buying football boots, shin pads etc for high school

Carmina_Piranha_3

i know i sound like a muppet but i just have no idea about this sort of thing and my son goes to high school in 2 weeks so i need to buy them - they're essential kit. baby has been in hospital for over a week and isn't up to me trawling around the shops so i would like to find out what i need to know then buy online.

football boots - they look really narrow and tiny - do i have to buy the size he wears now, or go up a size? he's got wide feet and a high instep, all the ones i've seen look painful!

what sort of sizes do shin pads come in and what would be suitable for a child who wears age 8 clothes? they look like the sort of thing that can be bought second hand off ebay.

sorry for such a daft thread but i've had a look and really can't get my head around it all - lack of sleep!

shelby161

Hi there C.P.Although my sons high school said that they had to have these things they were hardly touched!!Do you have something called SportSoccer or Sportsworld near you?They do reasonably priced boots/shinpads and socks,or you can try Freecycle if you dont mind second hand .I always buy them 1 size bigger than they wear as the football socks are quite thick so this allows for a bit of growing room!!Dont suppose he wears a size 5 does he because i have a pair my son grew out of.HTH a bit-good luck with getting some much needed sleep!!

novagirl

Seems like all secondary schools say they are essential when tbh, I hardly ever wore my football boots and the shin pads never even came out of my bag!
Buy football boots one size up as the football socks are really thick. Also maybe see if you or your child knows anyone a little older than them and just use their shin pads as it's unlikely thsat tey'll be having gym at the same time! (My brother was a couple of years older than me so we just shared the 'brand new' set.)

Carmina_Piranha_3

hi, he's a 3 so i'll buy a 4. the kit list says that everybody must have those items, there are other things on the optional list for cricket etc. but the football boots and shin pads are a must, punishment will be given if kids don't have them.

they don't need special school logo socks so i've bought his sports socks from M&S this week using gift vouchers i got for subbing to sky TV. they're not too thick but even so, i think going up a size is a good idea because his feet are wide etc.

i had an idea, i'll order some from the catalogue to try them on, then buy them cheaper elsewhere

shin pads are cheap on ebay.

Alikay

My sons both have wide feet (G fitting) and it's always been difficult getting football boots to fit because like you say, they seem to be very narrow. The brands which seem to be widest in our experience are Adidas or the Nike Total 90 range. They often have the previous season's model or a less popular colour quite reasonably priced in Sports Soccer/World, and JJB are worth a try too.

I've bought shin pads from these shops for just a couple of pounds too. I always set a price limit (probably about £25 whilst they were still in youth sizes) and if the boots they wanted were more, they paid the difference out of pocket money. Sadly the bargains tended to be Umbro or Mitre boots which were always way too narrow, but we did manage to get some heavily reduced ones that fitted well once or twice. Hopefully your lad will like football and get his wear out of them like mine did!

thriftmonster

I use JJB and got some Nike ones yesterday reduced to £15 a pair. They have to be restudded for rugby. We have also got shin pads from there cheaply - ds1 has to have them for hockey. They had quite a good selection in the sale of footie boots - better if you can buy the moulded studs - which we can't as they have to be restudded.

Carmina_Piranha_3

eeek! what's re-studding all about? i just don't understand

i've got him some nike total 90 ones based on advice given here. they're from ebay, cheap. i think the studs come off.

sarymclary

Carmina_Piranha wrote: »

eeek! what's re-studding all about? i just don't understand

i've got him some nike total 90 ones based on advice given here. they're from ebay, cheap. i think the studs come off.

Hi Carmina P.

This was all news to me too, but as a mother of 4 boys, I have had to learn fast!

For school boots buy only the cheapest possible, because they tend to get very mucky, never cleaned, and eventually lost (lost property doesn't seem to have them until the very end of the school year!) and sometimes they even get pinched by another kid who loses their kit! Label everything very well - permanent marker is cheap and effective. As mentioned before, Sports Soccer/JJB, Ebay or even your local charity shop would be good sources for bargains. Always buy the next size up - this is the rule of thumb for boots, because they tend to be a snug fit, and you need to wear a good sports sock.

Shin pads you can buy in a sports shop, or even Toys R Us, Argos or Woolies. They tend to do kids sizes, as opposed to the adult sizes in sports shops too, which sound like they would be too long for his legs.

As for re-studding. This only tends to be a necessity if your lad gets into the school team, and the referee will check the studs on the boots before the matches of football/rugby kick off. Studs can get damaged or chipped, and in turn harm a player, so removable/replaceable studs are for matches (only metal ones in rugby I believe).

I hope your son gets on well at his new school.

SUESMITH_2

ds has the same sort of feet as your boy - when you go along with him take very thick socks and make sure he has a good walk around in the boots, our ds has been up 2 sizes in his boots. shin pads came from same place. unless he is very sporty buy the cheapest possible. trainers can be a problem as well, off to get all our ds and dd essentials next week after pay day

Woby_Tide

the shin pads are there for protection, whilst it's unlikely child on child being able to tackle hard enough to cause damage its useful o get used to them and also the alternative hurts

with boots, as others say, a size above is often the norm but its worth them trying them on to make sure. With a size above you can get away with an extra pair of socks they can then grow into them a bit further. Even now in my thirties I still have bigger boots than normal shoes, I use 3 pairs of socks instead, still more comfy than a size lower with 1 pair of socks

hilstep2000

I agree with the above threads. My son's school said they were essential, he only wore them once in Year 7! I didn't buy him anymore. They used their trainers al the time. The pair I did get him tho were Umbro ones, brand new from an ebay shop. £10 compared to £30 in the sports shops.