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How To Keep Soccer Shoes Tied?

How To Keep Soccer Shoes Tied?

For thousands of years, shoelaces have been used in fastening shoes to the feet. Originally, early shoelaces were produced cotton, leather, jute, fur, hide, and other similar materials.

Modern shoelaces are mostly made with synthetic fibers which are more durable and efficient than their predecessors. In soccer, the lacing and knotting technique a player uses on their boots has a significant effect on their feet and their general performance on the pitch.

As a soccer player, you must be able to choose from the available lacing and knotting techniques that best suit your feet and general style of play. Using the wrong techniques on the perfect soccer shoes can give you a bad experience.

Tying your soccer shoes too tight can cause a whole lot of damage ranging from inflammation, sharp pain, muscle tension, injury, and disrupted blood flow.

A player is tying his soccer shoes

Tying soccer shoes too loose can make them less useful and a possible hazard to other players on the pitch.

Tying soccer shoelaces correctly can be the difference between executing that perfect shot that beats the goalkeeper and having your boot flying awkwardly in the air.

In this article, we have assembled a list of effective knotting methods that can help keep your soccer shoes firmly tied while playing.

How to keep soccer shoes tied?

Everybody thinks tying shoelaces is as easy as drinking a cup of water until their tied shoelaces start coming undone on their own. Many techniques applied in tying shoelaces can carry you from point A to point B without coming undone but when it comes to soccer shoes, it’s a whole different story.

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To knot your soccer shoes properly, you must put certain factors into consideration, factors such as the size of your legs, your style of play, and your role on the soccer pitch. Sometimes certain soccer boots come with special instructions which you must consider.

No one outgrows their shoelaces from coming undone during use although it is more common among kids than adults.

A man need to tight shoes lace while the soccer match is still going on

Here are techniques and methods which you can use to keep your soccer shoe laces knotted for the entire duration of a match or training without having to readjust them at intervals.

Method 1. Make a Surgeon’s Knot 

Coating soccer shoe strings with lip balm or Chapstick at the point of knotting creates some sort of friction that keeps the laces from coming off.

We will take you through the steps involved in this technique.

Surgeon's Knot: Two Hand Technique

Step 1: Start with lacing your boot like every other day by bending the left lace over and through the right.

Step 2: Coat the starting lace with lip balm for extra hold especially if you are using pesky round laces which can lose easily.

Step 3: As you normally would, create a loop and pull the shoelace through it but don’t fasten it yet.

Step 4: For extra resilience and security, loop the same side one more time as you did before.

Step 5: To tighten the knot, just pull both loops.

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Pros of Surgeon’s Knot Method

  • All you need is a Chapstick or lip balm
  • Very easy to do

Cons of Surgeon’s Knot Method

  • Might look weird in public
  • Losing the laces yourself might be difficult

Method 2. Make a Double Slip Knot

This knot is also called Ian’s Secure Shoelace Knot and it involves a balanced and simple method of tying the soccer shoelace. This shoe lacing method keeps it well-fastened to avoid coming undone during games.

Double Slip Knot Tutorial // Paracord Necklace

Step 1: Begin by crossing the left lace over and through the right in a continuous loop.

Step 2: Form both ends into loops by basically doubling them into each other in the shape of bunny ears.

Step 3: Cross over the loop on the right to the left loop making the right loop now sit in front and automatically become the left loop.

Step 4: Take the former left loop which is now the right, wrap it around the new left loop, and end in front. At this point, the knot should look like the Two Loop Shoelace Knot.

Step 5: Begin to wrap the left loop around the back simultaneously, by doing this, you will have the ends of both loops in opposite directions from the middle hole.

Step 6: Take both ends of the loops through the middle hole, the left loop should come out through the front while the right goes to the back.

Step 7: Now you can tighten the knot by simply pulling the loops. If you got the steps correctly, the twisted mess of lace should rearrange itself into a well-looking knot.

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  • Very suitable for rough use
  • Reduces friction on the laces

Cons of Double Slip Knot

  • The knot is difficult to adjust
  • Takes a lot of time to perfect

Method 3. Make a Stopper Knot

A stopper knot is very popular among rock climbers, mountaineers, and boaters. It is a knot tied at the end of a rope to prevent it from sliding through a narrow hole.

A well-tied stopper knot like the Ashley stopper knot (oysterman’s knot) developed by Clifford Ashley in 1910 ensures greater resistance to pulling. Below are steps to using the stopper knot on a soccer shoelace.

How To Tie A Stopper Knot (Step-By-Step Tutorial)

Step 1: Form a tiny loop at the end of the shoelace by placing the lace in one hand, some inches towards the end.

Step 2: Next, locate the standing line and tie an overhand knot around it.

Step 3: Feed the tag end through a noose (loop) end by pulling the overhand knot tight.

Step 4: After pulling the tag end all the way through, you should slide the knot down tight.

Step 5: This is the final step, just pull both loop’s ends tightly.

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Pros of Stopper Knot

  • This knot is usually neat and tight
  • Very easy to learn and perfect

Cons of Stopper Knot

  • Might be difficult to undo
  • It may not be completely efficient when put under high pressure

Using specialized products to keep sports shoes tied

Apart from applying efficient knotting techniques, you can also buy and use some products specially designed for keeping sports shoes tied. Some of them are listed and briefly described in the session below.

  1. Unique Sports Lace Bands: These bands stretch to slide over sports shoes and remain firmly in place during sporting activities. They help in keeping laces securely tied and in place.

Lace bands also improve the kicking surface for better spin and ball control. They can firmly fit shoe sizes ranging from 6 to 13.

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  1. The Magnetic Shoelace Lock-Klickers: This simple yet smart gadget was designed by a New York-based startup to keep shoelaces tied without having to worry about regular readjustments.

This product is very easy to use and also allows users to feel comfortable during sporting activities.

Last update on 2023-11-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

  1. LaceKeeper 2: LaceKeepers help prevent shoelaces from untying during an activity. They are specially designed to keep laces secure from dragging on the ground or getting tangled.
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How tight should I tie my soccer shoes?

At the end of the day, footwork plays a huge role in who wins or loses in a soccer match. For this obvious reason, soccer boots must be tied in such a way that they provide enough traction while playing.

When soccer shoes become too tight or loosely tied, they might not be able to provide a consistent and responsive touch on the soccer field especially when it comes to passing, shooting, and ball control.

Soccer shoes should be tied to be breathable and avoid obstructing blood circulation in the body during gameplay. Your soccer shoes must snug into your feet perfectly, keeping your feet responsive and flexible.

When a good soccer shoe is well tied, it feels like an extension of your real feet. A player can play his/her best game when their boots are properly tied.

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Conclusion

To prevent your knotted shoelace from becoming undone, you can practice a simple trick like properly tucking in the extra length of the shoelace by the side of your ankle to stop it from dragging on the floor.

Having the right shoe fit combined with a good shoe knotting technique will help you in ways you can’t possibly imagine while playing soccer. It’s important to know your shoe size and master several ways of knotting your soccer shoes to stop them from coming undone.