In my opinion, it is important to have a good supportive indoor shoe for sports like Racquetball or Squash. You really want to protect your ankles from rolling and spraining when playing or practicing. These sports require a lot of lateral movement, sprinting, stop and go, lunging, and a lot of back and forth movement.
Whether it is a mid shoe or low shoe, I really don't believe it matters. Many people think you need a mid to high top shoe for more support. I don't believe that. Even Basketball Superstar Kobe Bryant is wearing low-top shoes to play Pro Basketball. Support rather than height is paramount.
For support reasons in racquetball, squash, tennis, pickleball, and badminton, a low-cut shoe can be just as good as a "mid" as "high-top" as these three features are the most important part of that shoe:
Here are three things you can look for when you are choosing a good supportive shoe that will help prevent your ankle from rolling and causing bad injury:
1. How hard is the heel?
If you can squeeze with one hand fairly easily and the top of the rear touches each other you may not have a shoe that is good for all the shuffling of the feet you do in racquetball or squash. Are you prone to rolling your ankle and spraining it? If that was the case then a low style shoe would be better as it will give you breathing room having a brace on. Also, you may need a brace.
If you squeeze the heel and it is hard to very hard, it is fair to say that you have a good supportive shoe that will help you prevent rolling your ankle and causing serious injury.
In racquetball you shuffle so much, you are more likely to roll your ankle without a good supportive shoe.
2. Put the shoe through the stability test
Step 1: Hold the front of the shoe in one hand and the back of the shoe in your other hand.
Step 2: Twist each side opposite to the other side; "back and forth". Is the center of the shoe buckling? If yes, that is not a good sign that the shoe can prevent injury. This can cause injury while stop and going; in addition to shuffling; with so much lateral movement that goes on racquetball.
When you do these two steps; the center of the shoe should not buckle. It should show its support. A running shoe is a good example of an unsupportive, unstable shoe for lateral movement as they are not designed to move laterally. In other words, even though you will be running down a lot of shots, runner shoes are not what will help support you in racquetball.
3. Gum Soles
The third thing you want to look for in support is good grip of the shoe. That is where a gum sole comes in. Racquetball is played on hardwood floors and gum soles help your shoes grip well on this type of surface. If you are slipping all over the court, your muscles are tightening up as you are trying hard to set your feet to take your shot. This too can cause injury. Gum soles can come in different colors. The most common color you will find is the brown sole. Note: Some gyms will not allow black soles on their courts because they mark up the floor.
These three components of an indoor sports shoe will help you prevent rolling your ankles or getting injured. I would highly recommend that you have a pair of indoor shoes to be specifically used for the courts. Have a pair that you only put on when you get ready to play. Don't wear them outside at all. This only wears out the gum sole and causes you track a lot of dirt into the court which in turn ruins the courts.
| Price : $89.00
Great Deal : $79.00Date Created :Mar 19, 2011 03:20:16
