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Every year, it seems, I get the question, "Can my kid wear their soccer cleats for baseball or softball?" The short answer is "sure". But, there's a few things you should consider first. Check out the links on this page for more articles about The Great Cleat Question.
For the most part, if your child is just starting out, in t-ball, coach-pitch, or machine pitch, you could easily let them wear their soccer cleats. These divisions of baseball and softball are learning the basics of the game. Your child is growing, on a daily basis! They will be tripping over their own feet as well as their teammates feet. And let's face it - sports shoes are expensive. If one pair can do double duty, all the better, am I right?
If your child has played a couple of years and is moving into player live pitch divisions (usually around age 9), here's where I counsel an actual pair of baseball/softball cleats. Your child is learning more defensive plays. They are doing running drills. They need shoes that have been designed for the game.
The main difference here is the toe cleat. Soccer shoes do not have a toe cleat for safety reasons, (so never wear baseball cleats for soccer!) Soccer shoes are designed for running. Baseball/Softball shoes have a toe cleat designed for quick pivoting and digging in for short burst take-offs.
It is important to note, you should be looking at cleats with a molded base. Metal cleats may NOT be worn for any little league division under the age of 13. Also, football cleats have a longer cleat which can cause significant damage to our infields, so please do not use football cleats for baseball/softball.
If you have more questions, feel free to contact us.
