Indoor Volleyball: Picking the Perfect Pair of Volleyball Shoes

Do I need specific Volleyball Shoes? This is a common question we are asked. Choosing the perfect pair of volleyball shoes is not exactly the hardest thing to do on earth. But if you are a novice, it can be a little challenging to understand why you need them & what’s available.

So, here we tell you about the important features you need to remember when selecting a perfect pair of volleyball shoes.

How are the shoes designed?

Volleyball shoes have a different design than running shoes or sports shoes. Volleyball players constantly are on the move. Therefore, the shoes should support the lateral and vertical movement of the players. Official volleyball shoes are lightweight, and the upper section is generally a mesh material which makes them breathable and helps to keep the feet cool.

How long do the shoes last?

The longevity of volleyball shoes depends on their usage. Usually, a good pair of shoes lasts a very active player for one entire season, wherein a player wears them 4 times a week. The common signs of the shoe wearing would be when the sole begins to lose traction, and the player slides more on the court. So, traction is important when choosing a perfect pair of volleyball shoes.
What should you look for when buying volleyball shoes?

When buying volleyball shoes, consider certain features to get the best deal. These would be

• Cushioning – A player must be comfortable wearing a new pair of shoes. So proper cushioning is very important in the shoes. Without cushioning, the player will feel exhausted quickly, and that would impact their game.
• Lightweight – Since volleyball players are always on the move, the last thing they would want is heavy shoes. Heavy shoes would slow them down, and they will not get the right height when jumping.
• Brands – Yes, this is an important factor. Many brands specialize in durability and lightweight while some of the other brands focus on breathability.

How different are the men's volleyball shoes from women's volleyball shoes?

Some shoes are unisex and can be worn by both men and women. So, is there any difference between men's volleyball shoes and women's volleyball shoes?
Men’s volleyball shoes are slightly wider as men’s feet tend to be larger than women's. Apart from this, certain colours like pink which tend to be purchased as women's volleyball shoes, however it’s down to individual style.

Check out the full range of our latest release of volleyball shoes here. We have a wide range for men & women.

More into beach volleyball? Don’t forget to get a pair of sand volleyball socks to up your game. It will facilitate your free movement while on the court.

 

How you should choose volleyball shoes that will be just right

If you have your preferred brand of shoes, find the correct length first. Most brands will have the same size length across their product range. Keep some space between your toe tip and shoe tip but not more than an inch. You don’t want your feet sliding inside when landing or changing direction on the volleyball field.
Don’t get confused with the mens and womens US sizing. Mens and unisex shoes use general US sizing, female shoes are in womens US sizes (we marked that as “US W”).
For Mizuno indoor shoes the difference is 1.5, which means for example US 8 = US W 9.5

Mizuno indoor shoes conversion size chart:

US Womens	US Mens	EUR
6	4.5	36
6.5	5	36.5
7	5.5	37
7.5	6	38
8	6.5	38.5
8.5	7	39
9	7.5	40
9.5	8	40.5
10	8.5	41
10.5	9	42
11	9.5	42.5
11.5	10	43
12	10.5	44
-	11	44.5
-	11.5	45
-	12	46
-	13	47
-	14	48.5

 

Or just use our size filter on the website. US = general US size, US W = US womens’ size, EUR = European size

When you have your shoe size, get the perfect width and comfortable feeling. Generally speaking womens’ shoes are slighly narrower compare to male/unisex. So if you have narrow feet that is an option.

Our experience with Mizuno Volleyball shoes is that Wave Lightning Z6 and Wave Lightning Z7 have tighter fit from sides of feet but are “looser” around the ankle. By looser we mean the shoes have the usual tongue so each player can tighten the shoes differently. Wave Momentum and Wave Momentum 2 have a socks style inner part meaning the shoe is generally tighter around the top ankle part. On the other hand Momentum shoes are wider compared to Lightings.
What Mizuno says about their shoes? If you play a post that is more in the ground and stability is your preference, Wave Momentum is the best fit, if you are jumping a lot and flexibility is your need, Lighting is number one for you.

REMEMBER! The shoe fit and your feeling in the shoes is more important than selecting your shoes according to your post on the field. You can’t enjoy the game in shoes that don’t fit.
You can also find Adidas volleyball shoes in our Volleyballshop.com.au range. They are generally even wider than Mizuno. If you require wider shoes with looser fit, Adidas should be your number 1 choice.
OUR TIP! If you can’t decide between 2 sizes and both feel the same and comfortable, go with the smaller one. The shoe will never get smaller over time of using it but it can get worn and slightly looser later.