shoes if you are in the high school or club level because those levels of play involve more running and hustle plays.
        The next two choices are usually worn by players of a higher level. One type of shoe that is often worn is volleyball-specific shoes. At tournaments for club volleyball, I noticed that these types of shoes belong to advanced players, but those of younger age. I own a pair of Mizuno and Nike shoes. When I wore these to practice, each on a different day, I found that they almost have very poor traction , only a little better than running shoes. "At the higher levels of play, you may want to buy shoes specifically designed for volleyball," (Dunphy, Wilde 14). While this is true and I would recommend volleyball shoes for maybe players or positions who do not have to move as much, I would definitely not say that these are the best shoes to wear for the sport.

The volleyball shoes, which did not have good traction.

        The final option is the one that I fully recommend after trying out all three shoes to any player and that is wearing basketball shoes. Upon switching from volleyball shoes to basketball shoes in the middle of my practice, I instantly felt a difference. They made me able to turn faster because of their amazing traction so I could chase down balls easier, unlike my volleyball shoes where I had to wait a second for me to get some grip before I could take off again. Many older club players wear basketball shoes instead of volleyball shoes and you can obviously see why if you wear a pair. Basketball shoes have good traction that volleyball shoes don't, so I would advise that committed players get basketball shoes to play in.
         Although I listened to the book and wore volleyball shoes, I would only say that half of the advice that Volleyball Essentials gives is accurate. Yes, I found that good shoes for volleyball have good traction and aren't clunky on your feet like the book said, however, Dunphy and Wilde's advice says to get volleyball shoes for advanced players. Based on my experience and trials with each shoe, I would say that higher level players should get basketball shoes if they want the grip and traction that can help them with their game.
          While I found that volleyball shoes don't help with my game as much as basketball shoes do, what do you think? Do you think that basketball shoes can be used for other sports, such as volleyball? Are basketball shoes better to wear than volleyball shoes?

Volleyball Essentials:    Dunphy, Marv, and Rod Wilde. Volleyball Essentials: Video-Text. Total Health Publications, 2014.