How to Wear Soccer Socks Like a Professional
If you have ever watched a professional soccer game you may have noticed that a lot of professional players cut their team socks so that they can wear specialized socks underneath. Most players choose to wear a reliable pair of grip socks under a sleeve of their team socks because they provide more comfort, grip, and traction, which can lead to better performances.
High performance grip socks, such as the Lux Sports Grip Socks, are some of the best on the market and a trusted brand of many footballers around the world. In this blog post I will cover everything you need to know about how to wear soccer socks like a professional.
Image by Nathan Rogers
Why is it Important to Wear Soccer Socks Properly ?
Wearing soccer socks properly is important because they cover and hold your shin guards in place to protect you from potential kicks to the shin bone. They are also an essential to your soccer bag checklist if you want to play competitively or in official matches, since you will have to wear shin guards and matching socks with the rest of your team.
The right pair of socks also offer support, help prevent blisters, and limit how much your feet slide inside the cleats, giving your cleats a more responsive feel. Socks can also help provide slight ankle support and protection, although, of course, they will not do too much against a strong hit. With that being said I would rather get hit on the ankle or shin bone while wearing a pair of cushioned socks than without wearing any socks at all.
Steps for How to Wear Soccer Socks Like a Professional
Wearing soccer socks is very simple and all you really have to do is slide them on your feet, make sure they are covering your shin guards, and make sure they are secure and not sliding around everywhere.
However, if you are looking to wear your socks like the professionals you see on TV, then there are some extra steps to take. Before we start these are the materials you will need:
- Team socks that you are allowed to cut or a pair of Pre cut socks
- Scissors
- High quality crew length socks or grip socks
- Soccer cleats
- Shin guards
- Shin guard sleeves
Step 1: Cut your Team Socks:
Grab your scissors and cut your team socks at the ankle part so that you are left with the foot part and the long shin part which is going to act like a sleeve. If you don’t want to cut any socks, or don’t want to deal with loose threads, you can purchase some pre-cut soccer socks to skip this step.
Step 2: Put on Your Grip Socks:
Now, grab your pair of grip socks, or other high quality socks, slide them on, and pull them all the way up to your shins.
Step 3: Insert the Shin Guards:
Once your grip socks are in place, put your shin guards under your grip socks, so they are in between your shin and and the grip socks.
Step 4: Put on your cut up team soccer socks or pre-cut socks:
Now that you have your grip socks and your shin guards on you can put the long shin part of the cut sock on, or the pre cut socks. Slide this on both legs and pull it up either past your knees or just below your knees.
Step 5: Secure your socks and shin guards
Now that you have your grip socks, shin guards, and pre-cut socks on, you can use shin guard sleeves, straps, or athletic tape to help hold everything in place.This step is going to depend on how tight and secure you want everything to feel.
Step 6: Put on your soccer cleats
Once everything is secure you can put on your soccer cleats and move on to the final step.
Step 7: Final Check:
For this final step make sure everything is comfortable and secure so that nothing is sliding around, or falling off, while you are playing. If you need to this is the step where you can add extra tape or shin guard straps if you need.
Summary
To summarize, knowing how to wear shin guards and match socks properly is very important for any player who wants the most comfort and security from their protective gear. Younger players especially have to make sure that they are wearing everything properly to avoid injuries and stay safe during gameplay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do football socks go over or under shin guards?
Shin guards are meant to go under your socks and they do not go above them.
Do soccer socks go above or below the knees?
When it comes to soccer socks the most important rule is that they must be covering your shin guards. This means that it is up to you whether you want the remainder of the sock above or below your knee.
There is no right or wrong and you can see professional soccer players wearing their socks either way, about two inches below or above the knee.