Pitcher's Atheletic Shoes for Indoor Practice

[FPDad63]

My 13 yo has increased her off season throwing in each of the last three years. Couple that with that fact that she is getting bigger, stronger and dragging harder, the new cross trainers we purchased a month ago are coming apart at the edges of the toe where the sole meets the shoe quicker than ever.

I'm going to look for Shoo Goo today (if they still sell it) and try that, though I'm not confident I'll be able to get the needed lasting compression for the glue to thoroughly dry.

So my question is, has anyone else run into this and is there a make or style (tennis shoe?) that can minimize this effect during indoor pitching practice? I guess what I'm looking for is toe-protection much like on pitching cleats or at least a shoe with a wider sole at the toe. Seems like cross trainers these days, while good for all other indoor softball activity (running, fielding, hitting) do not hold up well for my toe-draggin' daughter!

Any recommendations out there?

Thanks and Happy New Year to All!

 

[Screwball]

Women's Softball Turf Shoes | Ringor Fastpitch Softball

They have pitching toes for cleats and tennis shoes.

 

[starsnuffer]

You can either keep buying her shoes or fix the heavy drag. If she's wearing out shoes indoor on a pitching mat, she's going to be digging trenches off the rubber on the field, robbing her of potential power. Use Hals trick of having her pitch with a piece of paper under her pivot shoe. The paper should slide easily and not be torn up on pavement. Another option is to have her pitch without a shoe on her pivot foot (sock only). That will teach her to lighten up the pressure.

-W

 

[Ade's Dad]

I second srewball. DD has a pair about two and a half years old,and before them it was a pair of tennis shoes every two to three months.

 

[cwestwjg]

I agree turf Ringors is the way to go with the pitching toe. I would stay away from 3n2 if you shop around DD has a pair wore them maybe twice and hates the fit.

 

[greg99]

I just glued a Tuff Toe to DD's tennis shoe, worked great.

 

[knightsb]

I just glued a Tuff Toe to DD's tennis shoe, worked great.

Greg, could you provide a link to the product you used? My Google search shows two "Tuff Toe" products, one a molded toe cover, the other some type of adhesive you mix to coat the toe.

 

[chinamigarden]

Go with the molded toe cover. But take a look at how hard she drags, if its as hard as it sounds she is taking away some of her power..

 

[knightsb]

Go with the molded toe cover. But take a look at how hard she drags, if its as hard as it sounds she is taking away some of her power..

Yes, this is something we have been working on. She is getting better. She used to drag the whole side of her foot. Now we are at lease up on the toe area.

 

[howellhandmade]

Lots of crosstrainers are based on running shoes. My dd has been wearing a pair of basketball shoes for indoor practice for a while -- the sole wraps up around the sides. Basketball shoes are made not to catch their edges.