At SQAIRZ, we believe you’re never too young or inexperienced to benefit from footwear that delivers enhanced performance, safety, and stability. That’s why our Vēlo Molded Cleat and Vēlo Turf for youth boast the same cutting-edge features as our shoes for adults—from the premium waterproof synthetic leather upper to the lightweight NRG-Foam midsole to our proprietary Sta-Put lacing system and patented toe square box.
But you don’t have to take our word for it. We asked experts in performance, player development, biomechanics, and injury prevention about the importance of high-quality footwear for young players and why they’d choose SQAIRZ.
1. SQAIRZ starts athletes off on the right foot—literally
“You want to train movement patterns as early as you can. It’s like learning a foreign language—kids pick up language very quickly. The earlier we can get someone to move properly, the more successful they're going to be as athletes. SQAIRZ helps players feel comfortable in an anatomically stacked position. That means fewer injuries down the road because you’re training movements and strengthening your muscles while in the correct form. Other athletic shoes just aren’t as anatomically friendly.”
—Chad Miller, co-founder of Slugger Science and the Louisville Slugger Hitting Science Center
2. With the right shoes, young players can head off problems before they start
“When we work with adult players, we deal with a lot of injuries, including past foot injuries. That’s different from a long-term athletic development situation where you have a ten-year-old who’s already a high-end athlete with big goals or a thirteen-year-old who’s entering a prime training period. If you can catch problems early, you can enhance a player’s athletic overall potential, movement patterns, and balance, along with the timing of particular movements. SQAIRZ helps with all of that.”
—Allen Thomas, Director of Player Performance and Development at Slugger Science, former Director of Strength and Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox
3. Maximizing energy from the ground up doesn’t come naturally
“I volunteer as a high school baseball coach, and most of the kids I work with don't pay any attention to their feet and how they use the ground. I help them understand how important those things are because it improves their game a lot. The first thing I do is look at their shoes—usually shoes they’re going to slide around in and could rip if they move the wrong way. I tell them, those aren’t going to help you. You need a really good pair of shoes like SQAIRZ if you want to perform.”
—Stephen Hrustich, Florence Y'alls, alumnus of Northwestern University and the University of Michigan,
4. Poor foot function increases the risk of injury for players at all levels
“I had three referrals from three different orthopedic surgeons for a middle school pitcher, high school pitcher, and college pitcher. All three had elbow injuries, all three also had limitations of the internal rotation of the hip opposite the throwing arm, and all three had foot dysfunction. I see a lot of ankle and foot dysfunction that emanates all the way up. It leads to compensation and puts the site of compensation at a higher risk of injury.”
—Chuck Wolf, Director of Human Motion Associates, specializing in functional anatomy, gait and movement analysis and injury evaluation
5. SQAIRZ supports better anatomical development
“If a young athlete is wearing the right shoe and wearing it enough, I believe they could see a change in their foot profile over time. So if you have a tendency to shift your weight to the outside of your foot—which is known as having a varus profile—SQAIRZ shoes limit your ability to do that. Now you have a balanced profile, and you can condition yourself to put weight on your big toe or vice versa if you have the opposite problem.”
—Allen Thomas, Director of Player Performance and Development at Slugger Science, former Director of Strength and Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox
See the SQAIRZ difference for yourself, risk free! With our 30-Day Money Back Guarantee, you’ll level up your game—or get your money back.