While volleyball is very skill-based, the equipment can significantly affect players’ skills. Equipment is crucial to help players be in the best condition they can be to perform their best. This can also help prevent injury and set habits to be more consistent and successful in games. One very crucial piece of equipment in volleyball is the players’ shoes. The type of shoe is immensely important because it grips the floor and transfers energy into distance running or height in jumping. The top three shoes that are on the market are the Way of Wade 10, Nike KD17, and the Asics Fly Elite. Here are some insights on these shoes and what makes them such a trendy and common appearance in the volleyball scene.
Way of Wade is a basketball shoe brand made by Dwayne Wade in 2012. His objective was to make a stylish but still unique and technologically advanced shoe for the basketball scene. He did this exactly with his 10th model, the Wade 10, which has such good aspects that it has been adapted into other sports scenes, with the most prominent being volleyball. The Wade 10 is, arguably, almost the perfect shoe in all aspects. When looking at the shoe, it consists of something called boom foam. Boom foam is the patented cushioning that was created by Way of Wade and is the best on the market. (wayofwade.com) The boom foam was specifically designed to be able to cushion landings while still being stiff enough to propel the player and feel bouncy. Layered on top of this, Way of Wade added a plate of carbon fiber at the bottom of the shoe. Carbon fiber inside a shoe is very beneficial because, since it is still stiff yet flexible,
it can snap back into place, returning the energy that is put into the shoe to the ground and feeling more bouncy when jumping. Carbon Fiber in shoes gives so much of a benefit to a player’s performance that there is a company that makes carbon fiber insoles so players can have it in any shoe they want. The grip on the bottom of the Way of Wade is an almost 10 out of 10 grip. The wave pattern on the bottom makes the shoe grip into every crevasse on the court, no matter if it is indoor or outdoor. (wayofwade.com) The grip on the shoe makes sure that every step that is taken will not slip when the player is running or jumping. One final aspect that makes the Way of Wade 10 so popular with many people is the colorway. The 10th model, being one of the most popular models, has many unique and cool colorways that are sure to meet anyone’s needs. Overall, with the near-perfect cushioning and grip, the Way of Wade 10 is the closest shoe to perfect for volleyball.
Following up on the Way of Wade 10 is another basketball shoe made by Kevin Durant, the Nike KD17. The KD 17 is a simple yet very effective basketball shoe that has also been adapted into the volleyball scene because of its aspects. When looking at the KD 17, there is significantly more amount of cushioning in the KD 17 than in the Way of Wade.
Whilst this can add another level of comfort and protection, if cushioning is too soft, it can absorb too much of the player’s energy and take away how high they jump. The KD 17 does this, but not on a scale where it affects the player a lot. On the outside, the KD 17 has a similar but more spaced-out grip pattern on the bottom. This gives the KD 17 a near-same grip as the Way of Wade, but since the pattern is more spaced out, it gives less space for the floor to grip and fill on the shoe. Another aspect of the KD 17 is its durability. The KD 17 has protection on the side of the foot, ankle,and toes. This can help protect from rolling ankles. This is important since in volleyball, players jump a lot, and every jump is a 50/50 chance of an ankle roll or landing safely. The toe protection is also very important since some serve to require the player to drag their toe. Another very unique part of the KD 17 is the fit of the shoe. The fit of the shoe is a snug but still comfortable fit that allows the player’s feet to have no heel slippage. No heel slippage is important in a shoe because it keeps players connected to their shoe at all times. This is crucial since being in contact with the shoe can allow personal comfort, allow more of the player’s energy to be put into the floor, and can also keep mental stability knowing that the player’s feet won’t come out of their shoe. With its outstanding cushioning, but at the sacrifice of some performance, the Nike KD 17 comes in runner-up of the Way of Wade as second.
Finally, last but not least, there is the Asics Fly Elite. Worn by 17-year-old Olympian and VNL champion Simeon Nikolov, this shoe has had a very popular increase in the volleyball scene this past season. Not only are the looks and the Olympian players wearing this shoe there are many reasons why it is a popular shoe in the volleyball scene.
The Asics Fly Elite has Asics’ special Gel cushioning. This material helps absorb energy when the players land, but still allows the player to feel bouncy and spring up when they jump. On the bottom of the shoe, there is a pattern that many running shoes have. This is due to Asics running shoes. Another very crucial factor of the Asics-resolution 9s that not many other shoes have is this clown shoe-like curve throughout the shoe. Although this curve might make the shoe look a little silly, it equally balances out the looks with performance. The Fly Elite is curved on purpose to make sure that a smooth transition from heel to toe happens during running/jumping. This is important because when a player is running or jumping, a smooth transition ensures a curved slope going from low to high. The smoother the transition from low to high, can allow someone to jump higher and run faster. Overall, the Asics Flye Elites is a solid shoe that keeps technology and design simple but still bears some details and better technology than other shoes have.
Overall, these 3 shoes are very solid and high-quality options for money and performance. Unfortunately, there are no real top 3, and these are just opinionated and from personal experience. Shoes for sports like volleyball all have different purposes and specialties for different things. These 3 shoes that have been regularly seen in tournaments are the best in all aspects and are good options for a first investment in a shoe. The Way of Wade has bounciness, the KD 17 has cushion, and the Asics Fly Elite has traction. These are all different specialties for different things, but the only true way is to go out and play volleyball and try them out on a first-hand experience.